How Much Does the Average Gas Bill Cost?

Budgeting out your monthly expenses is a great way to stay on track with your finances—and to determine how much you can afford to spend on your rent or mortgage in the first place. Relevant cost factors that you’ll want to be sure to keep in mind include things like groceries and student loan or auto loan payments. Also key to account for are your utility expenses—including your average gas bill—which, depending on where you live and with how many people, could end up accounting for a good chunk of your necessary spending each month.

Natural gas is used for things like cooking, heating, and running a number of appliances. In the U.S., it accounts for 44% of energy use consumption, which is slightly more than electricity. And while it’s not quite as pricey as electric, the average gas bill does tend to be one of the more costly utilities for a homeowner or renter, especially during colder months when you have more extensive heating needs.

Below, we’re breaking down how much you can expect to spend on your gas bill, as well as some simple ways to cut back if you’re looking to minimize your expenses.

What is the cost of the average gas bill?

The average gas bill in the United States is $59.33 a month or $721 a year, according to the American Gas Association.

There are a couple major factors that impact how much you’ll spend on natural gas each month, including:

• • Where you live. The average gas bill cost varies pretty widely by state. As you might expect, residents of states with colder climates tend to pay more for gas than those in milder climates. There are also state- and region-wide gas rates that effect what the total comes out to (we’ll break those down in another section).
  • Your total gas usage. The bigger your home and the more people who live in it, the higher your gas bill is likely to be. That’s because you’ll be doing more of the things that natural gas is used for, such as cooking, heating, and running your hot water.

  How is a gas bill calculated?

  Gas is measured in BTUs (British Thermal Units), which calculates the amount of energy needed to produce heat (or more specifically, the amount of energy needed to heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit).

  Every residence has a gas meter on the outside that reports your BTU usage. Natural gas companies use this number to determine what your bill is going to be, with some other add-ons like customer service fees and state and local taxes totaling up to your final bill.

  The good news is that as homes get more energy efficient, so does our BTU usage. In 2015, the average U.S. household used about 77 million BTUs in the year, reports the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s roughly the same amount that was being used in homes built in the 1960s, despite the fact that today’s homes are on average 27% larger.

  Average cost of a gas bill by state and region

  How much you’ll spend on gas over the course of a year is largely dependent on where you live, since costs vary quite a lot between regions and states. Here’s how various areas compare so that you can estimate what your own gas bill cost might be.

  Note: Data provided average bill amount by year, which we divided by 12 in order to estimate the average monthly cost.

  New England – $106.42
  Connecticut – $108.17
  Maine – $114.67
  Massachusetts – $107.08
  New Hampshire – $96.5
  Rhode Island – $103.42
  Vermont – $96.25

  Middle Atlantic – $82.50
  New Jersey – $68.33
  New York – $92.75
  Pennsylvania – $81.42

  East North Central – $64.75
  Illinois – $70.67
  Indiana – $58.25
  Michigan – $66.83
  Ohio – $67.75
  Wisconsin – $54.08

  West North Central – $59.67
  Iowa – $52.08
  Kansas – $60.17
  Minnesota – $62.25
  Missouri – $67.50
  Nebraska – $49.50
  North Dakota – $51.75
  South Dakota – $46.33

  South Atlantic – $57.08
  Delaware – $64.92
  District of Columbia – $69.75
  Florida – $35.83
  Georgia – $54.25
  Maryland – $69.08
  North Carolina – $55.92
  South Carolina – $46.25
  Virginia – $66
  West Virginia – $58.92

  East South Central – $49.75
  Alabama – $50.92
  Kentucky – $58.83
  Mississippi – $42.58
  Tennessee – $46.17

  West South Central – $44.42
  Arkansas – $55.75
  Louisiana – $37.92
  Oklahoma – $55.83
  Texas – $42.08

  Mountain – $45.12
  Arizona – $37
  Colorado – $50.92
  Idaho – $40.17
  Montana – $50.33
  Nevada – $42.75
  New Mexico – $38
  Utah – $50.75
  Wyoming – $56.58

  Pacific – $47.67
  Alaska – $122.83
  California – $44.83
  Hawaii – $73.33
  Oregon – $52.08
  Washington – $60.33

  Source: American Gas Association; data from 2019

  As you can see from the above data, the U.S. region with the highest average gas bill is New England at $106.42 per month, while if you live in the West South Central region you’ll only be on the hook for about $44.42 per month. Meanwhile, you can expect to spend the most per month on your gas bill if you live in a state like Alaska or Maine, with significantly lower costs for states like Florida and Arizona (not surprising, since the latter two states don’t require much in terms of monthly heat usage).

  7 ways to lower your gas bill

  Natural gas is a super convenient source of energy, particularly when it comes to things like heating and powering certain appliances. But if you want to keep your monthly costs down, there are some easy things you can do in order to lower your gas bill and use energy more efficiently in your home.

  Don’t use heat when you’re not home
  

  Winterize your home
  

  Don’t preheat your appliances longer than you have to
  

  Get an energy audit
  

  Use your gas fireplace
  

  Have your water heater insulated
  

  See if your area has a customer choice program
  

  Making small changes in the way that your home utilizes gas can have a significant impact on how much your bill runs each month. We recommend sourcing as much information as you can about your individual natural gas usage—much of which is already included right on your bill or can be accessed by placing a request with your provider. This includes comparing your usage week-to-week and month-to-month to analyze when you’re tacking on the most to your bill. From there, you can make a conscious decision to adjust your habits in the pricier time frames, using fewer BTUs and minimizing your monthly spend.