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How much will it cost to heat your home this winter?

Heating a home will cost about $1,030 this winter, and far more on oil. What changes your price is below.

That is the NEADA projection for winter 2026 to 2027, up $82 or 8.7 percent. The Northeast average is $1,449. Heating oil prices were $5.40 to $5.90 a gallon on September 21, 2026, and oil heated homes are projected to pay 31.3 percent more than last winter. Electric heat is up 9 percent, propane 8.7 percent and natural gas 5.8 percent.

Heating a home will cost about $1,030 this winter, and far more on oil

Estimate your winter heating cost to cost

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Low$2,825High
Your estimateUS average
$2,700to$2,950

Middle of the range: $2,825

$0$2,000$4,000
Normal range Middle

What you are paying for

Oil for a winter500 gallons. US range for this job.$2,700 to $2,950
Your rangeLow to high for your picks.$2,700 to $2,950
US averageLocal prices not added yet.US price
Middle of rangeHalfway between low and high.$2,825
How we calculate this

    Prices are for the United States in 2026 from published cost guides, checked September 2026. This is an estimate, not a quote.

    Middle $2,825$2,700 to $2,950

    Winter heating cost by fuel

    All fuels, US average$1,030 for the season, up $82 from last winter. NEADA counts mid November to mid March.
    Northeast average$1,449.
    Natural gasUp 5.8 percent. NEADA put last winter's gas heated home at $704, so our math gives about $745 this winter.
    Electric heatUp 9.0 percent. Up 35.7 percent since the winter of 2021 to 2022.
    PropaneUp 8.7 percent. Still 14.7 percent below the winter of 2021 to 2022.
    Heating oilUp 31.3 percent. Up 62.1 percent since the winter of 2021 to 2022. One report on the NEADA numbers notes many oil heated homes already paid more than $2,000 a season.

    Heating oil prices right now

    Retail price per gallon$5.40 to $5.90 for a 150 gallon order, with an average of $5.54, on September 21, 2026. Up 50 cents in one week.
    A 150 gallon deliveryAbout $810 at $5.40.
    Futures priceAbout $5.06 to $5.20 per gallon in mid September 2026, near a record and about 120 percent above a year earlier.
    What is in a gallonHeatFleet, citing EIA shares: crude oil is 53 percent of the price, about $2.93. Refining is 15 percent. Distribution and marketing are 32 percent.
    SuppliesEIA data for the week ended September 11 showed distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel, 13 percent below the five year average.

    Propane, gas and electric prices

    Propane$2.67 per gallon was the last EIA national average, in March 2026. A 500 gallon tank fill is about $1,070. See our propane page for prices by state.
    ElectricityIn EIA's 2025 to 2026 outlook, power averaged about 24 cents per kWh in the Northeast, 16 cents in the Midwest and 15 cents in the South.
    Natural gasThe cheapest heating fuel in most regions and the most common. NEADA says more than 275 gas and electric utilities have raised rates or asked to since 2025.
    Who uses whatHeating oil now heats about 4 percent of US homes, and about three quarters of them are in the Northeast.

    What pushes your bill up

    Your fuelThis winter the fuel matters more than anything. Oil is up 31 percent. Gas is up 6.
    Your regionThe Northeast is coldest, has the dearest power and burns the most oil.
    The weatherNEADA's forecast assumes a warmer than normal El Nino winter. A cold one would push every number on this page higher.
    Your houseAttic insulation, air leaks and the age of the furnace or boiler decide how many gallons or therms you burn.
    How you buyOil and propane bought one delivery at a time in January cost more than fuel locked in before the season.

    Why oil is the outlier this winter

    Heating oil is a close cousin of diesel. Both are distillates, made from the same cut of crude oil. Since late February 2026 the war with Iran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. NEADA says crude was about $72 a barrel before the conflict and then rose toward $100. AAA's national average for diesel passed $6 a gallon for the first time on September 11, 2026, against about $3.70 a year earlier. Heating oil followed it up.

    Gas and electric bills move slowly, because utilities change rates through regulators. Oil moves the day the market moves. That is why NEADA has gas up 5.8 percent and oil up 31.3 percent in the same winter.

    What an oil heated home can do now

    First, fill early. HeatFleet showed prices up 50 cents in a single week in mid September. Second, ask your dealer about a price cap plan, which sets a ceiling but lets you pay less if prices fall. Third, get the burner serviced, at $75 to $200, so it burns clean. Fourth, price attic insulation at $1,700 to $2,500. It is the cheapest way to burn fewer gallons.

    If you cannot pay the bill

    LIHEAP is the federal program that helps with heating bills, and it is run by each state. NEADA says about one in six US households is behind on utility bills. Apply early in the season, because funds run out. Your state's LIHEAP office or 211 can start the application. Many oil dealers and utilities also offer budget plans that spread the cost over 10 to 12 months.

    When this page updates

    EIA publishes its Winter Fuels Outlook each October and restarts its weekly survey of heating oil and propane prices by state at the same time. We will update the numbers here when those land.

    How to judge the price you were quoted

    Ways to pay less