Home Heating Cost in Missouri (2027): Natural Gas vs Oil vs Electric
Heating costs for your home size in Missouri
Fuel choice moves a heating bill more than almost anything else, so we priced all five side by side for Missouri. Rates are today's state averages, the load comes from Climate Region #3 and your square footage, and the equipment is a standard mid-efficiency setup, as in our heating cost calculator.
In Missouri, a season of heat for 1,840 sq. ft. costs roughly $1,200 at the low end (a heat pump) and $3,550 at the high end (heating oil).
Missouri Heating Fuel Costs for One Season
| Fuel & equipment | Price | Season use | Cost / season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric heat pumpductless, ~2.9 COP | $0.168per kWh | 7,093kWh | ~$1,200 |
| Natural gasnatural gas boiler, 82 AFUE | $1.92per therm | 856therms | ~$1,650 |
| Propanepropane boiler, 82 AFUE | $2.06per gal | 935gals | ~$1,930 |
| Electric baseboardresistance heat | $0.168per kWh | 19,952kWh | ~$3,360 |
| Heating oiloil boiler, 82 AFUE | $5.74per gal | 617gals | ~$3,550 |
Season estimates for a 1,840 sq. ft. home, rounded up to $10, from the same math and rates as our heating cost calculator. Use the buttons to see a drafty or a tight house.
A Season of Heat, Fuel by Fuel
Same house, same winter, five fuels. Hover a bar for the use and the rate behind it.
Season = the modeled Missouri heating load on standard mid-efficiency equipment; fuels ranked like the heating cost calculator (pellet and wood stoves are manual-load and stay unranked).
10-Year Heating Cost Outlook for Missouri
Today's ranking is one winter. Over 10 winters, price trends matter too. Electricity in Missouri rose about 1.63% a year between 2013 and 2023 in our energy data, and both electric lines follow that trend. We have no matching long record for natural gas, heating oil or propane, so the buttons show two cases instead of a guess. Hover or tap a winter for every fuel's cost.
Winter 1 uses today's rates and later winters apply the trend, all at average insulation; every total is rounded up to the next $10.
If natural gas, heating oil and propane stay at today's prices, a heat pump costs about $12,860 over 10 winters here, against about $36,160 for electric baseboard heat.
Missouri Climate and Your Heating Load
Missouri sits in Region #3, the middle of the map: winter days near 40°F, nights near 22°F. A house needs a solid amount of heat, but far less than in the northern tier, so the fuel ranking can tip either way.
What the local weather means for heating equipment:
Hard freezes. If the heat fails during a deep freeze, water pipes can split within hours. Book the tune-up before the first cold snap, and consider a freeze alarm or a thermostat that sends alerts.
Hail damage. Hailstones bend the thin fins of an outdoor coil and cut its airflow. A coil guard or a sheltered spot is a small cost; straighten or replace damaged fins after a storm.
Frost on the coil. Wet air close to freezing builds frost on an outdoor heat pump, which then runs brief defrost cycles. Set the unit where meltwater drains away so it does not refreeze around the base.
Shop for heating equipment in the shoulder months. If the air conditioner is also aging, a heat pump replaces both in one visit.
What Moves the Bill Besides the Fuel
- Insulation and air sealing. The model moves the load 12% either way: from average to poorly insulated, or from average to well insulated. On a heat pump in Missouri, each step is about $150 a season. Try the insulation buttons above the table.
- The ducts. A forced-air system with bare ducts loses roughly 17% of its output on the way to the rooms, according to the calculator's duct model. Ductless systems and radiators skip that loss.
- Up the flue. Going from 82 to 93 AFUE saves about $200 a season on natural gas. Holding on to an aging 62 AFUE unit costs about $530 extra.
Heat Pump vs. Electric Baseboard in Missouri
Both electric rows use the same $0.168 per kWh rate. The difference is the machine: resistance heat converts power to heat one for one, while a heat pump gets about 2.9 units of heat per unit of power here. The result is about $1,200 a season instead of $3,360. In Missouri that makes it the lowest-cost fuel in the table.
Missouri Heating: Quick Answers
Is it worth switching off heating oil in Missouri?
For most homes, yes. This house would spend about $3,550 a season on heating oil and about $1,200 on a heat pump, so 10 winters at flat prices leave roughly $23,500 on the table. Weigh that against the conversion quote.
Which heating fuel costs least in Missouri?
Right now it is a heat pump, at about $1,200 a season for 1,840 sq. ft. The runner-up is natural gas at about $1,650. A heat pump needs only an electric connection, so it is an option for almost any home.
How much does insulation change the heating bill here?
With a heat pump, a poorly insulated 1,840 sq. ft. home costs about $1,340 a season and a well-insulated one about $1,060. That $290 gap repeats every winter.
Wood and pellet stoves are not ranked here because someone has to load them. The pellet stove calculator prices them on their own.
How to read this page: every figure is a model estimate built on today's Missouri average rates. It ranks fuels fairly against each other; your own bill depends on the weather, the building and the equipment.
