Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Montana
In Montana, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,207.41 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $5,826.43 with electric resistance heat and $2,533.23 with a heat pump. At these prices gas is the cheapest of the three, $1,325.82 a year under a heat pump.
State data
What Montana pays
- Electricity
- 15.6¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $0.87/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 7,600 °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 15.6¢/kWh, Montana has the 33rd-highest electricity rate among the 50 states and DC. Gas is $0.87/therm in Montana, 41% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 2nd-lowest of the 51. At 7,600 heating degree-days, Montana is in the 6,000-plus band on this site; the 2,000 sq ft example needs 127.7 MMBtu of heat.
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
Long winters and gas furnaces in Montana
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 59% · electricity 24% · propane 9% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 65% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 10%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 51%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,511 a year, of which $518 on space heating (34%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 73% of natural gas use · 21% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Few places ask more of a heating system than Montana. Its 7,600 heating degree-days are the 4th-highest total in the country, 69% more than the US average of 4,500, and most households meet that cold with natural gas: 59% of homes, about 250,000, named it as the main fuel in the 2020 survey, a larger share than the national 51%. Electricity is the main fuel in only 24% of homes, under the US figure of 34%. Propane fills a real niche at 9%, the 10th-highest propane share among the 35 states where the survey can measure it. Heating oil is too uncommon here to be reported.
The hardware follows the fuel. Furnaces sit in 65% of homes and boilers in 10%, a little above the US boiler share of 8%. The survey publishes no central heat pump share for Montana. Just over half of households, 51%, also run a secondary heater.
Montanans spend little on energy overall, $1,511 a year, the 5th-lowest total among the states, and that makes the heating line stand out. Space heating costs the average home $518, close to the US household's $519, yet it is 34% of the bill here against 26% nationally. Cooling barely registers at $99. Even the electric bill leans toward heat: 21% of household power goes to it, where the US average is 12%.
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 Montana. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 15.6¢/kWh · Montana · EIA, August 2026 · gas $0.87/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 7,600 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: $5,826.43 a year · Gas furnace: $1,207.41 a year, for 127.7 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 127.7 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $45.63
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $9.46
- Electric resistance, per year
- $5,826.43
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,207.41
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$4,619.02
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 15.6¢/kWh · gas $0.87/therm · propane $2.30/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,533.23
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 Montana
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Montana needs about 127.7 MMBtu of heat a year (7,600 heating degree-days). At $0.87/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $9.46 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 15.6¢/kWh costs $45.63, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $19.84. The year comes to $1,207.41 on gas, $5,826.43 on resistance heat and $2,533.23 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $1,325.82 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
Gas or heat pump under a Montana winter
Both prices on this page point toward the furnace. Gas costs $0.87/therm, 41% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 2nd-lowest gas price of any state. Electricity, at 15.6¢/kWh, is cheaper than average too (14% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh), but the discount on the gas side is far deeper. Add the cold, and the calculator gives a climate-zone 6 heat pump a seasonal COP of just 2.3. The result is a lead of $1,325.82 a year for gas in the example house.
To tie with a 92% furnace, a heat pump here would need power at 7.4¢/kWh, set against the state average of 15.6¢/kWh. That is a wide distance, and a heat-pump or off-peak tariff is the only thing on your bill that could narrow it. If your utility offers one, type that rate into the calculator above instead of the average.
The picture changes for homes without a gas line. Resistance heat, from baseboards or an electric furnace, costs 4.8 times as much as gas per unit of heat at these prices, so in an all-electric house the useful contest is resistance against a heat pump, not gas against a heat pump. For propane households, about 40,000 of them, the propane vs electric calculator takes your delivered price per gallon.
Read the survey's $518 as a statewide average that blends apartments, small houses and every fuel; the calculator prices one 2,000 sq ft house, so the two will not match. With a heating season this long, the cheapest change is often not the fuel at all: the thermostat setback and furnace size calculators show what a setting or a right-sized unit is worth.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Montana, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Montana: $5,826.43 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $4,619.02 more than gas. Between gas ($1,207.41) and a heat pump ($2,533.23), gas is cheaper here: $9.46 per MMBtu of heat against $19.84 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3. These are estimates at 15.6¢/kWh and $0.87/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Montana?
About 1,388 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Montana's 7,600 heating degree-days. That averages 116 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $0.87/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,207.41.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Montana?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 15.6¢/kWh, that heat costs $45.63 per MMBtu in Montana, against $9.46 from a 92% gas furnace at $0.87/therm, 4.8 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $5,826.43 a year against $1,207.41.
Gas is so cheap in Montana. Is there any case where a heat pump wins on running cost?
On statewide averages, no. The heat pump would need electricity at 7.4¢/kWh to match gas, while the average residential rate is 15.6¢/kWh. The cases worth pricing are homes that do not burn gas: an electric-resistance house, where resistance costs 4.8 times gas per unit of heat, or a propane house. Enter your own rate and fuel price above before deciding.
Why is heating such a large share of a Montana energy bill?
The total bill is small and the winter is long. A household here spends $1,511 a year on all energy, the 5th-lowest among the states, with only $99 going to cooling. Space heating, at $518, is therefore 34% of the total, the 14th-highest share among the 50 states the survey ranks.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
Related