Alaska propane, regional benchmark
Alaska propane prices: $3.85 a gallon
Latest EIA residential survey, week ending 30 March 2026, the final release of the 2025-26 heating season. Weekly updates resume in October; the wholesale benchmark below is live.
EIA does not survey Alaska and publishes no West Coast regional series. The figure here is our own estimate for Alaska, kept in line with the regional surveys we track; the chart below shows the US series for direction only.
Every residential gallon has already crossed the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea or the Pacific Northwest rail corridor before a retailer touches it. Anchorage and the Mat-Su are the cheapest ground, the Interior costs more, and off the road system the logistics can outweigh the fuel.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, regional residential series. Refreshed automatically every Tuesday in season; wholesale daily.
Alaska at a glance
Benchmark$3.85/gal
vs US ($2.67)44% above
500-gal fill (400 usable)$1540
Week by week, 2025-26 season
US average, the nearest published series to Alaska
Every point is an EIA survey week. This season the series ran from a low of $2.42 (6 Oct) to a high of $2.68 (23 Mar). Against the same week a year earlier it is -1%.
$2.42
Season low
6 October 2025
$2.68
Season high
23 March 2026
$2.69
Same week last year
31 March 2025, now -1%
$0.85
Wholesale today
Mont Belvieu spot, 15 September 2026, +17c vs a month ago
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, residential propane, full-service delivery, published October to March. Wholesale is the Mont Belvieu, TX spot price; retail usually follows it by four to eight weeks, which makes it the best off-season signal of where Alaska prices are heading.
What a fill costs in Alaska at $3.85
Tanks fill to 80% of their stated size to leave room for expansion, so a 500-gallon tank takes about 400 gallons. The right-hand column is the difference against the same fill at the US average.
| Tank | Usable gallons | Fill at $3.85 | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $308 | +$94 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $770 | +$235 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $1540 | +$470 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $3080 | +$941 |
A Alaska home heating on propane through a typical winter burns 1,000 to 1,500 gallons, so fuel alone runs about $3850 to $5775 at this price, before tank rent or a service plan. The average is a benchmark, not a quote: enter your ZIP to ask up to three local dealers what they would charge you.
Alaska against its West neighbours
California, Oregon and Washington run cheaper because Pacific Northwest rail and refinery proximity drop the structural cost floor. The Mountain states (Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah) sit close to or below the national average thanks to pipeline access and denser route economics. Alaska's premium reflects the import-only supply chain, not retailer margins.
| State | Price/gal | 500-gal fill | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $2.12 | $848 | -21% |
| Wyoming (regional est.) | $2.27 | $906 | -15% |
| Colorado | $2.30 | $921 | -14% |
| Utah | $2.34 | $935 | -13% |
| Idaho | $2.40 | $959 | -10% |
| Arizona (regional est.) | $2.72 | $1088 | +2% |
| New Mexico (regional est.) | $2.93 | $1172 | +10% |
| Nevada (regional est.) | $2.95 | $1180 | +10% |
| Oregon (regional est.) | $2.98 | $1192 | +11% |
| Washington (regional est.) | $3.02 | $1208 | +13% |
| California (regional est.) | $3.42 | $1368 | +28% |
| Alaska (regional est.) | $3.85 | $1540 | +44% |
| Hawaii (regional est.) | $4.15 | $1660 | +55% |
| West average | $2.88 | $1152 | +8% |
States marked regional est. are not surveyed individually by EIA and carry their PADD regional figure. Full table on prices by state.
Why Alaska runs 44% over the national average
Alaska is structurally one of the most expensive propane markets in the country, and the reasons are geographic and logistical rather than seasonal. They will not normalise without a shift in regional infrastructure that nobody is currently building. The figure on this page is a road-system anchor; the real range across the state is enormous.
No in-state propane production.
Roughly 90% of US propane comes from natural-gas processing in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and the Appalachian shale plays. None of that supply is in Alaska. Every residential gallon has been moved at least once across the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, or the Pacific Northwest rail corridor before a retailer touches it, so the structural cost floor is high before any local markup.
A rail-plus-barge-plus-air supply chain.
Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley receive propane by rail tank car from Tacoma. Southeast, the Aleutians and the western hubs rely on seasonal barge runs. Bush communities off the road system get small barge plus airfreight resupply. Each transfer is a margin layer, and in the most remote villages a single 100-gallon delivery can carry hundreds of dollars of pure logistics on top of wholesale.
Extreme cold multiplies the per-gallon premium.
Interior winters routinely deliver -40F to -60F overnight lows from December through February. A propane-heat household in Fairbanks burns well above what a same-size Lower-48 house would, so a high per-gallon price gets multiplied by a high gallon count. That combined burden is exactly why the HAP benefit formula weights interior and Bush zones more heavily.
A thin, dispersed customer base, and ENSTAR owns Anchorage.
