Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Vermont
In Vermont, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $2,414.82 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $8,921.13 with electric resistance heat and $3,878.75 with a heat pump. In Vermont, the gas furnace beats the heat pump on running cost by an estimated $1,463.94 a year.
State data
What Vermont pays
- Electricity
- 23.8¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.74/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 7,600 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 6 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.3
Electricity in Vermont costs 23.8¢/kWh, 31% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh; every electric option on this page pays that price per kWh. Residential gas in Vermont is $1.74/therm, 18% above the US average of $1.48/therm. At 7,600 heating degree-days, Vermont is in the 6,000-plus band on this site; the 2,000 sq ft example needs 127.7 MMBtu of heat.
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
Oil, propane and the rest in Vermont
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 21% · electricity 6% · propane 13% · fuel oil 46%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 51% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 25%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 57%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,407 a year, of which $953 on space heating (39%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 68% of natural gas use · 6% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Fuel oil, not gas or electricity, is what most often warms a Vermont home. The 2020 survey finds oil as the main fuel in 46% of homes (about 120,000), the 2nd-highest share among the 14 states with enough oil heat to report, while only 4% of US homes use it. Propane covers another 13%, the 6th-highest share, compared with 4% nationwide. The two fuels this calculator weighs come after them: natural gas at 21% and electricity at 6%, the 2nd-lowest electric share of any state, where the national pair is 51% and 34%.
Equipment follows the fuels. Boilers, which circulate hot water or steam, are the primary system in 25% of homes, compared with 8% across the US; furnaces serve 51%. No central heat pump figure is published for Vermont. Supplementary heaters see use in 57% of households, with the country at 42%.
Heat claims a big slice of the energy budget. Out of $2,407 a year, the 6th-highest total among the states, a household puts $953 into space heating, the 4th-highest amount nationally and 39% of its spending; the typical US household spends $519, or 26%. Cooling takes just 4%. With so few electrically heated homes, heating is only 6% of average electricity use, versus 12% for the country.
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 Vermont. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 23.8¢/kWh · Vermont · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.74/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 7,600 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: $8,921.13 a year · Gas furnace: $2,414.82 a year, for 127.7 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 127.7 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $69.87
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $18.91
- Electric resistance, per year
- $8,921.13
- Gas furnace, per year
- $2,414.82
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$6,506.32
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 23.8¢/kWh · gas $1.74/therm · propane $3.50/gal · oil $3.70/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $3,878.75
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 Vermont
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Vermont needs about 127.7 MMBtu of heat a year (7,600 heating degree-days). At $1.74/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $18.91 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 23.8¢/kWh costs $69.87, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $30.38. The year comes to $2,414.82 on gas, $8,921.13 on resistance heat and $3,878.75 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $1,463.94 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 Vermont
Between the page's two options, gas comes out ahead at average prices, and not narrowly: the gap for the example house is $1,463.94 a year. Power here costs 23.8¢/kWh, the 12th-highest residential rate and 31% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and gas costs $1.74/therm, 18% above the US average of $1.48/therm. A heat pump would need electricity at 14.8¢/kWh to keep pace with a 92% furnace; the state's actual average is 23.8¢/kWh.
A long winter magnifies whatever the price gap is. With 7,600 heating degree-days (69% more than the US average of 4,500), Vermont places the 4th-highest, and in climate zone 6 the estimate credits a heat pump with a seasonal COP of only 2.3, because colder zones get a lower assumed efficiency. When a house buys this much heat each year, a small difference per unit grows into a large sum. Electric resistance is the costliest route, at 3.7 times gas for each unit of heat.
Most Vermont readers, though, burn oil or propane, and this calculator prices neither. The heat pump vs propane or oil calculator takes what you pay per delivered gallon along with your power rate. A boiler house usually has radiators or hot-water baseboards and no ductwork, so the heat pump to price there is typically a ductless unit.
The $953 survey average and the calculator answer different questions: one blends every fuel and home size, the other models a single 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation. With loads this large, insulation can deserve as much attention as fuel; attic insulation estimates the value of adding more. Enter your own rate and gas price above before you conclude anything.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Vermont, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Vermont: $8,921.13 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $6,506.32 more than gas. Between gas ($2,414.82) and a heat pump ($3,878.75), gas is cheaper here: $18.91 per MMBtu of heat against $30.38 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3. These are estimates at 23.8¢/kWh and $1.74/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Vermont?
About 1,388 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Vermont's 7,600 heating degree-days. That averages 116 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.74/therm, the year costs an estimated $2,414.82.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Vermont?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 23.8¢/kWh, that heat costs $69.87 per MMBtu in Vermont, against $18.91 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.74/therm, 3.7 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $8,921.13 a year against $2,414.82.
How do I compare my oil heat with a heat pump in Vermont?
This page covers gas, resistance and heat pumps only, so switch to heat pump vs propane or oil. In Vermont, oil heats 46% of homes and propane 13%. Have two figures ready: what you pay per gallon delivered, and your kilowatt-hour rate, which averages 23.8¢/kWh statewide. The heat pump side of the estimate uses the zone 6 seasonal COP of 2.3, set for the cold months it must carry.
Why is heating such a big part of energy spending in Vermont?
Two figures on this page account for most of it. Winters are long, with 7,600 heating degree-days, 69% more than the US average of 4,500. Summers ask for little cooling: air conditioning is 4% of household energy spending, compared with 14% for the US. That leaves space heating at 39% of the bill, the 5th-highest share of the 50 reporting states, while the national share is 26%.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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