Arizona propane, regional benchmark
Arizona propane prices: $2.72 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 Arizona and publishes no West Coast regional series. The figure here is our own estimate for Arizona, kept in line with the regional surveys we track; the chart below shows the US series for direction only.
Most of Arizona runs on Southwest Gas, so the propane customer lives in the high country above the Mogollon Rim and along the lower Colorado River. Short hauls from Permian and San Juan basin supply keep the state in the cheap tier of the West.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, regional residential series. Refreshed automatically every Tuesday in season; wholesale daily.
Arizona at a glance
Benchmark$2.72/gal
vs US ($2.67)2% above
500-gal fill (400 usable)$1088
Week by week, 2025-26 season
US average, the nearest published series to Arizona
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 Arizona prices are heading.
What a fill costs in Arizona at $2.72
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 $2.72 | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $218 | +$4 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $544 | +$9 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $1088 | +$18 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $2176 | +$37 |
A Arizona home heating on propane through a typical winter burns 1,000 to 1,500 gallons, so fuel alone runs about $2720 to $4080 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.
Arizona against its West neighbours
Arizona clusters with the short-haul interior states, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, all of which tap Permian and San Juan basin propane. Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington run substantially higher on import logistics, longer hauls and tighter coastal refining. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive Western states is the widest of any US census region.
| 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 Arizona runs 2% over the national average
Arizona prices below the coastal-West states because the supply chain is short and the customer base is concentrated. The drivers are structural, not seasonal.
Short-haul Texas and New Mexico supply.
Most Arizona residential propane originates in the Permian and San Juan basins, fractionated at New Mexico and West Texas facilities and moved to Arizona bulk plants at Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Kingman and Show Low by truck over hundreds rather than thousands of miles. That short haul, far closer to production than California, Oregon, Washington or import-only Hawaii, shows up directly in the retail rate.
Southwest Gas shrinks the customer base.
Southwest Gas serves the Sun Corridor (Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Glendale, Scottsdale, Peoria, Surprise) with piped natural gas, removing most of the population from the propane market. Residential propane concentrates in seven rural high-desert counties and on tribal lands. That means weaker route density, but it also clusters delivery into defined belts a small number of bulk plants can serve efficiently.
Highland second-home demand peaks in winter.
Flagstaff, Sedona, Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low, Williams, Prescott, Payson and the Mogollon Rim communities run propane-heavy because they sit above the natural-gas service area. Many of those homes are second residences or ski properties, and demand spikes into cold-snap weeks in December, January and February. Suppliers serving those ZIP codes price for the peak, and year-round locals extract better rates by negotiating on contract type and tank ownership.
Extreme-heat operating cost.
Arizona suppliers carry desert-specific overhead: bobtail trucks operate in summer ambient past 115 degrees Fahrenheit, bulk plants need shaded transfer areas to hold meter accuracy and prevent venting, and fleet maintenance cycles run tighter than in cooler regions. That cost spreads across every delivered gallon. It is real, but lower than the import-and-long-haul cost baked into coastal-West pricing.
Buying propane well in Arizona: four moves that change the bill
A good dealer is step one. In rural Arizona the gap between the cheapest local quote and the priciest national quote can run several hundred dollars a year. Here is where that money is won.
01
Verify the safety framework
Arizona has no single LP-gas dealer licence, so verification falls to you. Oversight splits between the State Fire Marshal (NFPA 58 code), local fire jurisdictions, and the Arizona Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures Division, which registers and inspects every commercial propane meter. If a company quoting you has not registered its trucks and bulk-plant meters, that is a red flag. Phone Weights and Measures at (602) 542-4373 to check a measurement complaint.
02
Lock summer, not autumn
Wholesale propane bottoms in late spring and summer when heating demand is near zero. Most Arizona regional suppliers run pre-buy enrolment between May 1 and August 31. For a 1,000-gallon Flagstaff or Show Low household, capping or pre-buying routinely saves 10 to 20% versus winter spot rates. Ask for a cap-price contract, which lets you keep the savings if wholesale falls, rather than a flat pre-buy that locks the price in either direction.
