Louisiana propane, regional benchmark
Louisiana propane prices: $2.93 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 Louisiana on its own. The figure here is the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) regional average, the closest published benchmark; real Louisiana quotes can sit well either side of it.
Louisiana produces and stores some of the cheapest wholesale propane in the country, then spends most of that edge on the last mile: long rural routes, low customer density outside the gas-main metros, and a coastal storm-risk premium.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, regional residential series. Refreshed automatically every Tuesday in season; wholesale daily.
Louisiana at a glance
Benchmark$2.93/gal
vs US ($2.67)10% above
500-gal fill (400 usable)$1172
Week by week, 2025-26 season
Gulf Coast (PADD 3), the nearest published series to Louisiana
Every point is an EIA survey week. This season the series ran from a low of $2.82 (6 Oct) to a high of $2.94 (2 Feb). Against the same week a year earlier it is -1%.
$2.82
Season low
6 October 2025
$2.94
Season high
2 February 2026
$2.97
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 Louisiana prices are heading.
What a fill costs in Louisiana at $2.93
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 $2.93 | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $234 | +$20 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $586 | +$51 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $1172 | +$102 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $2343 | +$204 |
A Louisiana home heating on propane through a typical winter burns 1,000 to 1,500 gallons, so fuel alone runs about $2929 to $4394 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.
Louisiana against its South neighbours
Louisiana sits in the cheaper half of the South, below the regional average and close to the Gulf-Coast NGL and Mont Belvieu supply base. Even so, its retail rate lands higher than that wholesale position alone would suggest, because the edge is absorbed by rural-route economics, low residential density outside the gas-main metros, and the coastal storm-risk premium.
| State | Price/gal | 500-gal fill | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $2.27 | $909 | -15% |
| Arkansas | $2.37 | $947 | -11% |
| Louisiana (regional est.) | $2.93 | $1172 | +10% |
| Kentucky | $2.94 | $1174 | +10% |
| Texas | $2.99 | $1196 | +12% |
| Mississippi | $3.05 | $1221 | +14% |
| Georgia | $3.16 | $1266 | +18% |
| Tennessee | $3.25 | $1299 | +21% |
| North Carolina | $3.45 | $1380 | +29% |
| South Carolina (regional est.) | $3.51 | $1405 | +31% |
| West Virginia (regional est.) | $3.51 | $1405 | +31% |
| Alabama | $3.52 | $1406 | +31% |
| Virginia | $3.56 | $1426 | +33% |
| Maryland | $3.74 | $1496 | +40% |
| Florida | $4.71 | $1882 | +76% |
| South average | $3.26 | $1304 | +22% |
States marked regional est. are not surveyed individually by EIA and carry their PADD regional figure. Full table on prices by state.
Why Louisiana runs 10% over the national average
Louisiana produces and stores some of the cheapest wholesale propane in the country, yet its residential retail rate lands squarely mid-South. The wholesale-to-retail gap is one of the widest anywhere, and the reasons are structural, not seasonal.
Wholesale advantage, retail reality.
Major NGL fractionation, storage, and export terminals at Sulphur (Calcasieu Parish), Convent (St. James Parish), and Baton Rouge sit on top of pipeline access to the Mont Belvieu hub through the Sabine corridor. Louisiana wholesale propane is among the cheapest in the country, but residential retail is set by last-mile economics, not wholesale.
Rural-route economics.
The residential propane base is concentrated in rural North Louisiana (Claiborne, Union, Morehouse, Winn, Bienville), the Cajun-country prairies (Acadia, Vermilion, St. Landry, Evangeline), and small-town Southwest Louisiana. Long routes, low customer density, and miles of bobtail time per gallon land in the per-gallon retail rate, not the wholesale cost.
Natural gas owns the metros.
Atmos Energy, CenterPoint, and municipal gas utilities cover the I-20 corridor, Shreveport-Bossier, Monroe, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, the New Orleans metro, and parts of Acadiana. Inside those maps natural gas dominates, leaving propane the rural and small-town routes where per-route economies are structurally smaller.
Coastal storm-risk premium.
Suppliers serving Cameron, Vermilion, Iberia, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and Terrebonne carry higher insurance, tank-washout replacement reserves, and post-storm crew costs, all averaged across the customer base. The 1 June to 30 November generator surge also pulls inventory into the residential channel at higher carrying cost than steady-state delivery.
Buying propane well in Louisiana: four moves that change the bill
A good dealer list is step one. In Louisiana the real money is won on permit checks, off-season timing, storm readiness, and the assistance you may already qualify for.
01
Confirm the LPGC permit
Every business selling, delivering, or installing LP-gas in Louisiana must hold a Louisiana LP Gas Commission permit under La. R.S. 40:1846 et seq. Retail-fill dealers hold Class 6; full-service delivery dealers hold Class 1. Check the company on the Commission's permit-holder list at lpg.dps.louisiana.gov or call (225) 925-4895. Insurance and inspection cover hang on that standing.
