Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Mississippi
In Mississippi, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $676.20 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $1,634.16 with electric resistance heat and $527.15 with a heat pump. In Mississippi, the heat pump beats the gas furnace on running cost by an estimated $149.05 a year.
State data
What Mississippi pays
- Electricity
- 14.4¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.61/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 2,300 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 3 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 3.1
At 14.4¢/kWh, electricity in Mississippi is under 15¢/kWh, 21% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. At $1.61/therm, Mississippi's gas price is the 20th-highest of the 51 on this site. Mississippi's heating need is light: 2,300 heating degree-days a year, 49% fewer than the US average of 4,500.
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
Electric heat across Mississippi
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 32% · electricity 56% · propane 10% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 54% · central heat pump 28% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 45%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,887 a year, of which $446 on space heating (24%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 65% of natural gas use · 15% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Most Mississippi homes already heat with electricity. In the 2020 survey, 56% of the state's 1.08 million households, about 600,000, named it as their main heating fuel, the 7th-highest electric share among the states and well above the US 34%. Natural gas heats 32%, the 8th-lowest gas share, and propane 10%, the 8th-highest propane share of the 35 that report it.
Much of that electric heat comes from heat pumps. Central heat pumps are the main system in 28% of homes, about 300,000, the 6th-highest share of the 33 states the survey reports, against 13% nationally. Furnaces, gas or electric, are still the most common system at 54%.
Heating is a modest line on the bill. Households spent $446 a year on space heating, the 12th-lowest of any state, which was 24% of their $1,887 energy spending. Cooling comes close to it: air conditioning took $407, or 20% of the bill, against a national share of 14%. In Mississippi, a heating system is also judged by how it handles summer.
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 Mississippi. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 14.4¢/kWh · Mississippi · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.61/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 2,300 heating degree-days · climate zone 3 (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: $1,634.16 a year · Gas furnace: $676.20 a year, for 38.6 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 38.6 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $42.29
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $17.50
- Electric resistance, per year
- $1,634.16
- Gas furnace, per year
- $676.20
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$957.96
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 3.1
- Prices used
- electricity 14.4¢/kWh · gas $1.61/therm · propane $2.70/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $527.15
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 Mississippi
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Mississippi needs about 38.6 MMBtu of heat a year (2,300 heating degree-days). At $1.61/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $17.50 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 14.4¢/kWh costs $42.29, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 3.1 (zone 3) costs $13.64. The year comes to $676.20 on gas, $1,634.16 on resistance heat and $527.15 on a heat pump. That puts the heat pump $149.05 a year below the gas furnace in Mississippi, running cost only.
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 Mississippi
On running cost, the estimate for Mississippi puts a heat pump ahead. Electricity costs 14.4¢/kWh, the 10th-lowest rate and 21% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and gas costs $1.61/therm, 9% above the US average of $1.48/therm. The mild winter, 2,300 heating degree-days, 49% fewer than the US average of 4,500, lets the calculator use a seasonal COP of 3.1 for climate zone 3, so each kilowatt-hour goes further. For the example house that is $527.15 a year with a heat pump against $676.20 with a 92% gas furnace. The rate at which they would cost the same is 18.5¢/kWh, against a state average of 14.4¢/kWh.
Small numbers on both sides mean the dollars at stake are small too. The example house needs only 38.6 MMBtu of heat a year, so the $149.05 gap between the two systems may matter less than the installed price, the age of the equipment, or how it cools. The heat pump payback calculator puts a quote against that yearly gap; heat pump size sizes a unit for both heating and cooling loads.
The bigger opportunity may be in homes heated by electric resistance. Baseboards or an electric furnace would cost the example house $1,634.16 a year, 2.4 times gas per unit of heat, and a heat pump does the same job for $527.15. With electric heat in about 600,000 homes and central heat pumps in about 300,000, this is the switch with the clearest arithmetic in the state.
The survey's $446 average comes from every home and fuel, so it will not match a 2,000 sq ft house in the calculator. Enter your own electric rate and gas price above. Water heating, at 16% of the bill, is another place electricity can do more with less; heat pump water heater estimates it.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Mississippi, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Mississippi: $1,634.16 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $957.96 more than gas. Between gas ($676.20) and a heat pump ($527.15), the heat pump costs less to run in Mississippi, by an estimated $149.05 a year. These are estimates at 14.4¢/kWh and $1.61/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Mississippi?
About 420 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Mississippi's 2,300 heating degree-days. That averages 35 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.61/therm, the year costs an estimated $676.20.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Mississippi?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 14.4¢/kWh, that heat costs $42.29 per MMBtu in Mississippi, against $17.50 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.61/therm, 2.4 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $1,634.16 a year against $676.20.
Should I replace my gas furnace with a heat pump in Mississippi?
On running cost, the estimate leans to a heat pump: $527.15 a year against $676.20 for gas in the example house. The lead holds while your electricity stays under about 18.5¢/kWh. Because heating loads are small here, the purchase price and cooling performance often weigh more than the fuel bill, so compare quotes before deciding.
My Mississippi home has electric baseboard heat. What would a heat pump change?
Resistance heat turns each kilowatt-hour into one unit of heat; a heat pump with a seasonal COP of 3.1 delivers that many units on average over the season. At 14.4¢/kWh, the example house would pay $1,634.16 a year on resistance and $527.15 on a heat pump. Your actual figure depends on your home's size and insulation, so check last winter's bills against summer ones to see what heat costs you now.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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