ENSTAR Natural Gas serves most of Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, which leaves propane as primarily a peri-urban, off-grid and rural fuel statewide. Low residential customer density per supplier route translates straight into per-gallon overhead, particularly in Southeast and the Interior, where two or three retailers may serve an entire region.
Buying propane well in Alaska: four moves that decide the bill
A good shortlist is step one. In a market this expensive, and especially for a high-use Interior or off-road home, the gap between a careless account and a well-run one is real money across a winter.
01
Vet the dealer yourself
Alaska publishes no per-dealer licence lookup, so verification is on you. Bulk dealers must comply with the Alaska LP-Gas Code (NFPA 58, 2020) enforced by the State Fire Marshal at the Division of Fire and Life Safety. Ask which operator certifications their staff hold and ask for proof of insurance. A straight answer is the test.
02
Buy around the barge calendar
Wholesale bottoms in late spring and early summer. Many road-system suppliers run pre-buy from May 1 to August 31; Southeast and Aleutian suppliers set windows around barge resupply. Lock a summer rate rather than pay winter spot, ask for a cap-price contract over a flat pre-buy, and if your tank is below 30% by early September, fill it. January bargains do not show up here.
03
Quote delivered, not FOB
Alaska's market is a local independent versus a national carrier. Pull a written quote from each and insist every quote itemises per-gallon price, delivery fee, tank rental, minimum-delivery surcharge, and any airfreight or barge premium. Confirm whether it is a delivered or FOB-terminal price, and off the road system ask whether it is bulk fill or 100-lb cylinder pricing, since the per-gallon-equivalent differs sharply.
04
Check HAP eligibility
The Alaska Heating Assistance Program (Division of Public Assistance) helps propane households at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, with an FY2026 benefit from $350 up to $6,125 weighted toward colder interior and Bush zones. Apply at a local DPA office or by mail, fax or email; call the Heating Assistance Office on 800-470-3058 or dial Alaska 2-1-1. The season runs October 1 to April 30.
Rated by customers
Alaska propane dealers worth calling first
A short, hand-checked list with strong public review scores, spread across the state. Ratings were read from the platforms named in August 2026 and move over time; a high score is where to start, not a guarantee. Get three written quotes whoever you call.
Anchorage / Southcentral & Mat-Su
The Propane Guys
Anchorage, Alaska
100%21 reviews, Facebook recommendations
Locally owned Anchorage operator running a drive-up fill station plus residential and commercial delivery across Anchorage, Eagle River, Palmer and the Mat-Su Valley. Cited repeatedly for same-week service and no-surprise pricing. The figure shown is a 100% recommend rate, not a star score.
See the reviews ›Fairbanks / Interior
Crowley Fuels
Fairbanks, Alaska
4.047 reviews, Birdeye
Alaska's largest fuel wholesaler, delivering propane in bulk, tanks and bottles to more than 160 communities. The Fairbanks delivery arm covers the Interior road system with scheduled and will-call fills.
See the reviews ›Southeast Alaska
Petro Marine Services
Ketchikan / Juneau, Alaska
4.215 reviews, Chamber of Commerce
Family-owned Alaskan petroleum marketer since 1959, serving Southeast and Southcentral with propane delivery and gas-fireplace sales and installation. One of the few sizeable independents on the Panhandle.
See the reviews ›Alaska propane, the questions people ask
Does this page list every licensed propane dealer in Alaska?
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. Alaska has no single public, consumer-facing per-dealer LP-gas registry we can republish the way Wisconsin, Texas or Florida do. The Alaska Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire and Life Safety (the State Fire Marshal's Office) adopts and enforces the Alaska LP-Gas Code, which is based on NFPA 58 (2020), and oversees LP-gas operator training and bulk-storage approvals, but it does not publish a browsable list of retail propane sellers you can search by name. So this page does not carry a full state dealer directory. What we offer instead is a hand-checked shortlist of operators with genuine public review evidence by region, an honest call-list for the areas where independents are thin, and the ZIP finder at /propane-prices-near-me/ plus the supplier directory at /supplier/ to find companies serving your address.
Who delivers propane on the Kenai Peninsula, in the Interior and off the road system?
Outside Anchorage, well-reviewed independents thin out fast and the national chains that dominate the Kenai Peninsula carry low public scores. Rather than dress up a handful of ratings as a ranking, these are real, verifiable operators worth a call as a starting point. Propane Alaska LLC, based in North Pole, covers Fairbanks and North Pole with independent Interior propane sales, delivery and tank service. Crowley Fuels runs Bush terminals serving Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome and more than 160 villages by barge and shallow-draft resupply, with year-round terminals at the western hubs. AmeriGas and Suburban Propane cover the Kenai Peninsula, Mat-Su and Fairbanks, including Soldotna, Homer, Wasilla and Fairbanks: real coverage, but public review scores run low, so quote them against a local operator. Confirm current service and LP-gas operator certifications before you commit.
How do I check that an Alaska propane supplier is legitimate and compliant?
