EIA residential propane, Idaho
Idaho propane prices: $2.40 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.
A Rocky Mountain market supplied on short hauls off Salt Lake City and Billings refining, with a deep agricultural customer base on the Snake River Plain. Piped gas covers the cities, so residential propane is rural farm country, the panhandle lakes and the mountain resort corridor.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, Idaho residential series. Refreshed automatically every Tuesday in season; wholesale daily.
Idaho at a glance
Latest survey$2.40/gal
vs week before+1.3c
vs 4 weeks before+2.9c
vs same week last year-8%
vs US ($2.67)10% below
Among 38 surveyed states16th cheapest
500-gal fill (400 usable)$959
Week by week, 2025-26 season
Idaho against the US average
Every point is an EIA survey week. This season Idaho ran from a low of $2.29 (20 Oct) to a high of $2.43 (2 Feb), with the US average finishing at $2.67. Against the same week a year earlier it is -8%.
$2.29
Season low
20 October 2025
$2.43
Season high
2 February 2026
$2.60
Same week last year
31 March 2025, now -8%
$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 Idaho prices are heading.
What a fill costs in Idaho at $2.40
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 $2.40 | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $192 | -$22 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $479 | -$55 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $959 | -$111 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $1918 | -$222 |
A Idaho home heating on propane through a typical winter burns 1,000 to 1,500 gallons, so fuel alone runs about $2397 to $3595 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.
Idaho against its West neighbours
The cheap Western cluster is the Rocky Mountain PADD 4 states, close to Salt Lake City and Billings refining and the Bakken and Niobrara NGL streams. Idaho sits in that group. The regional average is pulled up by Hawaii (import-only), Alaska (barge logistics), and the Pacific Coast, which truck and ship from far longer supply chains.
| 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 Idaho runs 10% under the national average
Western states are not priced alike. California, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and Alaska sit well above the national mark on import-only logistics and distance to production. Idaho sits in the cheap Rocky Mountain cluster, and the reasons are structural, not seasonal.
PADD 4 supply, refined next door.
Idaho sits inside EIA's PADD 4 district, the smallest and most production-rich PADD relative to its consumption. The Salt Lake City refining complex (Marathon, HF Sinclair, Big West) is within short interstate haul of southern Idaho along I-15 and I-84, and the Billings, Montana complex (CHS, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66) feeds eastern Idaho by rail and truck. Bakken NGLs from North Dakota and Niobrara output from Wyoming deepen the pool. Terminals at Pocatello and Idaho Falls have pulled from those hubs for decades, which keeps regional wholesale low and predictable.
An agricultural base that anchors residential pricing.
Idaho is the top potato state, a top-five dairy state, a major hops grower and a significant sugar beet producer. Potato drying and storage humidity control, dairy water heating, hops oast drying and beet processing pull large propane volumes across the Snake River Plain. That volume justifies in-state bulk storage and dense supplier routes that residential customers draw from, holding residential margins below what a residential-only market would carry.
Natural gas covers the cities, so propane is rural and resort.
Intermountain Gas Company's network covers the Treasure Valley, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and the Magic Valley urban cores, so those homes burn piped gas, not propane. Idaho's propane base concentrates in rural Snake River Plain farm country, North Idaho timber and lake communities, off-grid Sawtooth and Salmon parcels, and the Wood River Valley resort corridor. Concentrated, established routes create sharp supplier competition that holds margins down.
Resort and panhandle surcharges are real but bounded.
The headwind is delivery cost into mountain second-home zones (Sun Valley and Ketchum, McCall, Stanley, Donnelly) and panhandle rural addresses, plus winter pass closures on Banner Summit, Galena Summit and Lolo Pass that gate delivery windows. Suppliers there add roughly a $25 to $75 per-delivery surcharge. Even with that added back, the cheap wholesale base keeps Idaho mountain and panhandle pricing under the West regional average.
Buying propane well in Idaho: four moves that decide the bill
A verified registry is step one. The gap between a careless will-call account and a well-run one, especially for a high-use panhandle or mountain home, is real money across a winter.
01
Verify the DOPL license
Anyone selling, filling, delivering or installing LP-Gas in Idaho must hold an LPG dealer license under Idaho Code Title 54, Chapter 53, issued through the Board of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety inside DOPL. Match the licence number in the registry, then search the operator on dopl.idaho.gov/license-search before you sign. If no license returns, walk away, because operating without one is unlawful.
02
Lock summer before the harvest pull
Wholesale bottoms in late spring, but Idaho pre-buy slots close earlier than in non-ag states because the August-to-October potato-drying season pulls supplier capacity. Lock a cap-price or pre-buy contract by mid-July, and by mid-June for Sun Valley or McCall mountain routes. Ask for a cap price (you keep the saving if wholesale falls) over a flat pre-buy, and ask whether unused prepaid gallons roll forward.