03
Quote all three supplier tiers
Arizona has a real three-tier market: national carriers, regional operators covering a cluster of counties, and single-town family businesses in the high country and river cities. In rural Arizona the spread between the cheapest local and priciest national quote can reach $0.40 to $0.60 a gallon, so pull one written quote from each tier. If you own your tank, say so up front: it removes the switching penalty that leased-tank customers face.
04
Check LIHEAP and Power AZ
The Arizona Department of Economic Security runs LIHEAP through county Community Action Agencies, paying $160 to $640 toward propane for households at or below 60% of State Median Income, with a crisis benefit up to $500 for empty tanks. The newer Power AZ program (March 2026) extends utility help up to 100% of State Median Income. Apply via the A-to-Z Arizona Portal at des.az.gov/liheap, your local Community Action Agency, or 1-866-494-1981.
Rated by customers
Arizona 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.
Central Highlands / Yavapai County
Barrett Propane
Prescott, Arizona
4.998 reviews, Birdeye
Prescott-area independent serving Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Williamson Valley. Customers repeatedly cite responsive office staff, timely delivery, and per-gallon rates well under the national chains.
See the reviews ›White Mountains / Navajo & Apache Counties
Owens Energy
Show Low, Arizona
4.793 reviews, Birdeye
Serving the Arizona White Mountains since 1999 across southern Navajo and Apache counties. Bulk delivery, cylinder fills, tank sales and service for the high country around Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside and Snowflake.
See the reviews ›West Arizona / Mohave County & the river cities
A & B Propane
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
4.745 reviews, Birdeye
Family owned and operated, running its own delivery drivers and service technicians across Lake Havasu City, Parker, Bullhead City, Kingman and Golden Valley in the lower Colorado River corridor.
See the reviews ›Coconino County / Flagstaff & Grand Canyon gateway
Superior Propane
Williams, Arizona
4.280 reviews, Birdeye
Williams-based family operator serving the Yavapai and Coconino high country toward Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon gateway, with automatic keep-full delivery for year-round and second homes.
See the reviews ›Arizona propane, the questions people ask
How much does propane cost per gallon in Arizona?
Arizona residential propane runs around $2.72/gal in 2026. The EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program (SHOPP) does not survey Arizona because Arizona sits in PADD 5 (West Coast) and the SHOPP residential propane series only covers PADDs 1 to 4. The figure on this page is a manually-verified estimate cross-checked against public Arizona supplier pricing and Arizona Corporation Commission filings. That is 2% above the $2.67 national average and sits against a $2.88 West regional average. Real quotes vary widely by location: Phoenix and Tucson metro households see lower rates where natural gas competes, while rural high-desert routes (Mohave, Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Cochise) routinely pay $0.30 to $0.60 above the statewide estimate because of route-density economics.
Does this page carry a full Arizona dealer directory?
Not yet. Several states on this site carry a complete license-verified dealer registry pulled from a public regulatory dataset, but Arizona does not publish a single statewide per-dealer LP-gas licence lookup we can republish, so there is no registry to mirror here honestly. Instead we lead with a small, hand-checked shortlist of well-reviewed Arizona operators across the major regions of the propane belt, with real star ratings read from their public Birdeye pages in August 2026. To find every dealer near a specific address, use the ZIP finder at propane-prices-near-me, or browse the supplier hub. We would rather show four verified operators than invent a long list.
Who regulates propane safety and dealer licensing in Arizona?
Oversight is split across state bodies, and Arizona is one of the few states without a single comprehensive LP-gas dealer licensing scheme. The Arizona State Fire Marshal (under the Department of Forestry and Fire Management) adopts NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, which sets storage, transfer, and tank-separation requirements; local fire jurisdictions also adopt and enforce NFPA 58 within their boundaries. Technicians transferring liquid LP-gas must be trained in NFPA 58 procedures and recertified at least every three years. The Arizona Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures Services Division licenses and inspects every commercial propane meter (bobtail trucks, bulk plants, autogas dispensers) for measurement accuracy under NIST Handbook 44; call (602) 542-4373 with a measurement complaint. The Arizona Corporation Commission regulates utility-style propane providers (common-carrier pipelines or master-metered service), but most residential bulk propane is not ACC-regulated. Because there is no one state dealer licence, verifying an operator matters more here than in heavily-regulated states.
Am I eligible for LIHEAP propane assistance in Arizona?