02
Pre-buy in the warm months
Louisiana's heating season is short, but wholesale still bottoms in the warm months. Most suppliers run pre-buy or cap-price enrollment from May through August, and locking then routinely saves 10 to 20% for a 1,000-gallon household versus winter spot rates. Ask for a cap-price contract, which lets you keep the saving if wholesale falls, and ask whether unused pre-paid gallons roll forward.
03
Get ahead of hurricane season
From 1 June to 30 November, coastal parishes see a generator-driven demand surge. Top off before the season, not once a storm is named, and get on an automatic-delivery plan so you sit ahead of will-call customers when a supplier prioritises. Keep two filled 20-lb cylinders plus a spare for cooking after a power loss. Post-landfall delivery can pause 24 to 72 hours while terminals are assessed.
04
Check LIHEAP through the LHC
The Louisiana Housing Corporation runs LIHEAP statewide, paying benefits toward propane for households at or below 60% of State Median Income (about $30,618 for one person, up to $84,790 for a household of ten in FFY2026). A Crisis component covers empty tanks and shutoffs. Apply at lhc.la.gov/energy-assistance through your local Community Action agency, and apply early: funds run first-come.
Rated by customers
Louisiana 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.
Acadiana / Lafayette
Romero's Grocery & Propane
Lafayette, Louisiana
4.160 reviews, Birdeye
Long-standing neighbourhood grocery-and-propane on Moss Street in Lafayette, the kind of Cajun-country counter-fill operation that anchors residential refills across Acadiana.
See the reviews ›Southwest Louisiana / Lake Charles
Sandifer's LP Gas & Service
Serving Calcasieu & Cameron, Louisiana
4.9133 reviews, Birdeye
Family-owned since 1927, running propane delivery, tank installs and cylinder exchange across Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana from Silsbee and Port Arthur offices. Serves the Lake Charles and Sulphur corridor.
See the reviews ›Bayou parishes / Terrebonne-Lafourche
Gas and Supply (Houma)
Houma, Louisiana
4.013 reviews, Birdeye
Houma branch of the Louisiana-founded Gas and Supply group, handling propane fills and industrial gas for the Terrebonne-Lafourche bayou country.
See the reviews ›Southwest Louisiana / rice prairies
Lake Arthur Butane & Propane
Lake Arthur, Louisiana
5.02 on Yelp, BBB A+ accredited reviews, Yelp / BBB
Family-owned for more than 75 years out of Lake Arthur in Jefferson Davis Parish, delivering across the rice-and-crawfish prairies and into Lake Charles. Small public review base but a clean BBB record.
See the reviews ›Verified on the state registry
8 of the 1,752 Louisiana dealers on the LPGC register
| Dealer | City | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Box Cost-Plus #656 | Marrero | (479) 757-0295 |
| 21 Fuel Stop LLC | Angie | (985) 516-5894 |
| 24/7 Express | Eunice | (504) 628-6082 |
| 24/7 Xpress | Sulphur | (504) 628-6783 |
| 2s Feed And Seed | Jonesville | (318) 403-9095 |
| 3 Piers Seafood Market | Des Allemands | (985) 206-8082 |
| 3-J's Four Way | Natchitoches | (318) 379-2209 |
| 301 Seafood Market | Baton Rouge | (225) 924-6367 |
Source: Louisiana LP Gas Commission permit-holder list, captured 5 June 2026. A registry listing is a licence record, not an endorsement. Confirm current permit standing on the LP Gas Commission permit-holder list.
Louisiana propane, the questions people ask
Where do the dealers on this page come from?
The registry list is drawn from the Louisiana LP Gas Commission's public permit-holder list, the state's official record of licensed LP-gas dealers, captured on 5 June 2026. Each entry carries its city and permit class. It is a registry snapshot, not an endorsement, so confirm a dealer's current permit standing on the LP Gas Commission permit-holder list before you sign, and get three written quotes. The rated shortlist above it is separate: a hand-checked set of dealers with strong public review scores.
How much does propane cost per gallon in Louisiana?
The figure on this page is $2.93 a gallon, from the EIA weekly residential propane release. Important caveat: EIA does not publish a Louisiana state-level residential propane series. The number shown is the PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) regional estimate, which EIA uses to represent Louisiana, Texas, and the other Gulf states. The national average is $2.67 and the South region average across the Census-South states tracked on this site is $3.26. What you actually pay in Acadiana, North Louisiana, or on the Northshore depends on supplier, route density, contract type, and tank ownership; per-gallon spreads of 30 to 50 cents within the same parish are common.
How do I check a Louisiana propane dealer is properly licensed?
Propane dealers in Louisiana are permitted by the Louisiana LP Gas Commission (the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission), a state commission within the Department of Public Safety, not the Department of Agriculture. Statutory authority is La. R.S. 40:1846 et seq. The Commission issues permit classes for different activities: Class 1 authorises any phase of the LP-gas business (including bulk delivery); Class 4 covers transport and bulk sale to manufacturers and to other permitted dealers; Class 5 covers equipment installation only, with no authority to sell or deliver gas; Class 6 covers selling LP-gas and filling approved containers and motor-fuel containers on the dealer's own premises (on-site retail); and the R classes cover LP-gas and anhydrous-ammonia piping installation. Most retail-fill businesses in the registry hold Class 6 or 6X. Verify any company on the Commission's permit-holder list at lpg.dps.louisiana.gov, or call the Commission on (225) 925-4895, before you sign. If a quoting company is not listed, do not proceed.
