Heating cost, Washington
What It Costs to Heat a Home in Washington This Winter (2026-27)
Short answer: heating a typical 2,000 sq ft home in Washington costs about $1,117 a year with the cheapest option, an air-source heat pump, and about $3,610 with the most expensive, a heating oil boiler. Heating oil runs $3,610 and propane $2,112.
By Marcus Reed. Updated Nov 3, 2026. Part of our heating cost by state study.
Yearly heating cost in Washington, by system
| System | Washington a year | US average | Fuel used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air-source heat pumpCheapest8.1 HSPF2 | $1,117 | $1,138 | 8,521 kWh |
| Natural gas furnace95% AFUE | $1,236 | $831 | 727 therms |
| Propane furnace95% AFUE | $2,112 | $1,631 | 794 gallons |
| Electric resistance100% | $2,652 | $2,702 | 20,229 kWh |
| Heating oil boiler85% AFUE | $3,610 | $2,788 | 586 gallons |
Estimates for one reference home: 2,000 sq ft, average insulation, a normal winter. Equipment, maintenance, fan and pump electricity and tank rental are not included.
How Washington compares
Washington ranks 11th most expensive of 50 places with a real heating season when each uses its cheapest option, and 9th for a gas furnace. Its gas figure of $1,236 is 49% above the US average of $831.
The climate explains part of it. Washington averages 5,478 heating degree days a year (1991-2020 normal, weighted by where people live), 1.3 times the contiguous US figure of 4,230, so the same house needs 69.0 million BTU of heat a winter against 53.3 nationally. The rest is prices: electricity at 13.1 cents per kWh against a US average of 17.3, and the fuel prices below.
Is a heat pump worth it in Washington?
On running cost alone, an air-source heat pump costs $1,117 a year here. That is $2,493 a year less than heating oil, $995 less than propane and $1,535 less than electric baseboards. It also beats a gas furnace by $119 a year, so it is the cheapest way to heat in Washington.
Sizing decides whether a heat pump keeps up. Use our central heat pump size calculator for a ducted house or the mini-split calculator room by room.
Prices used for Washington
- Electricity
- 13.1 cents per kWh
- EIA 2025 state average
- Natural gas
- $1.70 per therm
- EIA state average
- Propane
- $2.66 per gallon
- EIA October 2026, US average
- Heating oil
- $6.16 per gallon
- EIA October 2026, US average
Where the EIA does not publish a Washington figure, we use its regional or US average and say so above. The full method and sources are in the main study.
Lowering the bill
- A setback schedule on a smart thermostat trims heating energy by about 8% by ENERGY STAR's estimate, about $89 a year on the air-source heat pump figure here.
- A space heater only saves money if the rest of the house is allowed to cool. At 13.1 cents per kWh a 1,500 W heater costs about $0.20 for each hour it runs on high; see what a space heater costs to run.
- Air sealing and attic insulation lower every number on this page in proportion, because they cut the heat the house needs.
Washington heating cost FAQ
How much does it cost to heat a house in Washington?
For a 2,000 sq ft home with average insulation in a normal Washington winter: $1,117 with an air-source heat pump, $1,236 with a natural gas furnace, $2,112 with a propane furnace, $2,652 with electric resistance heat, $3,610 with a heating oil boiler. That uses EIA prices for Washington and its 1991-2020 normal of 5,478 heating degree days.
What is the cheapest way to heat a home in Washington?
An air-source heat pump, at about $1,117 a year for our reference home. The next cheapest is a natural gas furnace at $1,236, and the most expensive is a heating oil boiler at $3,610. If you have no gas line, the choice is usually between a heat pump, propane and oil.
Is a heat pump cheaper than oil or propane in Washington?
Yes against oil: about $2,493 a year less. Against propane it saves about $995 a year. That uses a 8.1 HSPF2 heat pump.
How much heating oil or propane does a house in Washington use in a winter?
Our 2,000 sq ft reference home needs about 586 gallons of heating oil in an 85% efficient boiler, or 794 gallons of propane in a 95% furnace, in a normal Washington winter. Smaller or tighter homes use less; a cold winter uses more in proportion.
Marcus Reed
Founder and Editor, CrunchYourDollars
Marcus Reed builds the sizing tools on CrunchYourDollars. He is a software engineer with a long-running PC hardware and power supply habit, which is where the watts, watt-hours and surge math on this site comes from. Product specs are pulled from manufacturer data sheets, electricity rates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and water chemistry rules from the Water Quality Association. He is not a licensed electrician or plumber: the tools show the math and the matching models so you can make the call, and anything involving your electrical panel should be checked by a licensed pro.
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