Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in New York
In New York, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,707.39 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $7,758.68 with electric resistance heat and $3,103.47 with a heat pump. Gas heat costs $18.48 per MMBtu here, against $33.59 from a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5.
State data
What New York pays
- Electricity
- 28.6¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.70/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 5,500 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
New York is in the over-20¢ band on this site: 28.6¢ a kWh, 58% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Residential gas in New York is $1.70/therm, 15% above the US average of $1.48/therm. A winter of 5,500 heating degree-days means the 2,000 sq ft example in New York needs about 92.4 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
How homes in New York heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 61% · electricity 16% · propane 4% · fuel oil 17%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 44% · central heat pump 3% · boiler 35%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 38%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,319 a year, of which $761 on space heating (32%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 66% of natural gas use · 10% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
New York heats with more kinds of fuel than most states. Natural gas leads: in the 2020 survey 61% of homes, about 4,600,000, named it as their main heating fuel, against 51% nationally. Fuel oil comes next at 17%, about 1,280,000 homes, the 8th-highest share of the 14 states where the survey reports it and well above the US figure of 4%. Electricity heats 16%, against 34% for the US, and propane 4%.
The equipment is just as unusual. Boilers heat 35% of homes, against 8% nationally, while furnaces are only 44%, the 3rd-lowest share among the 50 states. Central heat pumps are rare: 3% of homes, about 230,000, the 3rd-lowest share of the 33 states that report it, against 13% for the US.
Households here spend a lot on energy, and heat is a big part of it. The average is $2,319 a year, the 7th-highest in the country, with $761 on space heating, the 8th-highest amount among the states, against $519 nationally. That is 32% of the bill, against 26% for the US. Water heating adds $392, or 17%. Electricity plays a small role in heat: only 10% of household power goes to it, 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 New York. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 28.6¢/kWh · New York · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.70/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 5,500 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: $7,758.68 a year · Gas furnace: $1,707.39 a year, for 92.4 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 92.4 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $83.97
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $18.48
- Electric resistance, per year
- $7,758.68
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,707.39
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$6,051.28
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 28.6¢/kWh · gas $1.70/therm · propane $3.50/gal · oil $3.90/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $3,103.47
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 York
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in New York needs about 92.4 MMBtu of heat a year (5,500 heating degree-days). At $1.70/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $18.48 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 28.6¢/kWh costs $83.97, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $33.59. The year comes to $1,707.39 on gas, $7,758.68 on resistance heat and $3,103.47 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $1,396.08 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 New York
The price of electricity decides the question in New York. Power costs 28.6¢/kWh, 58% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 6th-highest rate among the states, while gas costs $1.70/therm, 15% above the US average of $1.48/therm. Gas is not cheap here, but electricity is dearer by more. A heat pump would match a 92% gas furnace only at 15.8¢/kWh, against a state average of 28.6¢/kWh, and for the example house the gap is $1,396.08 a year in favor of gas. The winter, 5,500 heating degree-days and 22% more than the US average of 4,500, puts the estimate at the climate-zone 5 seasonal COP of 2.5, which does not close that distance.
The one thing that could is the rate. If your utility offers a separate heat-pump or time-of-use rate, it replaces the average in the calculator above; set it against the tie rate before ruling a heat pump in or out. Cooling, which a heat pump adds and a boiler does not, is a separate calculation.
Resistance heat is the costliest option of all at these prices, 4.5 times what gas pays per unit of heat. For the homes on electric heat, about 1,200,000 of them, a heat pump delivers the same heat from a fraction of the kilowatt-hours, so resistance against heat pump is the comparison that matters to them.
Oil and propane homes are outside this page's two fuels. The heat pump vs propane and oil calculator takes your delivered fuel price and compares it with a heat pump at your electric rate; that is the question for the oil-heated homes, about 1,280,000 of them.
The survey's $761 a year sits below the calculator's figures because it averages every home in the state, apartments included, across all fuels; the calculator prices one 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a furnace. A boiler home should treat the example as a guide and its own bills as the answer. With heat this large a line, a thermostat setback and attic insulation are the cheaper places to start.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in New York, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in New York: $7,758.68 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $6,051.28 more than gas. Between gas ($1,707.39) and a heat pump ($3,103.47), gas is cheaper here: $18.48 per MMBtu of heat against $33.59 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5. These are estimates at 28.6¢/kWh and $1.70/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in New York?
About 1,004 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at New York's 5,500 heating degree-days. That averages 84 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.70/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,707.39.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in New York?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 28.6¢/kWh, that heat costs $83.97 per MMBtu in New York, against $18.48 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.70/therm, 4.5 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $7,758.68 a year against $1,707.39.
I heat with oil in New York. Does this page apply to me?
Only partly. This calculator compares gas, resistance heat and a heat pump; it does not price oil. The survey counts about 1,280,000 oil-heated homes here, 17% of the total, the 8th-highest share of the states the survey reports. At 28.6¢/kWh and a seasonal COP of 2.5, a heat pump's heat costs $33.59 per MMBtu; the heat pump vs propane and oil page sets that against your oil price.
Why does a heat pump cost more to run than gas in New York?
Because electricity here is among the most expensive in the country: 28.6¢/kWh, the 6th-highest rate and 58% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. A heat pump at the climate-zone 5 seasonal COP of 2.5 beats gas at $1.70/therm only below 15.8¢/kWh. A lower electric rate, from a special tariff or a different plan, is what would change that; put it into the calculator above to see.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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