EIA residential propane, Nebraska
Nebraska propane prices: $1.64 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 cooperative-and-family-hauler market with year-round demand: irrigation engines in summer, grain dryers in autumn, livestock buildings all winter. The state issues no per-dealer propane licence, so due diligence runs on insurance proof and written quotes rather than a registry lookup.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, Nebraska residential series. Refreshed automatically every Tuesday in season; wholesale daily.
Nebraska at a glance
Latest survey$1.64/gal
vs week before+1.9c
vs 4 weeks before+1.8c
vs same week last year-5%
vs US ($2.67)39% below
Among 38 surveyed states1st cheapest
500-gal fill (400 usable)$657
Week by week, 2025-26 season
Nebraska against the US average
Every point is an EIA survey week. This season Nebraska ran from a low of $1.57 (6 Oct) to a high of $1.64 (30 Mar), with the US average finishing at $2.67. Against the same week a year earlier it is -5%.
$1.57
Season low
6 October 2025
$1.64
Season high
30 March 2026
$1.74
Same week last year
31 March 2025, now -5%
$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 Nebraska prices are heading.
What a fill costs in Nebraska at $1.64
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 $1.64 | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $131 | -$83 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $328 | -$206 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $657 | -$413 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $1314 | -$826 |
A Nebraska home heating on propane through a typical winter burns 1,000 to 1,500 gallons, so fuel alone runs about $1642 to $2463 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.
Nebraska against its Midwest neighbours
The cheapest Midwest cluster hugs the Conway, Kansas storage hub and the central-plains supply network, and Nebraska sits in that low-price group. The table is ordered cheapest first so you can see exactly where the state falls, rather than relying on a headline superlative.
| State | Price/gal | 500-gal fill | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | $1.64 | $657 | -39% |
| Iowa | $1.66 | $664 | -38% |
| North Dakota | $1.70 | $680 | -36% |
| South Dakota | $1.84 | $736 | -31% |
| Kansas | $1.98 | $791 | -26% |
| Illinois | $2.03 | $810 | -24% |
| Minnesota | $2.06 | $822 | -23% |
| Wisconsin | $2.07 | $826 | -23% |
| Missouri | $2.21 | $884 | -17% |
| Michigan | $2.37 | $948 | -11% |
| Indiana | $2.63 | $1054 | -1% |
| Ohio | $2.69 | $1078 | +1% |
| Midwest average | $2.07 | $828 | -23% |
States marked regional est. are not surveyed individually by EIA and carry their PADD regional figure. Full table on prices by state.
Why Nebraska runs 39% under the national average
Nebraska runs a long, cold heating season yet prices well under the US average. The reasons are structural, not seasonal: supply geography, flat year-round demand, and rural route density.
PADD 2 supply and the Conway hub.
Nebraska is inside PADD 2, the Midwest region that holds the country's largest propane storage, and it sits close to the Conway, Kansas storage and trading hub. The transport leg into Nebraska terminals is short, so less freight cost is baked into the wholesale barrel than in the Northeast or on the coasts.
Irrigation and agricultural load, year-round.
Nebraska has more irrigated acres than any other state, and propane-fired irrigation engines run on the High Plains where electric service is uneconomic. That summer demand lands exactly when residential heating is at zero, keeping storage cycling and trucks rolling all year.
Corn drying and livestock heat.
As a top-three corn state with a large cattle-feeding sector, Nebraska burns propane in on-farm grain dryers each autumn and in livestock buildings through winter. That commercial anchor lets suppliers spread fixed costs across far more gallons than a residential-only book would. Ethanol production, in which Nebraska is a national leader, also yields some by-product propane that adds marginal in-state volume.
Dense rural delivery routes.
Outside the Lincoln and Omaha gas corridor, rural Nebraska homes, ranches and acreages run heavily on propane. High customer density on established rural loops means a bobtail serves many stops per trip, the textbook definition of route economy, which holds per-gallon margins thin.
Buying propane well in Nebraska
A good supplier is step one. The gap between a careless account and a well-run one in Nebraska is usually a few hundred dollars a winter. Here is where that money is won.
