Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Oklahoma
In Oklahoma, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $888.39 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $2,553.97 with electric resistance heat and $823.86 with a heat pump. In Oklahoma, the heat pump and the gas furnace nearly tie: $14.01 vs $15.11 per MMBtu of heat.
State data
What Oklahoma pays
- Electricity
- 14.8¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.39/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 3,500 °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 14.8¢/kWh, electricity in Oklahoma is under 15¢/kWh, 18% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. At $1.39/therm, Oklahoma's gas price is the 29th-highest of the 51 on this site. Oklahoma logs 3,500 heating degree-days a year (NOAA normals), 22% 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
Gas furnaces and a hot summer in Oklahoma
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 52% · electricity 39% · propane not reported · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 69% · central heat pump 11% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 52%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,803 a year, of which $485 on space heating (26%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 65% of natural gas use · 16% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Oklahoma's heating looks a lot like the country's, with a tilt toward electricity. The 2020 survey found natural gas as the main fuel in 52% of homes, almost exactly the US share of 51%, and electricity in 39% (about 580,000), above the national 34%. Propane and heating oil are too uncommon in the sample to carry a published share.
The furnace dominates. It is the main heater in 69% of homes, the 16th-highest furnace share among the 50 states with a figure, while central heat pumps serve 11%, about 160,000 households, a shade under the US rate of 13%. Set the 39% electric share beside that heat pump figure and most electric heat here must come from electric furnaces and other resistance equipment. Just over half of households, 52%, also use a secondary heater.
On the bill, heat is an average-sized line and cooling a large one. A household spends $1,803 a year on energy, $485 of it on space heating. That heating share, 26%, matches the US figure of 26%, but air conditioning takes 18%, or $333, against 14% nationally. In gas homes, space heating burns 65% of the gas.
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 Oklahoma. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 14.8¢/kWh · Oklahoma · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.39/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 3,500 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: $2,553.97 a year · Gas furnace: $888.39 a year, for 58.8 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 58.8 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $43.43
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $15.11
- Electric resistance, per year
- $2,553.97
- Gas furnace, per year
- $888.39
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$1,665.58
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 3.1
- Prices used
- electricity 14.8¢/kWh · gas $1.39/therm · propane $2.10/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $823.86
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 Oklahoma
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Oklahoma needs about 58.8 MMBtu of heat a year (3,500 heating degree-days). At $1.39/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $15.11 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 14.8¢/kWh costs $43.43, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 3.1 (zone 3) costs $14.01. The year comes to $888.39 on gas, $2,553.97 on resistance heat and $823.86 on a heat pump. The gap between the two cheapest options is only $64.53 a year in Oklahoma.
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
Heat pump or furnace in Oklahoma
This is one of the closest calls a state can produce. Electricity costs 14.8¢/kWh, 18% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and gas $1.39/therm, 6% below the US average of $1.48/therm. With 3,500 heating degree-days, 22% fewer than the US average of 4,500, Oklahoma falls in climate zone 3, where the calculator gives a heat pump a seasonal COP of 3.1: mild enough winters that the heat pump runs efficiently most of the season. For the example house the estimate tips to a heat pump, with a yearly margin of $64.53. The rate where the two costs meet is 16.0¢/kWh, and the state average is 14.8¢/kWh; a tariff a little above average, or a gas price a little below it, can reverse the result. Treat the outcome as a tie until your own numbers say otherwise.
That makes the cooling side relevant. With air conditioning already 18% of a household's energy spending, a heat pump replaces the air conditioner as well as the furnace, so the purchase compares one machine with two. The heat pump vs furnace page prices both setups over their life, and the heat pump size page checks capacity for a home that needs both heating and cooling.
For homes already heated by electricity without a heat pump, the gap is not close at all. A resistance furnace or baseboard heater turns each kilowatt-hour into one unit of heat, so the example house would pay $2,553.97 a year that way, against $823.86 with a heat pump. At these prices, resistance heat runs 2.9 times the cost of gas for the same warmth.
The survey's $485 is an average over every kind of home and fuel and is lower than the calculator's figure for one 2,000 sq ft house. Use the rate and gas price printed on your own bills above; in a result this narrow, they decide it.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Oklahoma, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Oklahoma: $2,553.97 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $1,665.58 more than gas. Between gas ($888.39) and a heat pump ($823.86), it's close: a heat pump is cheaper by $64.53 a year at Oklahoma's averages. These are estimates at 14.8¢/kWh and $1.39/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Oklahoma?
About 639 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Oklahoma's 3,500 heating degree-days. That averages 53 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.39/therm, the year costs an estimated $888.39.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Oklahoma?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 14.8¢/kWh, that heat costs $43.43 per MMBtu in Oklahoma, against $15.11 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.39/therm, 2.9 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $2,553.97 a year against $888.39.
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than gas heat in Oklahoma?
At average prices, the estimate favors a heat pump, but only by $64.53 a year for the example house. The tie sits at an electricity rate of 16.0¢/kWh, near the state's 14.8¢/kWh, so your own rate settles it: below the tie, the heat pump leads; above it, gas does. Because a heat pump also does the cooling, compare the cost of replacing both your furnace and air conditioner, not the furnace alone.
I have an electric furnace in Oklahoma. What should I compare?
Compare it with a heat pump, not with gas. The example house would spend $2,553.97 a year on resistance heat at 14.8¢/kWh, against $823.86 with a heat pump rated for climate zone 3. Electricity is the main heating fuel in 39% of Oklahoma homes, while central heat pumps are in 11%, so a good share of electric-heated homes are in this position. The heat pump payback page turns that yearly difference into years.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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