Am I eligible for LIHEAP in Louisiana, and how do I apply?
Louisiana administers the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), which funds it statewide and contracts local Community Action Partnerships and parish intake agencies to take applications and pay benefits directly to your utility or propane supplier. For federal fiscal year 2026 (1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026), income eligibility is set at 60% of State Median Income, ranging from about $30,618 a year for a one-person household up to $84,790 for a household of ten. Priority goes to households with elderly members, young children, or people with disabilities, and a Crisis component covers imminent disconnection or an empty propane tank. Online applications are processed between 1 May and 15 July 2026; local agencies take applications from 13 April through 30 September 2026 or until funds run out. Louisiana LIHEAP increasingly weights cooling assistance because cooling is the dominant residential load, so the propane-heating share is smaller than in northern states. Start at lhc.la.gov/energy-assistance and apply early; funds are first-come and typically run out before September.
How should coastal Louisiana parishes plan propane supply for hurricane season?
Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November and drives a predictable surge in residential propane generator demand across Cameron, Vermilion, Iberia, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and Terrebonne parishes. Top off your tank before the season opens, in May or early June, not once a named storm is in the cone of uncertainty. Suppliers prioritise existing automatic-delivery customers when storms approach; will-call customers go to the back of the queue. Run a test on your standby generator in May. If you rely on portable cylinders for cooking after a power loss, keep at least two filled 20-lb tanks and a third staged for swap. Post-landfall, residential delivery can pause for 24 to 72 hours while crews assess road access and bulk-storage damage at terminals around Sulphur, Convent, and Baton Rouge, so plan for that gap.
Why does Louisiana sit in the cheaper half of the South but not at the very bottom?
Louisiana is a Gulf-Coast NGL-producing state with major fractionation, storage, and export terminals at Sulphur, Convent (St. James Parish), and Baton Rouge, plus pipeline access to the Mont Belvieu hub through the Sabine corridor. That makes Louisiana wholesale propane among the cheapest in the country. But residential retail is set by last-mile economics, not wholesale. Louisiana's residential propane base is concentrated in rural North Louisiana, the Cajun-country prairies (Acadia, Vermilion, St. Landry, Evangeline), and small-town Southwest Louisiana where natural-gas mains do not reach. Routes are long, customer density is low, and coastal storm risk raises supplier insurance and asset-replacement reserves. Result: at $2.93 a gallon against a $3.26 South regional average, Louisiana sits in the cheaper half of the region but not at its floor, because that wholesale edge is spent on last-mile delivery before it reaches the meter. The gap between Louisiana wholesale and Louisiana retail is one of the widest in the country.
Should I switch from propane to natural gas in rural North Louisiana?
In most of rural North Louisiana the question is moot: natural-gas distribution does not reach you. Atmos Energy, CenterPoint, and parish municipal gas utilities serve the I-20 corridor, Shreveport-Bossier, Monroe, and Alexandria, plus the major Acadiana and Baton Rouge metros. Outside those service maps, propane is the only piped-fuel option and the real choice is propane against electric heat-pump or resistance heat. For homes already on propane in a no-gas area, the realistic levers are pre-buy contracts, tank ownership (so you can shop on price), and shifting non-essential loads such as clothes drying to off-peak electric. If you do sit inside a gas service area and pay propane retail at $2.93 a gallon, the natural-gas tariff usually wins on per-BTU cost, but a conversion (line tap, appliance changeover, tank removal) typically runs $4,000 to $10,000 and takes years to pay back at current spreads. Run the math against your actual annual spend first.
Why does Louisiana propane demand spike around the rice harvest and Mardi Gras?
Louisiana propane demand carries agricultural and cultural seasonal layers most states do not. The rice-and-crawfish economy on the Acadia, Vermilion, and Jefferson Davis prairies runs propane crop dryers in late summer and autumn, pulling commercial-volume bulk deliveries just as residential heating top-offs begin. Sugar mills in the Bayou Lafourche and Bayou Teche corridor (Assumption, Lafourche, Iberia, St. Mary parishes) burn propane for process heat during the September-to-January grinding season. And the Mardi Gras and festival circuit runs boil-up cookers, jambalaya pots, and food-truck fryers on 20-lb and 30-lb cylinders, spiking cylinder-exchange demand in the two weeks before Fat Tuesday. None of this moves the residential per-gallon rate directly, but it tightens bulk-delivery capacity from October through February, exactly when residential customers most need a fill.
Keep reading
All Louisiana dealers
The complete verified directory of 1752 Louisiana 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.
Methodology
How we source EIA pricing, the PADD 3 caveat, and the off-season cadence.