Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,405.36 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $7,072.25 with electric resistance heat and $3,074.89 with a heat pump. Wisconsin's $1.04/therm gas against 19.4¢/kWh electricity keeps the gas furnace ahead of a heat pump by $1,669.53 a year.
State data
What Wisconsin pays
- Electricity
- 19.4¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.04/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/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
Wisconsin's residential rate of 19.4¢/kWh sits between 15¢ and 20¢/kWh, 7% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Wisconsin's residential gas costs $1.04/therm, 30% below the US average of $1.48/therm. Wisconsin'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
Wisconsin runs on gas furnaces
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 71% · electricity 14% · propane 10% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 78% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 8%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 43%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,779 a year, of which $567 on space heating (31%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 81% of natural gas use · 9% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Few states depend on one heating setup as much as Wisconsin does. Natural gas was the main fuel in 71% of homes in the 2020 survey, about 1,700,000, the 7th-highest gas share of the 50 states that report it, against 51% nationally. Propane comes second with 10%, about 240,000 homes and the 8th-highest propane share, where the US is at 4%. Electricity heats only 14%, the 10th-lowest electric share of any state; the survey reports no fuel oil share.
The furnace is the machine behind those numbers. It is the main heater in 78% of homes, the 7th-highest furnace share among the states, against 60% for the US. Boilers account for 8%, the national rate, and central heat pumps were too uncommon in the sample to publish. A secondary heater runs in 43% of households.
Spending is close to the national pattern despite the cold. The typical household pays $1,779 a year for energy, with $567 of it for space heating, 31% of the bill against 26% nationally; both figures rank near the middle. Gas homes spend 81% of their gas on space heat, above the US figure of 68%, while cooling takes just 7% of all energy spending.
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 Wisconsin. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 19.4¢/kWh · Wisconsin · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.04/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: $7,072.25 a year · Gas furnace: $1,405.36 a year, for 124.3 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 124.3 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $56.89
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $11.30
- Electric resistance, per year
- $7,072.25
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,405.36
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$5,666.89
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 19.4¢/kWh · gas $1.04/therm · propane $2.10/gal · oil $3.50/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $3,074.89
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 Wisconsin
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Wisconsin needs about 124.3 MMBtu of heat a year (7,400 heating degree-days). At $1.04/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $11.30 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 19.4¢/kWh costs $56.89, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $24.73. The year comes to $1,405.36 on gas, $7,072.25 on resistance heat and $3,074.89 on a heat pump. A heat pump would need electricity near 8.9¢/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
The cold-climate case in Wisconsin
Every input in the estimate points the same way here. Gas is $1.04/therm, 30% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 8th-lowest price in the country. Electricity is 19.4¢/kWh, 7% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. And the winter is long: 7,400 heating degree-days, 64% more than the US average of 4,500 and the 6th-highest total among the states, which places Wisconsin in climate zone 6 with a seasonal heat pump COP of 2.3 in the calculator. For the example house that adds up to $1,405.36 a year on a 92% furnace against $3,074.89 on a heat pump, a lead of $1,669.53 for gas.
To tie with gas, a heat pump would need electricity at 8.9¢/kWh, against the state average of 19.4¢/kWh. With the two rates that far apart, running cost is not the argument for a heat pump in a Wisconsin gas home; cooling, or reasons outside this calculator, would have to carry it. A dedicated heat pump tariff is the one number on a bill that could narrow the gap, so check your utility's rate options before ruling it in or out.
The comparison changes for the homes not on the gas network. Propane households, about 240,000 of them, pay by the gallon, so the right tool is the propane vs electric calculator with your delivered price. The 14% of homes on electric heat face the steepest bills on this page if that heat is resistance: $7,072.25 a year for the example house, 5.0 times the cost of gas per unit of heat. A heat pump cuts that to $3,074.89 in the same estimate.
With a furnace in most homes and a season this long, sizing and settings matter. The furnace size calculator checks whether a replacement is oversized, and the thermostat setback page prices a lower setpoint. The survey's $567 averages apartments and houses across every fuel; the calculator's example is one 2,000 sq ft house, so use your own gas price and rate above.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Wisconsin, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Wisconsin: $7,072.25 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $5,666.89 more than gas. Between gas ($1,405.36) and a heat pump ($3,074.89), gas costs less to run in Wisconsin, by an estimated $1,669.53 a year. These are estimates at 19.4¢/kWh and $1.04/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Wisconsin?
About 1,351 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Wisconsin'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 $1.04/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,405.36.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Wisconsin?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 19.4¢/kWh, that heat costs $56.89 per MMBtu in Wisconsin, against $11.30 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.04/therm, 5.0 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $7,072.25 a year against $1,405.36.
Will a heat pump lower my heating bill in Wisconsin if I have gas?
At average prices, the estimate says it would raise it. The example house costs $1,405.36 a year on gas and $3,074.89 on a heat pump, a gap of $1,669.53 for gas. Gas at $1.04/therm is among the cheapest in the country, and a climate-zone 6 COP of 2.3 reflects how hard the cold works the heat pump. It would tie only with electricity at 8.9¢/kWh.
I heat with propane in Wisconsin. Does this page apply?
Only partly. The estimate above compares natural gas at $1.04/therm with electric heat; propane is priced by the gallon. Propane is the main fuel in 10% of Wisconsin homes, the 8th-highest share among the states that report it. Run the propane vs electric calculator with the price on your last delivery and your electricity rate, 19.4¢/kWh on average; with 7,400 heating degree-days, the climate-zone 6 COP of 2.3 is already built in.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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