Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in South Dakota
In South Dakota, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,283.74 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $5,520.07 with electric resistance heat and $2,400.03 with a heat pump. Gas heat costs $10.33 per MMBtu here, against $19.31 from a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3.
State data
What South Dakota pays
- Electricity
- 15.2¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $0.95/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 7,400 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 6 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.3
South Dakota's residential rate of 15.2¢/kWh sits between 15¢ and 20¢/kWh, 17% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. South Dakota's residential gas costs $0.95/therm, 36% below the US average of $1.48/therm. South Dakota's heating need is high: 7,400 heating degree-days, 64% more 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
How homes in South Dakota heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 58% · electricity 25% · propane 14% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 75% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 7%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 45%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,709 a year, of which $567 on space heating (32%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 78% of natural gas use · 17% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
South Dakota is a furnace state with a large propane minority. In the 2020 survey, 58% of homes (about 200,000) named natural gas as their main heating fuel and 25% (about 90,000) named electricity, against 51% and 34% nationally. Propane heats 14% of homes, about 50,000, against 4% for the US, the 5th-highest propane share of the 35 states that report one. Fuel oil is too rare here to report.
The equipment follows the fuel. 75% of homes run a furnace, against 60% nationally, the 12th-highest of the 50 states, and boilers account for 7%. The survey does not report a central heat pump share for South Dakota, which means EIA's sample was too small to publish a figure. 45% of homes also run a secondary heater.
Heat is a large slice of the household budget. Homes here spend $1,709 a year on all energy, $567 of it on space heating, or 32% of the bill against 26% nationally. Space heating takes 78% of household gas use, against 68% for the US, and 17% of electricity use, against 12%. Air conditioning, at $159, is a minor line by comparison. In South Dakota the energy bill is a winter bill.
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 South Dakota. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 15.2¢/kWh · South Dakota · EIA, August 2026 · gas $0.95/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 7,400 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: $5,520.07 a year · Gas furnace: $1,283.74 a year, for 124.3 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 124.3 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $44.40
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $10.33
- Electric resistance, per year
- $5,520.07
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,283.74
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$4,236.33
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 15.2¢/kWh · gas $0.95/therm · propane $1.90/gal · oil $3.50/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,400.03
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 South Dakota
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in South Dakota needs about 124.3 MMBtu of heat a year (7,400 heating degree-days). At $0.95/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $10.33 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 15.2¢/kWh costs $44.40, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $19.31. The year comes to $1,283.74 on gas, $5,520.07 on resistance heat and $2,400.03 on a heat pump. A heat pump would need electricity near 8.1¢/kWh to match gas here.
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 South Dakota
Two numbers decide the gas-versus-heat-pump question here, and both point the same way. Gas costs $0.95/therm, 36% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 4th-lowest price among the states, and the winter is long: 7,400 heating degree-days, 64% more than the US average of 4,500 and the 6th-highest in the country. Electricity at 15.2¢/kWh is 17% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, but in climate zone 6 the estimate uses a seasonal heat pump COP of only 2.3, because a heat pump loses efficiency as the air gets colder. For the example house the cheaper option is gas.
The tie rate shows how wide the margin is. A heat pump matches a 92% furnace only at an electricity rate of about 8.1¢/kWh, far under the state average of 15.2¢/kWh, so for a home on natural gas the running-cost case for a heat pump is weak at these prices. Check your own gas price first; it is the number that moves the answer.
Resistance heat is the costly outlier: at these prices it costs 4.3 times as much as gas per unit of heat, and the example house would burn about 1,351 therms a year on a furnace, a load that makes any per-unit difference large in dollars. For an all-electric home without gas service, a heat pump is the cheaper electric option.
Propane homes need a different comparison, since this calculator prices natural gas. The propane vs electric calculator and heat pump vs propane or oil take your propane price per gallon.
The survey's $567 a year is lower than the calculator's figures because it averages every home and fuel, apartments included; the calculator prices one 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation. Type your own rate and gas price into the calculator above.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in South Dakota, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in South Dakota: $5,520.07 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $4,236.33 more than gas. Between gas ($1,283.74) and a heat pump ($2,400.03), gas costs less to run in South Dakota, by an estimated $1,116.29 a year. These are estimates at 15.2¢/kWh and $0.95/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in South Dakota?
About 1,351 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at South Dakota's 7,400 heating degree-days. That averages 113 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $0.95/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,283.74.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in South Dakota?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 15.2¢/kWh, that heat costs $44.40 per MMBtu in South Dakota, against $10.33 from a 92% gas furnace at $0.95/therm, 4.3 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $5,520.07 a year against $1,283.74.
Does a heat pump work in a South Dakota winter?
It works, but it works less efficiently than in a mild climate. The estimate uses a seasonal COP of 2.3 for climate zone 6, with 7,400 heating degree-days, and at that efficiency, with electricity at 15.2¢/kWh and gas at $0.95/therm, the cheaper of the two for the example house is gas. The heat pump size calculator shows the capacity a cold-climate house needs, which is the first thing to get right before comparing costs.
I heat with propane in South Dakota. Does this page apply to me?
Only partly. 14% of homes in the state, about 50,000, heat with propane, and the calculator above prices natural gas, not propane. The electricity side still applies: a heat pump at a COP of 2.3 and 15.2¢/kWh is the same whichever fuel it replaces. Enter your propane price per gallon in the propane vs electric calculator to compare the two directly.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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