Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Washington
In Washington, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,490.09 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $3,457.69 with electric resistance heat and $1,234.89 with a heat pump. Here the heat pump line comes in lowest: $15.31 per MMBtu of heat against $18.48 for gas.
State data
What Washington pays
- Electricity
- 14.6¢/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
- 4,800 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 4 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.8
Washington's rate of 14.6¢/kWh is the 12th-lowest among the 50 states and DC; every electric option on this page is priced from it. Residential gas in Washington is $1.70/therm, 15% above the US average of $1.48/therm. A winter of 4,800 heating degree-days means the 2,000 sq ft example in Washington needs about 80.6 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 Washington heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 37% · electricity 55% · propane not reported · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 47% · central heat pump 9% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 49%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,461 a year, of which $518 on space heating (34%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 66% of natural gas use · 26% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Electricity is the main heating fuel in a majority of Washington homes. In the 2020 survey 55% of households (about 1,620,000) heated mainly with electricity, the 8th-highest share of the 51 states and well above the US figure of 34%. Natural gas heats 37%, against 51% nationally. Propane and fuel oil are too rare for the survey to report a share.
Central heat pumps have not followed the electric majority. They heat 9% of homes, about 260,000, under the US share of 13%. Furnaces are 47%, the 7th-lowest share among the 50 states, so a large part of the state's electric heat runs through equipment that is neither a furnace nor a central heat pump. Nearly half of homes, 49%, also run a secondary heater.
The bill is small and heat is a big piece of it. Households spend $1,461 a year on energy, the 3rd-lowest total in the country, and $518 of that on space heating, close to the US figure of $519. Because the rest of the bill is light, heat takes 34% of it, the 14th-highest share of the 50 states. Air conditioning barely registers at 3%, against 14% nationally, while water heating takes 21%. Heat is also a bigger slice of household electricity than usual: 26%, against 12% for the US.
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 Washington. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 14.6¢/kWh · Washington · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.70/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 4,800 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: $3,457.69 a year · Gas furnace: $1,490.09 a year, for 80.6 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 80.6 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $42.88
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $18.48
- Electric resistance, per year
- $3,457.69
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,490.09
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$1,967.60
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.8
- Prices used
- electricity 14.6¢/kWh · gas $1.70/therm · propane $2.80/gal · oil $3.90/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $1,234.89
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 Washington
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Washington needs about 80.6 MMBtu of heat a year (4,800 heating degree-days). At $1.70/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $18.48 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 14.6¢/kWh costs $42.88, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.8 (zone 4) costs $15.31. The year comes to $1,490.09 on gas, $3,457.69 on resistance heat and $1,234.89 on a heat pump. The heat pump is the cheapest to run here, by $255.20 a year over gas.
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 Washington
The prices in Washington lean toward the heat pump. Electricity costs 14.6¢/kWh, 19% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 12th-lowest rate among the states, while gas costs $1.70/therm, 15% above the US average of $1.48/therm. For the example house that leaves a heat pump ahead by $255.20 a year. The tie comes at 17.7¢/kWh, against a state average of 14.6¢/kWh; compare it with the per-kilowatt-hour price on your own bill, including any tiers. Above the tie rate, gas takes the lead back.
The winter helps the heat pump rather than hurting it. Its 4,800 heating degree-days are 7% more than the US average of 4,500, an ordinary season, and climate zone 4 lets the estimate use a seasonal COP of 2.8. That efficiency is what turns cheap power into cheap heat.
For the electric majority, the bigger comparison is resistance against heat pump. Resistance heat costs 2.3 times what gas does per unit of heat at these prices, and a heat pump delivers the same heat from a fraction of the kilowatt-hours. A home on baseboards or wall heaters should run that comparison first; the heat pump size page gives a starting capacity, and the heat pump payback page turns a yearly gap and a quote into years. With 49% of homes running a secondary heater, the space heater vs central heat page shows when heating one room beats heating the house.
The survey's $518 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. Water heating is the other line worth a look here, at 21% of the bill against 15% nationally; the heat pump water heater page prices that switch at your rate.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Washington, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Washington: $3,457.69 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $1,967.60 more than gas. Between gas ($1,490.09) and a heat pump ($1,234.89), the heat pump is cheaper here: its heat costs $15.31 per MMBtu, gas $18.48. These are estimates at 14.6¢/kWh and $1.70/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Washington?
About 877 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Washington's 4,800 heating degree-days. That averages 73 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 $1,490.09.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Washington?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 14.6¢/kWh, that heat costs $42.88 per MMBtu in Washington, against $18.48 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.70/therm, 2.3 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $3,457.69 a year against $1,490.09.
Will a heat pump still beat gas in Washington if my electric rate is above the state average?
Up to a point. The estimate puts the tie at 17.7¢/kWh: below it the heat pump costs less to run than a 92% gas furnace in the example house, above it gas does. The state average is 14.6¢/kWh. To find your own rate, divide the energy charges on a bill by the kilowatt-hours billed, then type it and your gas price into the calculator above.
Why does heat take 34% of the energy bill in Washington when the dollars are close to the US average?
Because the whole bill is small. A household here spends $1,461 a year on energy, the 3rd-lowest total among the states, and $518 of it on space heating, against $519 nationally. Cooling takes 3% of the bill here, against 14% for the US. A similar heating cost on a lighter bill makes a larger share.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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