03
Quote all three supplier tiers
Idaho runs a three-tier market: national carriers (AmeriGas, Suburban, Ferrellgas), Rocky Mountain regionals and farm cooperatives with in-state bulk storage near Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Burley, Twin Falls, Boise or Lewiston, and local independents dense in a single county or valley. Bulk-facility licensees with their own storage can shave 20 to 40 cents a gallon off chain pricing, and locals often beat both. Pull one written quote from each tier, and say up front if you own your tank. In the Magic Valley and the panhandle, where public review counts are thin, long-established operators worth a first call include Valley Wide Cooperative (Nampa, statewide farm cooperative since 1920), V-1 Propane in Twin Falls, North Idaho Propane in Hayden (serving Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint since 1990) and The CO-OP Gas & Supply Co. in Sandpoint.
04
Check Idaho LIHEAP eligibility
Idaho LIHEAP, run by the Department of Health and Welfare and delivered through county Community Action Agencies, pays an annual heating benefit toward propane for income-qualified households, from $122 up to $1,285 for the 2025-2026 year, paid straight to your supplier. The ceiling is the greater of 150% of the federal poverty guideline or 60% of state median income. Apply through your local Community Action Agency, at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov, or via the Idaho CareLine on 2-1-1.
Rated by customers
Idaho 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.
Treasure Valley & McCall
Ed Staub & Sons Propane
Nampa, Idaho
4.9470+ reviews, Birdeye
Long-running regional marketer covering the Boise-Nampa-Caldwell corridor and up into McCall, and one of the most-reviewed propane operators in the state by a wide margin.
See the reviews ›Eastern Idaho & Teton Valley
Fall River Propane
Ashton, Idaho
4.9130+ reviews, Birdeye
Independent serving Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Ashton and Driggs (and into western Wyoming and southwest Montana) since 1999, repeatedly cited for fast response and tank installs.
See the reviews ›Eastern Idaho (Idaho Falls / Pocatello)
LP Propane
Idaho Falls, Idaho
4.150+ reviews, Birdeye
Family-owned Idaho Falls independent (formerly Bingham) that competes hard on per-gallon price, with reviewers repeatedly calling it the cheapest local delivery.
See the reviews ›Verified on the state registry
8 of the 320 Idaho dealers on the DOPL register
| Dealer | City | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| 807 N Division LLC DBA Clm | Pinehurst | listing |
| A & B Zimmer Enterprises LLC | Arco | listing |
| A To Z Rentals, LLC | Post Falls | listing |
| A To Z Rentals, LLC | Ponderay | listing |
| A To Z Rentals, LLC | Dalton Gardens | listing |
| A-1 Lewiston LLC | Lewiston | listing |
| Abundant Life RV Park | Caldwell | listing |
| Ace Hardware | Post Falls | listing |
Source: Idaho DOPL LPG licensee registry, captured 25 August 2026. A registry listing is a licence record, not an endorsement. Confirm current standing on the DOPL license lookup.
Idaho propane, the questions people ask
Where do the dealers on this page come from?
The registry list is drawn from the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) LPG licensee list, the state's public record of businesses licensed to sell, fill, deliver or install LP-Gas, administered by the Board of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety, captured on 25 August 2026. It is a licence-standing snapshot, not an endorsement or a ranking, and only about two dozen of the licensees publish a phone number. Confirm current standing on the DOPL license lookup and get three written quotes before you sign. The rated shortlist above it is separate: a hand-checked set of dealers with strong public review scores.
How do I check that an Idaho propane dealer is licensed?
Any person who sells, fills, refills, transports, delivers, installs, or maintains LP-Gas systems in Idaho must hold an LPG dealer license issued under Idaho Code Title 54, Chapter 53. The credential is administered by the Idaho Board of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety, which sits inside the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL). Search any company on the DOPL license lookup at dopl.idaho.gov/license-search before you sign, and if the operator does not return a license, walk away, because operating without one is unlawful under the chapter. The board can be reached on (208) 334-3233. Separately, the Idaho State Fire Marshal (within the Idaho Department of Insurance) enforces NFPA 58, the LP-Gas Code, covering tank siting, container exchange and bulk storage, which is the right escalation path if an installation looks non-compliant.
What is the difference between an LPG Facility License and an LPG Bulk Facility License?
Both credentials appear in the DOPL registry on this page. An LPG Facility License covers a location that dispenses or handles liquefied petroleum gas for end users, the typical retail refill and delivery point. An LPG Bulk Facility License covers larger bulk-storage operations that hold and distribute propane at volume, the kind of in-state storage that feeds a supplier's delivery fleet and the ag accounts. A bulk-facility licence is a signal of scale and in-state storage, which is exactly the tier that can shave cents off a per-gallon quote, but both licence classes are legitimate operators. The licence number beside each dealer (for example PGF-1284) is the DOPL credential you can search directly.
