EIA residential propane, New York
New York propane prices: $3.73 a gallon
EIA residential survey for the week ending 19 October 2026. Updated every Wednesday through March.
The most geographically split propane market in the Northeast. New York City, Long Island and Westchester are blanket-covered by gas mains, while the Adirondacks, Catskills, Finger Lakes and the Western NY rural belt have almost no gas service and run on delivered fuel. Both extremes share one statewide average.
Homeowners in New York tell us they pay $3.10 a gallon, typically $2.19 to $3.89, reported in the last 90 days. That is 17% under the survey price. The survey asks dealers for a posted price; readers report what they were billed, often on a contract.
What do you pay in New York?
Compare it with your neighbours in 30 seconds.
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Used only for your comparison and the anonymous local figure. Never sent to a propane company.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, New York residential series. Refreshed automatically every Wednesday in season; wholesale daily.
New York at a glance
This week$3.73/gal
vs week before+4.4c
vs 4 weeks before-3.3c
vs same week last year+10%
vs US ($2.69)39% above
Among 38 surveyed states29th cheapest
500-gal fill (400 usable)$1491
Week by week, 2026-27 season
New York against the US average
Every point is an EIA survey week. This season New York ran from a low of $3.66 (5 Oct) to a high of $3.73 (19 Oct), with the US average finishing at $2.69. Against the same week a year earlier it is +10%.
$3.66
Season low
5 October 2026
$3.73
Season high
19 October 2026
$3.38
Same week last year
20 October 2025, now +10%
$1.13
Wholesale today
Mont Belvieu spot, 20 October 2026, +28c 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 New York prices are heading.
What a fill costs in New York at $3.73
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 $3.73 | vs US ($2.69) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $298 | +$83 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $745 | +$208 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $1491 | +$415 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $2982 | +$830 |
For a winter's fuel, multiply the gallons on last winter's delivery tickets by the price: every 100 gallons costs about $373 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.
New York against its Northeast neighbours
The whole Northeast runs well above the national mark on distance from production, rural-route premiums and constrained regional storage. New York sits inside that high cluster but a little below the coldest New England states, helped by shorter rail distance to Pennsylvania Marcellus and Utica supply and a denser upstate propane customer base.
| State | Price/gal | 500-gal fill | vs US ($2.69) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $3.16 | $1265 | +18% |
| Massachusetts | $3.66 | $1464 | +36% |
| Maine | $3.71 | $1484 | +38% |
| New York | $3.73 | $1491 | +39% |
| Delaware | $3.75 | $1502 | +40% |
| New Hampshire | $3.84 | $1537 | +43% |
| Vermont | $3.88 | $1552 | +44% |
| New Jersey | $4.08 | $1630 | +52% |
| Rhode Island | $4.17 | $1667 | +55% |
| Connecticut | $4.23 | $1690 | +57% |
| Northeast average | $3.82 | $1528 | +42% |
States marked regional est. are not surveyed individually by EIA and carry their PADD regional figure. Full table on prices by state.
Why New York propane runs 39% over the national average
There is no single New York propane market, so the statewide figure is really two different economies averaged together. These are the structural forces behind it.
Bifurcated demand: gas-served metro, propane-dominant rural.
New York City, Long Island and Westchester run on natural gas, so propane there is mostly appliance-only (pool heaters, generators, fireplaces, gas-main-edge homes) at 200 to 500 gallons a year. The Catskills, Adirondacks, North Country, Finger Lakes and Western NY rural belt have effectively no gas service and burn 1,000 to 1,500 gallons a year for primary heat. The statewide average splits the difference.
Distance from production, with Marcellus and Utica relief.
About 90% of US propane comes from Gulf Coast gas processing and Mid-continent shale. New York gets a meaningful share via Pennsylvania Marcellus and Utica supply, which helps hold it below the coldest, priciest New England markets. But supply still arrives through rail-to-truck handoffs at terminals such as Selkirk before bobtail delivery, and each handoff is a margin layer, with no in-state refining to shave it.
Rural delivery economics in the Adirondack and Catskill belts.
Long routes plus low customer density push the per-gallon delivery component up sharply. A North Country supplier might cover 40 miles between two customers where a Westchester supplier covers four. That gap shows up in retail mark-up, especially in counties (Hamilton, Essex, Franklin, Sullivan, Delaware) where only two or three suppliers actively compete.
A dual-fuel legacy and a policy-capped base.
Much of rural New York ran on heating oil into the 2000s, and the 2010s Marcellus boom triggered oil-to-propane conversions in Western NY and the Hudson Valley. Many NY suppliers therefore run combined oil-and-propane operations, which keeps overhead higher than a propane-only operator. On top of that, the 2019 CLCPA and the 2023 All-Electric Buildings Act cap the long-term residential customer base by prohibiting fossil-fuel heating in most new construction, which makes suppliers conservative about route expansion.
Buying propane well in New York: four moves that change the bill
In a high-cost state with no single propane licence to lean on, the gap between a careless account and a well-run one is usually several hundred dollars a winter.
01
Vet without a single licence
New York has no one-page propane dealer lookup. Confirm the operator appears on the DTF petroleum-distributor register, ask for proof of commercial general liability insurance, and check that local permits and tank inspection are current with your town or county code office, the Authority Having Jurisdiction under the state LP-Gas Code (19 NYCRR, NFPA 58).
