What heats a city's homes shapes which contractors it needs: furnace and gas-line work, heat pumps and panel upgrades, or oil-boiler service and conversions. We ranked the 183 cities in the RateDeed directory by main heating fuel using the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (table B25040).
Key findings
- In 54 cities, most homes heat with electricity; in 114, most heat with natural gas from a utility.
- Nationally, 47% of homes heat with utility gas, 41% with electricity and 4% with fuel oil.
- Fairbanks, AK has the highest share of oil-heated homes: 54%.
Most electric-heated cities
| Rank | City | Share of homes | Second most common fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacksonville, FL | 94% | utility gas (3%) |
| 2 | Orlando, FL | 92% | utility gas (5%) |
| 3 | Tampa, FL | 92% | utility gas (6%) |
| 4 | Miami, FL | 91% | utility gas (3%) |
| 5 | Jackson, WY | 77% | utility gas (21%) |
| 6 | Mesa, AZ | 76% | utility gas (21%) |
| 7 | Huntsville, AL | 75% | utility gas (23%) |
| 8 | Eugene, OR | 75% | utility gas (22%) |
| 9 | Knoxville, TN | 75% | utility gas (24%) |
| 10 | Phoenix, AZ | 74% | utility gas (23%) |
Most gas-heated cities
| Rank | City | Share of homes | Second most common fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren, MI | 88% | electricity (10%) |
| 2 | Joliet, IL | 86% | electricity (12%) |
| 3 | Naperville, IL | 86% | electricity (12%) |
| 4 | Elizabeth, NJ | 86% | electricity (10%) |
| 5 | Buffalo, NY | 86% | electricity (10%) |
| 6 | West Valley City, UT | 86% | electricity (12%) |
| 7 | West Jordan, UT | 85% | electricity (13%) |
| 8 | Aurora, IL | 83% | electricity (15%) |
| 9 | Grand Rapids, MI | 83% | electricity (15%) |
| 10 | Rockford, IL | 82% | electricity (15%) |
Highest share of oil heat
| Rank | City | Share of homes | Second most common fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairbanks, AK | 54% | electricity (23%) |
| 2 | Lewiston, ME | 53% | utility gas (23%) |
| 3 | Juneau, AK | 48% | electricity (35%) |
| 4 | Bangor, ME | 48% | utility gas (22%) |
| 5 | Portland, ME | 31% | utility gas (39%) |
| 6 | Manchester, NH | 26% | utility gas (50%) |
| 7 | Bronx, NY | 21% | utility gas (52%) |
| 8 | Cranston, RI | 21% | utility gas (66%) |
| 9 | Warwick, RI | 20% | utility gas (64%) |
| 10 | Stamford, CT | 18% | utility gas (41%) |
Highest share of propane and bottled gas
| Rank | City | Share of homes | Second most common fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor, ME | 10% | fuel oil (48%) |
| 2 | Concord, NH | 8% | utility gas (50%) |
| 3 | Lewiston, ME | 7% | fuel oil (53%) |
| 4 | Portland, ME | 6% | utility gas (39%) |
| 5 | Nashua, NH | 6% | utility gas (70%) |
| 6 | Stamford, CT | 5% | utility gas (41%) |
| 7 | Manchester, NH | 5% | utility gas (50%) |
| 8 | Juneau, AK | 4% | fuel oil (48%) |
| 9 | Bridgeport, CT | 4% | utility gas (60%) |
| 10 | Dover, DE | 4% | utility gas (53%) |
What it means when you hire
- Gas-heated homes: a yearly furnace inspection and working carbon-monoxide alarms are worth insisting on; gas-line work should be permitted.
- Electric-heated homes: heat pumps and electric water heaters each typically need a dedicated 240-volt circuit, so panel capacity matters.
- Oil-heated homes: when an oil boiler or furnace needs replacing, get quotes on both a like-for-like system and a heat pump to compare running costs.
Methodology
Shares are of occupied housing units by house heating fuel, U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25040, retrieved through the Census Reporter API on 2026-11-05. Cities are RateDeed's 183 hub cities; each links to its city page.
Download the data
Download the full dataset as a CSV file (183 rows, one per city). It is free to reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license: credit RateDeed and link to this page.