Because Alaska publishes no per-dealer license lookup, verification is done by asking the supplier directly. Any bulk dealer or installer in Alaska must comply with the Alaska LP-Gas Code (NFPA 58, 2020) enforced by the State Fire Marshal's Office within the Division of Fire and Life Safety, carry insurance, and meet operator-training qualifications. Before you sign, ask which operator certifications their delivery and installation staff hold and ask for proof of liability insurance; a reputable Alaska dealer answers both without hesitation. Trade-body membership is a positive signal, not a license substitute: the Pacific Propane Gas Association (pacificpga.org) is the regional body covering Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, and the National Propane Gas Association (npga.org) runs a national member directory. If an installation looks non-compliant, the State Fire Marshal's Office is the right escalation path.
Am I eligible for the Alaska Heating Assistance Program (HAP)?
HAP is Alaska's LIHEAP-funded heating assistance program, administered by the Alaska Department of Health, Division of Public Assistance (DPA). Core eligibility for heating and crisis assistance is household income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, and propane-heated households qualify alongside heating-oil, natural-gas, electric and wood customers. The FY2026 benefit ranges from a minimum of $350 to a maximum of $6,125 and is set by a points system that weights your area of the state (interior and Bush zones earn higher point loadings to reflect colder climate and import-only fuel logistics), heat type and dwelling type. The heating season runs October 1 through April 30, with winter crisis assistance available through June 30; it is one benefit per household per season. Apply in person at a local DPA office, or by mail, fax or email, and reach the Heating Assistance Office at 800-470-3058 or [email protected], or dial Alaska 2-1-1. Note that the older state-funded Alaska Affordable Heating Program, which once extended help to households between 151% and 225% of the poverty level, has not been funded since FY2016, so do not count on it.
How much do propane prices vary between Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Bush Alaska?
Materially. Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley are the cheapest part of the state because propane arrives by rail tank car from Tacoma to a handful of Southcentral terminals; competitive supplier density and short last-mile delivery keep retail close to the statewide reference on this page. Fairbanks and the Interior typically run $0.30 to $0.80/gal above Anchorage because of trucking distance from rail terminals plus winter route surcharges. Bush Alaska villages off the road system (Kotzebue, Bethel, Nome, Dillingham, North Slope communities) rely on seasonal barge resupply and small air shipments, and retail commonly runs 50% to 150% above the Anchorage rate. In the most remote villages a 100-gallon delivery can cost several hundred dollars once airfreight surcharges load in. Always check whether a quote is delivered or FOB terminal, and whether bulk-fill or 100-lb cylinder pricing applies.
When is the cheapest time to fill my propane tank in Alaska?
Late spring through midsummer, roughly May through August. Propane wholesale follows a seasonal cycle: prices bottom after the heating season ends and before the next pre-buy window opens, then climb sharply from November through February. In Alaska the off-season window is shaped by barge scheduling: many Southeast and Aleutian suppliers run their pre-buy and cap-price contracts between May 1 and August 31, before the late-September barge runs price the next season's inventory. If your tank is below 30% in early September, fill it. Do not gamble on a January price drop in Alaska; supply tightness during the deepest cold months has historically widened the spread, not narrowed it. Households on auto-fill should set their reorder threshold at 30% rather than 20% to give the supplier route flexibility, which several Alaska operators reward with a small off-peak discount.
Should I switch from heating oil or a wood stove to propane in Alaska?
It depends on where you live. In Southeast Alaska and Anchorage, propane competes with heating oil and electric resistance; propane usually wins on cleanliness and appliance flexibility (gas range, dryer, generator, on-demand water heat) but sits slightly above heating oil on per-BTU cost. In Fairbanks and the Interior the realistic comparison is propane versus #1 heating oil versus a wood stove, and cordwood remains the cheapest BTU in the Interior, so many homes run a wood-stove primary plus a propane secondary for shoulder-season and overnight comfort. Propane delivers about 91,500 BTU per gallon versus roughly 138,500 for #1 heating oil, so you burn about 1.5 gallons of propane to match 1 gallon of oil. At Alaska prices that puts whole-house propane space heat above heating oil and well above cordwood. The strongest case for propane in Alaska is appliance use and remote cabin sites where bulk oil delivery is impractical, not whole-house space heat in an Interior climate.
Keep reading
All Alaska dealers
Alaska propane dealers by city and ZIP.
Dealers near you
Enter a ZIP to see the closest dealers and ask up to three for a price.
Propane prices today
The daily wholesale benchmark and the live state summer surveys.
Prices by state
All 50 states side by side, with regional context.
What a fill costs
Tank sizes, the 80% rule and the national refill guide.
How to pay less
Pre-buy timing, switching, owned versus leased tanks.
Propane vs heating oil
Per-BTU economics and which fuel wins for cold-climate Alaska homes.
500-gallon tank cost
Buy, install and refill costs for the most common residential tank size.