01
Verify without a licence list
Nebraska issues no per-dealer propane licence, so there is no state list to check. The Nebraska State Fire Marshal administers the LP Gas Code under NFPA 58 and requires marketers to file proof of insurance before operating (see sfm.nebraska.gov). Ask any dealer to show current proof of insurance, and check membership of the Nebraska Propane Gas Association. If a fill seems short, the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Weights and Measures inspects truck meters.
02
Lock summer, watch harvest
Wholesale bottoms in summer and most Nebraska suppliers run pre-buy or cap-price enrolment from roughly May 1 to August 31. The state twist is the corn-drying draw from late September into November, which can lift residential rates a few cents heading into winter. The residential play is to top up to 80% in late August, before harvest demand peaks, then sit through it. Ask whether unused pre-paid gallons roll forward.
03
Quote all three supplier tiers
Nebraska has a genuine three-tier market: national carriers, farmer-owned cooperatives such as Frontier, Panhandle and Legacy, and independent family operators in the Sandhills and Platte Valley. Per-gallon spreads of 25 to 40 cents within one county are common, and wider still where competition thins out west. Pull one written quote from each tier, and if you own your tank say so up front to remove the switching penalty leased-tank customers face.
04
Check LIHEAP eligibility
Nebraska LIHEAP, run by DHHS, helps income-qualified households at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, with heating benefits from $154 up to $1,050 and a year-round crisis component up to $500. The heating season runs October 1 through March 31. Apply at accessnebraska.ne.gov, at a DHHS local office, or by calling iServeNebraska on 800-383-4278. Apply early, before the January peak.
05
Start with a real operator in your region
Nebraska has no registry to reproduce, so start from named operators you can verify, confirmed against company sites and public listings in August 2026. Lincoln and the southeast: Otte Oil & Propane and Frontier Cooperative. Omaha and the east: Sapp Bros. Petroleum and AmeriGas. Central Nebraska and the Platte Valley: Bosselman Energy of Grand Island and Riverside Fertilizer & Propane of Scotia. The Sandhills: Sandhill Oil Company of Thedford (since 1961) and Dan's Propane. The Panhandle: Panhandle Cooperative Association of Scottsbluff and Legacy COOP. A starting point, not a ranking.
Nebraska propane, the questions people ask
Who should I call for propane in Nebraska?
Nebraska propane is served mostly by farmer-owned cooperatives and independent family fuel companies rather than a handful of national brands, so the right call depends on where you live. In the Lincoln and southeast area, Otte Oil & Propane and Frontier Cooperative both run residential delivery. Around Omaha and the eastern corridor, Sapp Bros. Petroleum and the national carrier AmeriGas both operate. In central Nebraska and the Platte Valley, Bosselman Energy out of Grand Island and Riverside Fertilizer & Propane in Scotia cover farm and residential customers. Across the Sandhills, Sandhill Oil Company and Dan's Propane run the long north-central routes. In the Panhandle and the west, Panhandle Cooperative Association and Legacy COOP serve western Nebraska into Wyoming and Colorado. This page carries a regional starting list rather than a full state registry; to see every dealer near a specific address, use the ZIP finder at propane-prices-near-me and the supplier directory.
Does Nebraska keep a public list of licensed propane dealers?
No. Nebraska does not issue a per-dealer propane licence, so there is no state "licensed dealer" lookup to search the way some states publish one. The Nebraska State Fire Marshal Agency administers the Nebraska LP Gas Code, which adopts the NFPA 58 standard for storage, handling, transportation and dispensing, and the state requires retail propane marketers to file proof of liability insurance with the Fire Marshal before operating. Separately, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Weights and Measures inspects delivery-truck meters for accuracy. Because there is no consumer-facing licence list, the practical due-diligence stack is: ask the dealer to show current proof of insurance, confirm membership in the Nebraska Propane Gas Association (a trade body, not a regulator), and insist on an itemised written quote before you sign.