Am I eligible for Idaho LIHEAP heating assistance for propane?
Idaho's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is administered by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), Division of Welfare, and delivered locally through Community Action Agencies that together cover every county in the state. It is a federally funded annual benefit that helps pay for a primary heat source, propane included, for income-qualified households. The federal eligibility ceiling is the greater of 150% of the federal poverty guideline or 60% of Idaho's state median income, so read the current income table for your household size rather than assuming. For the 2025-2026 benefit year the payment runs from a $122 minimum to a $1,285 maximum, paid directly to your propane supplier or utility. Households with a member under age 6, age 60 or older, or with a disability can begin applying earlier in the season than other households. Apply through your local Community Action Agency or the DHW heating-assistance page at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov, or call the Idaho CareLine at 2-1-1.
Why is propane cheaper in Idaho than the West regional average?
Idaho residential propane is $2.40 a gallon in the latest EIA SHOPP reading, against a $2.67 national average and a $2.88 West regional average. Idaho sits in the cheap Western cluster, and every state in that cluster is inside EIA's PADD 4 (Rocky Mountain) supply district. Idaho draws short-haul propane from Salt Lake City refining (Marathon, HF Sinclair, Big West) and Billings, Montana refining (CHS, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66), plus Bakken and Niobrara NGL supply, on far shorter haul distances than California, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, or Alaska. The West average is dragged up by Hawaii (import-only), Alaska (barge logistics), and the Pacific Coast, which is why the regional mark sits well above the Rocky Mountain states.
Why is potato-drying propane such a big deal in Idaho?
Idaho is the country's largest potato-producing state by a wide margin, and propane is the dominant fuel for post-harvest crop drying, storage humidity control, and frost protection. The harvest cycle pulls large bulk-propane volumes through roughly August to October across the Snake River Plain (Bingham, Bonneville, Cassia, Minidoka, Power, Jefferson, Twin Falls, Jerome, Canyon, Payette and Madison counties). Add dairy water heating (Idaho is a top-five US dairy state, concentrated in the Magic Valley around Twin Falls), hops oast drying in the Treasure Valley, and sugar beet processing, and Idaho has one of the deepest agricultural propane customer bases in the West. That ag baseline justifies in-state bulk storage and rail-served terminals at Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Burley, Twin Falls, Boise and Lewiston, and it gives suppliers the volume cushion to quote sharper residential rates than they could in a residential-only market. Ag propane is wholesale-indexed and usually contracted annually with regional bulk-plant operators; most ag dealers offer materially better per-gallon pricing above about 5,000 gallons a year, so talk to your local farm cooperative before going direct.
When should Idaho households lock in a summer pre-buy?
May through July is the standard window, and it pays off harder in Idaho than most states because the same retailers serving residential routes also serve the ag accounts. Residential pre-buy slots that overlap with the August-to-October potato-drying pull on supplier capacity tend to close earlier here than in non-ag states, so lock your cap-price or pre-buy contract by mid-July. Mountain second-home owners in Sun Valley and Ketchum, McCall, Stanley and Donnelly should move earlier still, by mid-June, because resort delivery routes are smaller and fill before peak summer construction demand. A typical 1,000-gallon Idaho household that locks a summer rate rather than paying winter will-call routinely saves a few hundred dollars across the heating season; a high-use North Idaho or Wood River home at 1,200 to 1,400 gallons saves more. Read the contract: a cap-price contract lets you keep the savings if wholesale falls, while a flat pre-buy locks you in either direction.
Why is most of urban Idaho not a propane market at all?
Intermountain Gas Company runs natural-gas distribution across the Treasure Valley (Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Meridian, Eagle, Star), plus Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls and other Magic Valley cores. Inside that footprint homes burn piped natural gas, not propane. That is why Idaho's residential propane base concentrates in well-defined pockets: rural Snake River Plain farm country, North Idaho timber and lake communities (Coeur d'Alene, Hayden Lake, Sandpoint, Priest Lake), off-grid parcels in the Sawtooth and Salmon ranges, and the Wood River Valley resort corridor. North Idaho winters run colder than the Treasure Valley, so a 2,000 to 2,500 square-foot propane-heated home in Bonner or Boundary County typically burns 1,000 to 1,400 gallons a year against 700 to 900 for a comparable off-grid Treasure Valley home. Panhandle supply also leans on Spokane-area and Coeur d'Alene marketers, because it is cheaper to truck propane down US-95 from Spokane than over the passes from southern Idaho.
Keep reading
All Idaho dealers
The complete verified directory of 320 Idaho 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 in Idaho rural and panhandle homes.