Arizona's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is administered by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) and delivered through county-level Community Action Agencies. Standard eligibility is at or below 60% of Arizona State Median Income (households of 10 or more use 150% of the federal poverty level). For federal fiscal year 2026, heating-and-cooling benefits run from $160 to $640 paid directly to your energy supplier, plus a crisis benefit up to $500 if your tank runs out or service is at risk. The broader Power AZ program, launched by the state in March 2026, extends utility assistance up to 100% of State Median Income for households that do not qualify for standard LIHEAP. Apply through the A-to-Z Arizona Portal linked from des.az.gov/liheap, request a paper application from your local Community Action Agency, or call the DES LIHEAP line at 1-866-494-1981 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday). Apply early: crisis-only requests can hit delivery delays in the January-February peak.
Why does propane cost more in Northern Arizona than in Phoenix?
Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, Sedona, Williams, Pinetop, Show Low, Prescott, Payson) is structurally more expensive than the Phoenix metro for residential propane, often by $0.40 to $0.80 per gallon. Three drivers. First, the natural-gas distribution network thins above the Mogollon Rim, so propane is the default heating fuel for a far larger share of households, but the route economics are weaker than dense urban delivery. Second, second-home and ski-area demand around Flagstaff and the Rim communities concentrates winter demand into short windows, and suppliers price for the peak. Third, the longer haul from Phoenix-area bulk plants up I-17 and Highways 87 and 260 adds delivery cost. If you own a Northern Arizona second home that sits empty from October to April, ask your supplier about a vacant-property service tier and whether they will skip auto-fill cycles while you are away.
Will my propane tank actually vent in Arizona summer heat?
Yes, and it is normal designed-for behaviour, not a fault. Above-ground residential propane tanks in Arizona routinely reach surface temperatures past 130 degrees Fahrenheit on summer afternoons in Phoenix, Yuma, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, and the lower deserts. Propane in the tank expands as it warms, which is exactly why NFPA 58 mandates the 80% fill rule: you get 80 usable gallons in a 100-gallon tank, 400 in a 500-gallon tank. When pressure rises high enough, the tank's pressure-relief valve briefly vents vapour to atmosphere with an audible hiss; this protects the tank and is not a leak. Reduce risk by siting tanks in shade where possible, keeping them light reflective colours (most are white or light grey from the factory for this reason), clearing vegetation to NFPA 58 separation distances, and never spraying water on a venting tank. If you smell propane that does not stop within seconds, evacuate and call 911 plus your supplier's emergency line.
I am a snowbird. How should I handle my Arizona propane account?
Snowbird households (Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Yuma, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City winter residents) typically use propane only October through April for water heating, cooking, pool and spa heating, and modest cool-night space heat. Three account types work well. Will-call only means you pay per fill with no auto-delivery; best if you watch your gauge and time fills to your departure dates, though you carry winter spot-price risk. Seasonal auto-fill has the supplier deliver October to April then suspend June to September while you are gone; most Arizona regional operators offer this, but ask explicitly. A cap-price contract for the snowbird season locks a per-gallon ceiling for your in-state months and lets you skip summer entirely. Tank rental is usually charged year-round regardless. Never let a tank sit empty over summer, because moisture and rust can compromise the interior coating.
Does propane service work on Navajo Nation, Hopi, and Apache reservations?
Yes, but it follows a different procurement path than off-reservation service. The Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, San Carlos Apache, White Mountain Apache, and Tohono O'odham reservations cover roughly a quarter of Arizona's land area, and propane is the primary heating fuel for a large share of households on each. Tribal utility authorities (notably NTUA, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority) run propane service in many areas; in others, off-reservation Arizona suppliers deliver onto reservation lands under tribal-government agreements. Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal LIHEAP allocations supplement the Arizona DES program for income-eligible tribal households. Pricing is generally similar to or slightly above adjacent off-reservation rural Arizona because of route distance. If you are a tribal member, ask your tribal utility authority first, because tribal-supplier rates and the tribal LIHEAP set-aside often beat an off-reservation private quote.
Keep reading
All Arizona dealers
Arizona 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.
Cost calculator
Apply Arizona pricing to your home, climate and usage profile.
When to buy propane
Seasonal price patterns and the best months to fill in Arizona.