Propane Price FAQ (Updated 30 March 2026)
Fifteen of the most common questions about US propane prices, answered with current EIA data and inline citations. Each answer stands as a citable paragraph.
What is the current price of propane per gallon?
As of the week ending 30 March 2026, the US average residential propane price was $2.674 per gallon (EIA Weekly Heating Oil and Propane Survey). State-level prices across the eight covered states ranged from $1.66 (Iowa) to $3.45 (North Carolina) for the same week. Live tracker on the homepage.
Are propane prices going up or down?
Week over week, residential propane moved by -0.4 cents per gallon (EIA, week of 30 March 2026). Compared with the same week of 2025, residential propane is 2.0% (higher). The price chart shows the full season trajectory. We do not predict direction; we report it.
Why is propane so expensive right now?
Four structural drivers shape the residential propane price: weather (heating-degree-days), inventory levels going into October, crude oil and NGL output, and regional distribution costs. Cold winters draw inventory faster than expected; tight inventory amplifies wholesale moves; the retail-wholesale spread carries those moves into household bills. Walked in detail at how prices are set.
When is the cheapest time to buy propane?
Historically, August and September are the cheapest months in the EIA monthly residential archive, averaging roughly 20 to 25 cents per gallon below the January-February peak in a normal year. The full 5-year overlay sits on /seasonal-patterns/. For buying-strategy advice (pre-buy contracts, capped-price contracts, summer fill discounts), see propanecostpergallon.com/when-to-buy.
What is the average price of propane in 2026?
The 2026 calendar-year average is not yet final (EIA monthly data through the year is still being collected). The 2025-2026 heating season averaged close to $2.62 per gallon based on the weekly readings October 2025 through March 2026. The 2025 full calendar year averaged $2.611 (EIA monthly archive). Year-to-date context updates with each EIA monthly release.
How much does propane cost per gallon in my state?
The EIA Weekly Heating Oil and Propane Survey publishes state-level prices for the highest-volume residential propane states. We cover eight: Texas ($2.989), Ohio ($2.695), Michigan ($2.370), North Carolina ($3.450), Iowa ($1.660), Pennsylvania ($3.083), Kentucky ($2.936), and Wisconsin ($2.066). Each state page has the weekly chart and regional context. See /by-state/. For state-level household annual cost rather than market price, see propanecostpergallon.com/prices-by-state.
What is wholesale propane priced at?
The Mont Belvieu spot benchmark, the standard wholesale price for US propane, recently traded near $0.788 per gallon (EIA daily series, week ending 30 March 2026). That is the price at which an NGL trader can transact a rail-car or pipeline shipment, not the price any homeowner can transact at. The retail-wholesale spread is explained here.
What is the EIA forecast for propane prices?
The EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook is the canonical forecast. Issued the second Tuesday of each month, it projects the residential propane price path through the next heating season. We quote STEO verbatim with the issue date stamped at /forecast/. We do not produce our own forecasts.
Why is residential propane so much higher than wholesale?
The current spread between residential ($2.674) and Mont Belvieu wholesale ($0.788) is $1.89 per gallon. That covers pipeline transport, regional terminal storage, tanker truck delivery, local distributor margin, tank rental amortisation, the seasonality risk premium, and regulatory fees. Full breakdown at /wholesale-vs-retail/.
How often does the propane price change?
The EIA Weekly Heating Oil and Propane Survey publishes the residential price every Wednesday afternoon during the heating season (October through March), and on the second Monday of each month during the off-season (April through September). Mont Belvieu wholesale spot trades daily. Retail prices typically change with each fill quote. Full refresh schedule at /methodology/.
What's the difference between propane price per gallon and propane cost per gallon?
The terms are commonly used interchangeably; on this site we distinguish them. Price is the market figure (residential, wholesale, spot) reported by EIA. Cost is the household out-of-pocket figure for a year, including the gallons used, the tank size, fees, and per-fill quotes. For household cost calculation see propanecostpergallon.com. For market price tracking stay here.
Will propane prices go up this winter?
The EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook is the only forecast we quote. The April 2026 STEO projects the 2026-2027 heating-season residential price in line with 2025-2026, with the central case assuming normal weather, normal autumn inventory build, and no major supply disruption. STEO confidence intervals are wide. See /forecast/.
What's the highest propane price has ever been?
The highest US monthly average residential propane price in the EIA archive is $4.011 per gallon, set in February 2014 during the polar vortex cold snap. The 2022 peak (March 2022, $3.019 per gallon) was the second-highest in the archive, driven by the global NGL repricing after the Russia-Ukraine invasion. Both are visible on the 12-year annual range chart.
How does crude oil affect propane prices?
The correlation is real but loose. Propane is a natural gas liquid produced both at gas processing plants (the larger US source) and at oil refineries. The gas-processing dominance means propane tracks NGL output more than crude. Crude shocks (2022) propagate, but normal-market correlations are weaker than headlines suggest. See how prices are set.
What is the spot price of propane today?
The Mont Belvieu daily spot benchmark is the standard. EIA publishes the daily series at eer_epllpa_pf4_y44mb_dpgD. FRED mirrors it as DPROPANEMBTX. Recent quote (week ending 30 March 2026): $0.788 per gallon. That is the wholesale figure; consumers pay residential.