Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in New Jersey
In New Jersey, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,250.87 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $6,058.73 with electric resistance heat and $2,163.83 with a heat pump. New Jersey's $1.37/therm gas against 24.6¢/kWh electricity keeps the gas furnace ahead of a heat pump by $912.96 a year.
State data
What New Jersey pays
- Electricity
- 24.6¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.37/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 5,000 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 4 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.8
New Jersey's electricity rate, 24.6¢/kWh, is 36% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and the 10th-highest of the 51 on this site. Residential gas in New Jersey is $1.37/therm, 7% below the US average of $1.48/therm. A winter of 5,000 heating degree-days means the 2,000 sq ft example in New Jersey needs about 84.0 MMBtu of heat a year.
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
A gas state with boilers: heating in New Jersey
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 75% · electricity 16% · propane not reported · fuel oil 7%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 61% · central heat pump 3% · boiler 25%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 40%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,034 a year, of which $575 on space heating (28%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 67% of natural gas use · 7% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Natural gas runs through New Jersey heating more thoroughly than through most of the country. In the 2020 survey, 75% of homes, about 2,500,000, named gas as their main heating fuel, the 6th-highest share among the states and well above the US figure of 51%. Electricity heats 16%, under the national 34%, and heating oil still holds on in 7% of homes, about 240,000 of them. Propane is too rare to be reported.
Hot-water and steam systems are a large part of the picture. Boilers serve 25% of homes, against 8% nationally, and furnaces 61%. Central heat pumps are almost absent: 3% of homes, about 100,000, the 3rd-lowest share among the 33 states where the survey reports it, against 13% across the US.
The average household spends $2,034 a year on energy, the 14th-highest among the states. Space heating takes $575 of that, a little above the US average of $519, and its share of the bill, 28%, is close to the national 26%. Summer cooling costs $282 and water heating $257. Only 7% of the electricity a household buys goes to heat, where the US share 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 New Jersey. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 24.6¢/kWh · New Jersey · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.37/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 5,000 heating degree-days · climate zone 4 (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: $6,058.73 a year · Gas furnace: $1,250.87 a year, for 84.0 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 84.0 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $72.13
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $14.89
- Electric resistance, per year
- $6,058.73
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,250.87
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$4,807.86
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.8
- Prices used
- electricity 24.6¢/kWh · gas $1.37/therm · propane $3.30/gal · oil $3.70/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,163.83
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 New Jersey
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in New Jersey needs about 84.0 MMBtu of heat a year (5,000 heating degree-days). At $1.37/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $14.89 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 24.6¢/kWh costs $72.13, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.8 (zone 4) costs $25.76. The year comes to $1,250.87 on gas, $6,058.73 on resistance heat and $2,163.83 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $912.96 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 New Jersey prices mean for gas versus a heat pump
The electric rate is the obstacle. Residential power costs 24.6¢/kWh, 36% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 10th-highest rate among the states, while gas costs $1.37/therm, 7% below the US average of $1.48/therm. Expensive electricity against gas priced a little under the average is the pairing that favors the furnace. The winter is moderate, 5,000 heating degree-days, 11% more than the US average of 4,500, and the climate-zone 4 heat pump gets a seasonal COP of 2.8, but that efficiency is not enough: the example house is $912.96 a year cheaper with gas.
The tie point is 14.2¢/kWh, and the state average is 24.6¢/kWh. A household on a standard residential tariff is unlikely to get near that; one with a dedicated heat-pump rate or a time-of-use plan that prices winter nights low should enter that rate above and see how far it moves the result.
Gas-heated homes here already have a boiler or a furnace, so the practical question is usually replacement. A boiler feeding radiators is a different retrofit from a furnace swap, and the calculator's example assumes a furnace. For a furnace home, the heat pump vs furnace page compares the systems over their life; a heat pump also does the cooling, on which the average household here spends $282 a year, and this comparison leaves that out.
The oil households are a separate case. A heat pump's heat at 24.6¢/kWh costs $25.76 per MMBtu; the heat pump vs propane and oil calculator sets that against a delivered oil price. Electric resistance is the most expensive option of all at these prices, 4.8 times gas for the same heat.
The survey's $575 blends apartments and houses on every fuel, while the calculator prices one 2,000 sq ft house; expect them to differ. Your own gas bill in therms is the better input.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in New Jersey, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in New Jersey: $6,058.73 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $4,807.86 more than gas. Between gas ($1,250.87) and a heat pump ($2,163.83), gas is cheaper here: $14.89 per MMBtu of heat against $25.76 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.8. These are estimates at 24.6¢/kWh and $1.37/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in New Jersey?
About 913 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at New Jersey's 5,000 heating degree-days. That averages 76 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.37/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,250.87.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in New Jersey?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 24.6¢/kWh, that heat costs $72.13 per MMBtu in New Jersey, against $14.89 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.37/therm, 4.8 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $6,058.73 a year against $1,250.87.
Would a heat pump lower my heating bill in New Jersey?
Not at average prices if you heat with gas. A heat pump needs electricity at 14.2¢/kWh to match a 92% gas furnace, and the state average is 24.6¢/kWh. A special heating or off-peak rate on your tariff is the only thing that could change that; enter it above. If you heat with oil or electric resistance, the comparison is different and worth running.
I have a boiler and radiators in New Jersey. Does this calculator fit my home?
Partly. Boilers heat 25% of homes here, against 8% nationally, and the calculator's example uses a furnace. The fuel prices still apply: put your boiler's rated efficiency in the gas efficiency field in place of the default 92%, and your gas price from the bill. Converting a radiator system to a heat pump involves different equipment, so treat the result as a running-cost guide only.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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