Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Minnesota
In Minnesota, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,548.52 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $6,775.15 with electric resistance heat and $2,945.72 with a heat pump. Gas heat costs $11.52 per MMBtu here, against $21.92 from a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3.
State data
What Minnesota pays
- Electricity
- 17.2¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.06/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 8,000 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 6 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.3
At 17.2¢/kWh, Minnesota has the 21st-highest electricity rate among the 50 states and DC. Gas is $1.06/therm in Minnesota, 28% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 10th-lowest of the 51. At 8,000 heating degree-days and climate zone 6, Minnesota's heat pump line uses a seasonal COP of 2.3, among the lowest in this model.
Prices are statewide averages. Type the rate and gas price from your own bill into the calculator above to replace them.
How homes here heat
Heating through a Minnesota winter
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 68% · electricity 14% · propane 15% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 73% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 15%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 52%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,833 a year, of which $647 on space heating (35%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 78% of natural gas use · 13% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Few places ask more of a heating system. Minnesota logs 8,000 heating degree-days a year, the 3rd-highest total among the states and 78% more than the US average of 4,500, in climate zone 6. The survey shows how its 2.23 million homes meet that: 68% heat mainly with natural gas, the 12th-highest gas share and above the national 51%, and 14% with electricity, well under the US 34%.
Propane is the number that sets Minnesota apart. 15% of homes, about 330,000, use it as their main fuel, the 2nd-highest propane share of the 35 states with a figure, against 4% nationally. Those households are not buying pipeline gas for heat, so the gas comparison on this page is not theirs.
On equipment, 73% of homes heat with a furnace and 15% with a boiler, against a US boiler share of 8%. The survey reports no central heat pump share for Minnesota. More than half of households, 52%, also use a secondary heater.
The bill reflects the winter. A household spent $647 a year on space heating, the 16th-highest of any state, which came to 35% of its $1,833 energy spending, the 11th-highest share. Of the gas these homes buy, 78% goes to keeping the house warm.
EIA RECS 2020, state tables: shares of all occupied homes in the state and average spending per household in the survey year. "Not reported" means EIA's sample was too small to publish a figure.
Gas vs electric heat
B04Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for Minnesota. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 17.2¢/kWh · Minnesota · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.06/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 8,000 heating degree-days · climate zone 6 (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
On the furnace label: 0.80 older, 0.90–0.98 condensing.
Gas furnace costs less per year by
Electric resistance: $6,775.15 a year · Gas furnace: $1,548.52 a year, for 134.4 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 134.4 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $50.41
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $11.52
- Electric resistance, per year
- $6,775.15
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,548.52
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$5,226.62
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 17.2¢/kWh · gas $1.06/therm · propane $2.00/gal · oil $3.50/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,945.72
Cost by month, in season only
The yearly cost spread across the months using a typical heating degree-day pattern from NOAA 1991–2020 normals. Months outside the season show $0.
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
2026 note: The federal 25C and 25D tax credits ended for installations after Dec 31, 2025. Our numbers use 2026 rules. State rebates, HEAR/HOMES programs and utility programs may still apply.
Worked example
Worked example: 2,000 sq ft in Minnesota
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Minnesota needs about 134.4 MMBtu of heat a year (8,000 heating degree-days). At $1.06/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $11.52 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 17.2¢/kWh costs $50.41, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $21.92. The year comes to $1,548.52 on gas, $6,775.15 on resistance heat and $2,945.72 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $1,397.19 a year over a heat pump.
Load = sq ft × 0.35 × heating degree-days × 24 ÷ 1,000,000. Gas $/MMBtu = $/therm ÷ 0.1 ÷ 0.92. Resistance $/MMBtu = $/kWh × 293.07. Heat pump = resistance ÷ COP.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Minnesota
Gas has a strong position here, and the prices explain it. Gas costs $1.06/therm, the 10th-lowest price and 28% below the US average of $1.48/therm, while electricity at 17.2¢/kWh is only 5% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Add the cold: the calculator's seasonal COP for zone 6 is 2.3, because a heat pump works hardest and least efficiently on the coldest days. The example house needs 134.4 MMBtu of heat a year, and the 92% furnace delivers it for $1,548.52 against $2,945.72 for a heat pump. A heat pump would need electricity at 9.0¢/kWh to tie, against a state average of 17.2¢/kWh.
The answer changes for homes without gas. Propane households, about 330,000 of them, and electric-heated ones, about 310,000, face a different comparison. Electric resistance, at 4.4 times the cost of gas per unit of heat, would cost the example house $6,775.15 a year; a heat pump brings that to $2,945.72. For propane, put your delivered price into heat pump vs propane and oil or propane vs electric.
Because the heating load is so large, small changes to it are worth a lot in dollars. A setback of a few degrees at night or a better-insulated attic cuts the load itself, whichever fuel you buy. The thermostat setback and attic insulation calculators estimate both at your prices.
The survey average of $647 spans apartments, small homes and every fuel, so expect the calculator's single 2,000 sq ft house to come out differently. Enter your own gas price and electric rate above; a winter bill gives the clearest picture of what heating costs you.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Minnesota, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Minnesota: $6,775.15 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $5,226.62 more than gas. Between gas ($1,548.52) and a heat pump ($2,945.72), gas is cheaper here: $11.52 per MMBtu of heat against $21.92 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3. These are estimates at 17.2¢/kWh and $1.06/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Minnesota?
About 1,461 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Minnesota's 8,000 heating degree-days. That averages 122 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.06/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,548.52.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Minnesota?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 17.2¢/kWh, that heat costs $50.41 per MMBtu in Minnesota, against $11.52 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.06/therm, 4.4 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $6,775.15 a year against $1,548.52.
Can a heat pump handle a Minnesota winter, and is it cheaper than gas?
Cold-climate models are built to keep heating in deep cold, though their efficiency drops as it gets colder; the calculator's seasonal COP of 2.3 reflects that for zone 6. On running cost, gas comes out ahead at state prices: $1,548.52 against $2,945.72 for the example house. The heat pump only ties at an electric rate near 9.0¢/kWh.
My Minnesota home has a boiler. Does this comparison still apply?
Partly. 15% of Minnesota homes heat with a boiler, and the calculator's gas side works for one if you enter the boiler's AFUE in place of the furnace's. The heat pump side assumes ducts, which many boiler homes lack, so the realistic alternatives are ductless units or an air-to-water heat pump, each with its own price. Use the running-cost figures here as a guide and the quotes as the deciding number.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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