Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Wyoming
In Wyoming, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,526.97 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $5,257.73 with electric resistance heat and $2,285.97 with a heat pump. Wyoming's $1.13/therm gas against 14.4¢/kWh electricity keeps the gas furnace ahead of a heat pump by $759.00 a year.
State data
What Wyoming pays
- Electricity
- 14.4¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.13/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/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
Wyoming's rate of 14.4¢/kWh is the 10th-lowest among the 50 states and DC; every electric option on this page is priced from it. Residential gas in Wyoming is $1.13/therm, 24% below the US average of $1.48/therm. At 7,400 heating degree-days, Wyoming is in the 6,000-plus band on this site; the 2,000 sq ft example needs 124.3 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
How homes in Wyoming heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 71% · electricity 18% · propane 8% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 68% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 9%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 52%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,802 a year, of which $748 on space heating (41%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 78% of natural gas use · 19% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Wyoming heats with gas, and heating is a bigger part of the household budget here than anywhere else. In the 2020 survey, 71% of homes (about 160,000) named natural gas as their main heating fuel, the 7th-highest share of the 50 states that report it, against 51% nationally. Electricity heats 18%, against 34% for the US, and propane 8%, against 4%. Fuel oil is too rare to report.
The equipment is mostly the furnace. A furnace is the main heater in 68% of homes, against 60% nationally, and a boiler in 9%. The survey does not report a central heat pump share for Wyoming: too few homes in its sample had one to publish a figure. A secondary heater is in use in 52% of homes.
What stands out is the bill. A household spends $1,802 a year on all energy, the 31st-highest among the states, but $748 of it goes to space heating, the 9th-highest figure in the country. That is 41% of the energy bill, the highest share of the 50 states that report it, against 26% nationally. Air conditioning takes only 5%. In a gas home, space heating uses 78% of the gas, against 68% for the US. A total near the middle of the states with a heating line near the top: that is a long winter showing up in the household budget.
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 Wyoming. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 14.4¢/kWh · Wyoming · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.13/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: $5,257.73 a year · Gas furnace: $1,526.97 a year, for 124.3 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 124.3 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $42.29
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $12.28
- Electric resistance, per year
- $5,257.73
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,526.97
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$3,730.76
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 14.4¢/kWh · gas $1.13/therm · propane $2.30/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,285.97
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 Wyoming
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Wyoming needs about 124.3 MMBtu of heat a year (7,400 heating degree-days). At $1.13/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $12.28 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 14.4¢/kWh costs $42.29, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $18.39. The year comes to $1,526.97 on gas, $5,257.73 on resistance heat and $2,285.97 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $759.00 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 Wyoming
At average prices the estimate favors gas in Wyoming, and by a wide margin. Both fuels are cheap: electricity costs 14.4¢/kWh, 21% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and gas $1.13/therm, 24% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 15th-lowest gas price in the country. The heat pump would match a 92% furnace only at 9.6¢/kWh, against a state average of 14.4¢/kWh, and the yearly gap for the example house is $759.00.
The winter is what widens it. Wyoming's 7,400 heating degree-days are 64% more than the US average of 4,500, the 6th-highest count among the states, and climate zone 6 gives the heat pump a seasonal COP of 2.3 in the estimate. A lower COP and a large heat load work against the heat pump at the same time: each unit of heat costs more than it would in a mild zone, and there are many more units to buy. Cheap gas in a cold state is the combination that favors the furnace most.
That changes for homes that do not have gas. Electricity heats 18% of homes and propane 8%, and for them the comparison is different. Resistance heat costs 3.4 times as much as gas per unit of heat at these prices, so a home on baseboards or an electric furnace is the case where a heat pump's efficiency makes the biggest difference. For propane, the propane vs electric page takes your delivered price per gallon.
With heat this large a share of the bill, the way you run the furnace is worth pricing too. The thermostat setback page estimates what lowering the setpoint at night or while away is worth over a long season.
The survey's $748 a year averages every home and fuel, including apartments; the calculator prices one 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation, so the two measure different things. Type the rate and gas price from your own bill into the calculator above to replace the averages.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Wyoming, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Wyoming: $5,257.73 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $3,730.76 more than gas. Between gas ($1,526.97) and a heat pump ($2,285.97), gas is cheaper here: $12.28 per MMBtu of heat against $18.39 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3. These are estimates at 14.4¢/kWh and $1.13/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Wyoming?
About 1,351 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Wyoming'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 $1.13/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,526.97.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Wyoming?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 14.4¢/kWh, that heat costs $42.29 per MMBtu in Wyoming, against $12.28 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.13/therm, 3.4 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $5,257.73 a year against $1,526.97.
Can a heat pump compete with gas in Wyoming's winters?
On running cost at average prices, the estimate says no: it favors gas by $759.00 a year for the example house. A heat pump would need an electricity rate under about 9.6¢/kWh to tie, against an average of 14.4¢/kWh. The seasonal COP of 2.3 for climate zone 6 already accounts for the cold. The answer is different if you heat with resistance or propane rather than gas; run those comparisons separately.
I heat with propane in Wyoming. Which comparison applies to me?
Not this page's main one, which prices natural gas. Propane is the main heating fuel in 8% of Wyoming homes, about 20,000, against 4% nationally. The propane vs electric page compares a propane furnace with resistance heat and a heat pump at your delivered price per gallon and your electricity rate, 14.4¢/kWh on average here. Over 7,400 heating degree-days, the price per gallon on your last delivery is the number that decides it.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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