Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Nebraska
In Nebraska, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,245.39 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $4,133.43 with electric resistance heat and $1,653.37 with a heat pump. Gas heat costs $11.96 per MMBtu here, against $15.87 from a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5.
State data
What Nebraska pays
- Electricity
- 13.5¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.10/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 6,200 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
Nebraska pays 13.5¢/kWh for electricity, 25% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 7th-lowest of the 51 rates on this site. At $1.10/therm, Nebraska is in the lowest gas band on this site ($1.10/therm or less): $11.96 per MMBtu of furnace heat. In climate zone 5, with 6,200 heating degree-days, the heat pump line for Nebraska uses a seasonal COP of 2.5, lower than in warmer zones.
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
Furnace country: heating in Nebraska
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 69% · electricity 24% · propane not reported · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 83% · central heat pump 6% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 50%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,586 a year, of which $528 on space heating (33%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 73% of natural gas use · 18% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
In Nebraska the forced-air furnace is close to universal. The 2020 survey found a furnace in 83% of homes, the 3rd-highest furnace share among the 50 states it ranks, against 60% nationally. Central heat pumps are scarce by comparison: 6% of homes, about 50,000 of them, the 8th-lowest share among the 33 states that report one, where the US figure is 13%. Boilers are too rare to be reported.
Most of those furnaces burn gas. Natural gas is the main fuel for 69% of households, the 11th-highest gas share, and electricity for 24%, below the national 34%. Neither propane nor heating oil reaches a reportable share. Half of homes, 50%, keep a secondary heater too.
The spending is low in total and heavy on heat. Nebraska households pay $1,586 a year for energy, the 7th-lowest figure among the states, and $528 of it goes to space heating, roughly what the average American home spends ($519). As a slice of the bill that is 33%, above the US share of 26%, while summer cooling takes $180. Of the electricity a household uses, 18% goes to heat, against 12% nationally.
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 Nebraska. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 13.5¢/kWh · Nebraska · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.10/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 6,200 heating degree-days · climate zone 5 (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: $4,133.43 a year · Gas furnace: $1,245.39 a year, for 104.2 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 104.2 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $39.68
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $11.96
- Electric resistance, per year
- $4,133.43
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,245.39
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$2,888.04
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 13.5¢/kWh · gas $1.10/therm · propane $2.00/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $1,653.37
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 Nebraska
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Nebraska needs about 104.2 MMBtu of heat a year (6,200 heating degree-days). At $1.10/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $11.96 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 13.5¢/kWh costs $39.68, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $15.87. The year comes to $1,245.39 on gas, $4,133.43 on resistance heat and $1,653.37 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 2.5, the heat pump's heat still costs more than $1.10/therm gas in Nebraska.
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 prices mean for a Nebraska heat pump
Nebraska has cheap power, 13.5¢/kWh, 25% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 7th-lowest rate in the country. On its own that would favor a heat pump. But gas is cheap as well, $1.10/therm, 26% below the US average of $1.48/therm, and the winter is long: 6,200 heating degree-days, 38% more than the US average of 4,500. In climate zone 5 the calculator rates a heat pump at a seasonal COP of 2.5, and at that efficiency inexpensive electricity does not beat inexpensive gas. The example house comes out $407.98 a year ahead with gas.
The rate that would erase that lead is 10.2¢/kWh; the state average sits at 13.5¢/kWh. If your bill shows a heating rate, a time-of-use price, or a winter block priced lower than the average, put that number in the calculator above, because it is the only lever on this comparison that a household can actually pull.
For the minority on electric heat, the comparison flips. Baseboards or an electric furnace pay 3.3 times what gas pays for each unit of heat at these prices, so a household on resistance heat should set it against a heat pump rather than against gas, using the heat pump vs furnace calculator. With $180 a year already going to air conditioning, a heat pump that replaces an aging central air unit is a separate question, and the heat pump payback page turns the yearly gap into years.
The survey's $528 is an average across apartments, houses and fuels, so it will not equal the calculator's estimate for one 2,000 sq ft house. In a state where the furnace does nearly all the work, an oversized unit or a lack of attic insulation shows up on the gas bill first; the furnace size and attic insulation calculators price both.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Nebraska, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Nebraska: $4,133.43 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $2,888.04 more than gas. Between gas ($1,245.39) and a heat pump ($1,653.37), gas comes out $407.98 a year ahead; a heat pump would match it at about 10.2¢/kWh. These are estimates at 13.5¢/kWh and $1.10/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Nebraska?
About 1,132 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Nebraska's 6,200 heating degree-days. That averages 94 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.10/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,245.39.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Nebraska?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 13.5¢/kWh, that heat costs $39.68 per MMBtu in Nebraska, against $11.96 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.10/therm, 3.3 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $4,133.43 a year against $1,245.39.
Electricity is cheap in Nebraska. Why does gas still come out ahead?
Because gas is cheap too, at $1.10/therm, and the cold lowers a heat pump's seasonal efficiency to a COP of 2.5 in climate zone 5. To match a 92% furnace, the heat pump would need power at 10.2¢/kWh, while the state average is 13.5¢/kWh. A lower heating or off-peak rate on your own tariff is the number to test above.
How much of a Nebraska energy bill goes to heating?
In the survey, 33%: $528 of a total $1,586 a year, the 17th-highest share among the 50 states ranked. Nationally the share is 26%. That average covers every home and fuel, so a large house on gas will spend more, and the calculator above gives a figure for one specific house.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
Related