How much does a Nebraska propane fill cost?
At the Nebraska statewide average of $1.64 a gallon from the EIA residential survey, the common tank sizes work out as follows. A 100-gallon tank fills to about 80 usable gallons for roughly $131. A 250-gallon tank fills to about 200 usable gallons for roughly $328. A 500-gallon tank, the most common residential size on rural Nebraska properties, fills to about 400 usable gallons for roughly $657. A 1,000-gallon tank fills to about 800 usable gallons for roughly $1314. Tanks fill to 80% of stated capacity to leave room for thermal expansion. Real quotes typically run within 10 to 15% of the state average depending on your supplier, contract type, whether you own or rent the tank, and route density on your road.
Am I eligible for propane heating help through Nebraska LIHEAP?
Nebraska's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is administered by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). For the 2026 program year, the income limit for heating assistance is 150% of the federal poverty level (household gross income). Heating benefits run from a minimum of $154 up to $1,050 paid toward winter fuel, and the year-round crisis component pays up to $500 for an emergency delivery when regular funds are exhausted. The heating season for the program runs October 1 through March 31. Apply through ACCESS Nebraska at accessnebraska.ne.gov, in person at a DHHS local office, or by calling iServeNebraska at 800-383-4278. Households with an existing Economic Assistance case can request LIHEAP without filing a new application, and it helps to apply early because deep-winter crisis requests can face delivery delays in the January to February peak.
Why is propane relatively cheap in Nebraska?
Nebraska sits below the national average because of where its supply comes from and how steady its demand is. The state is inside PADD 2, the Midwest region that holds the largest propane storage in the country, and it is close to the Conway, Kansas storage and trading hub, so the transport leg to Nebraska terminals is short. Demand is also unusually flat across the year: Nebraska has more irrigated acres than any other state, a large share of the nation's corn crop, and a major cattle-feeding and ethanol industry, and propane feeds irrigation engines, on-farm grain dryers and livestock buildings. That agricultural pull keeps storage cycling and delivery trucks rolling outside the winter heating window, which spreads a supplier's fixed costs across more gallons and holds per-gallon retail prices down. The current figure is $1.64 a gallon against a $2.67 US average, 39% below the national mark, and low in the Midwest price stack.
When should I fill my tank in Nebraska?
The strongest residential window is summer. Wholesale propane bottoms out when heating demand is near zero, and most Nebraska suppliers run pre-buy or cap-price enrollment between roughly May 1 and August 31. The Nebraska twist is the agricultural calendar: corn-drying demand peaks from late September into November, and heavy regional draw in the fall can push residential rates a few cents above the published average heading into the winter. The practical move for a residential customer is to top up to 80% in late August or early September, before the harvest draw, then sit through it. If you run an on-farm grain dryer or propane irrigation engines, lock your seasonal volume even earlier, in late spring, and ask your supplier for the agricultural rate explicitly because it is priced on a different basis than a residential will-call fill.
Should I switch from natural gas to propane in Lincoln or Omaha?
If you are inside Lincoln or Omaha city limits with natural gas service from Black Hills Energy or Metropolitan Utilities District, usually not, because the per-BTU cost of pipeline natural gas in the urban corridor is below even Nebraska's cheap propane. Propane wins in three situations that cover most of the state by area. First, you live outside utility gas territory, which is most rural Nebraska: the Sandhills, the Panhandle, the Platte Valley above the cities and most rural counties. Second, you want a generator or backup heat that keeps running through a blizzard grid outage, where propane's on-site storage beats grid-tied gas. Third, you are on a ranch or acreage where propane already runs outbuildings, water heaters, irrigation or livestock barns, and adding home heat to the existing tank is cheaper than trenching in a new gas main. For city-grid homeowners, propane is a cooking, backup and outdoor fuel rather than a primary heat source.
Keep reading
All Nebraska dealers
Nebraska 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.
Iowa propane price
The neighbouring low-price Midwest market, and how it compares.
500-gallon tank cost
Buy, install and refill costs for the most common rural Nebraska tank size.