02
Lock summer, not winter
Wholesale bottoms May through August; will-call peaks in January and February. A 1,000-gallon upstate household that pre-buys or caps in the off-season routinely saves $300 to $600 against winter spot. Most NY suppliers open enrolment between May 1 and August 31. Ask for a cap-price contract, so you keep the saving if wholesale falls, rather than a strict pre-buy, and ask whether unused gallons roll forward.
03
Quote all three tiers
New York has a real three-tier market: national chains, in-state and regional distributors, and local family operators in the Catskills, North Country and Western NY. In rural counties the spread between the cheapest local and the priciest national quote can be wide, 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 HEAP eligibility
The Home Energy Assistance Program, run by OTDA through county Social Services offices, pays a heating benefit straight to your propane vendor for households at or below 60% of State Median Income ($6,680 a month for a household of four in 2025-2026). The Emergency benefit covers out-of-fuel and below-a-quarter-tank cases. HEAP is seasonal: the 2025-2026 season has closed and the next usually opens in mid-November. Apply at mybenefits.ny.gov or your county DSS.
Rated by customers
New York 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.
Hudson Valley
Bottini Fuel
Wappingers Falls, New York
4.41,300+ reviews, Birdeye
Family-run Hudson Valley propane, heating-oil and HVAC operator serving Dutchess, Ulster, Orange and Putnam counties for more than 70 years.
See the reviews ›Capital Region
Main-Care Energy
Albany, New York
4.548 reviews, Angi rating, Yelp count
Employee-owned since 1968 and serving the Capital Region since 1930, with 25,000-plus full-service propane, oil and gas customers across NY and Vermont.
See the reviews ›Mid-Hudson / Shawangunk
Kimlin Energy Services
Gardiner, New York
4.0670+ reviews, Birdeye
Independent Ulster County propane and heating operator founded in 1982. Large review base with the mixed feedback typical of a high-volume delivery book, so read recent reviews before signing.
See the reviews ›Verified on the state registry
8 of the 38 New York dealers on the Licensed register
| Dealer | City | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| All Island Propane Corp. | Shirley | listing |
| Amerigas Propane LP | Valley Forge | listing |
| Amsterdam Truck Center, Inc. | Amsterdam | listing |
| Atlantic Bottle Gas Co., Inc. | Hicksville | listing |
| Big Fella Enterprises, Inc. | Brockport | listing |
| Bmb Fuel Oil, Inc. | Brooklyn | listing |
| Century Star Fuel Corporation | New Rochelle | listing |
| Colonial Oil Industries, Inc. | Savannah | listing |
Source: New York Department of Taxation and Finance Publication 532, captured 16 August 2026 (source document). A registry listing is a licence record, not an endorsement.
New York propane, the questions people ask
Where do the distributors in your table come from?
New York does not publish a single statewide propane dealer licence, so there is no clean per-company lookup the way some states run one. The closest public record is the New York Department of Taxation and Finance Publication 532 register of active petroleum-business-tax distributors, which flags the businesses licensed to move liquid propane (category P) or registered under a propane name. We captured that register on 16 August 2026 and list the entries that genuinely deal in propane. It is a licensing record, not an endorsement or a ranked best-of list, and it mixes local retail dealers with regional and national distributors. The raw register also carries a handful of petroleum-tax licence holders that do not sell residential propane at all (airlines fuelling aircraft, a warehouse club, pipeline and shipping operators); we filter those out. Being on the register tells you a company is licensed, not that it serves your town, so confirm coverage and get three written quotes.
Who regulates propane dealers in New York?
There is no single centralized state propane dealer licence in New York. Oversight is shared. The New York Department of State, Division of Building Standards and Codes administers the LP-Gas Code through Title 19 NYCRR (the state Fire Code chapter on liquefied petroleum gases adopts NFPA 58 with New York amendments) and delegates enforcement to local Authorities Having Jurisdiction. The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Weights and Measures tests propane delivery-truck meters every year between April and November, running 100-gallon test fills against a calibrated prover, and pulls a truck out of service if its meter shorts a customer. Local county and town code offices handle installer and dealer permitting plus tank siting and inspection. For tax and licensing, the Department of Taxation and Finance Publication 532 register lists who is authorized to distribute liquid propane, which is the source of the directory on this page. The trade body is the New York Propane Gas Association (NYPGA), founded 1948.
Am I eligible for HEAP propane assistance in New York?
New York's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is the state implementation of federal LIHEAP, administered by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) through county Departments of Social Services. Income eligibility runs to 60% of State Median Income; for the 2025-2026 season the monthly limit for a household of four was $6,680, with the scale rising by household size. Households on SNAP, Temporary Assistance or SSI may auto-qualify. The Regular Benefit pays your propane supplier directly; the Emergency Benefit covers households out of fuel or below a quarter tank; the Heating Equipment Repair or Replacement (HERR) component covers furnace and boiler repair. HEAP is seasonal: the 2025-2026 Regular benefit ran from December 1, 2025 to April 10, 2026 and is now closed, and the 2026-2027 season typically opens in mid-November. Apply through your county DSS or via mybenefits.ny.gov; full program detail is at otda.ny.gov/programs/heap.
How does the All-Electric Buildings Act change propane in New York?
New York's All-Electric Buildings Act, part of the 2023 state budget and implementing the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), prohibits fossil-fuel heating and water-heating equipment in most new construction. From January 1, 2026 new buildings up to seven stories must be all-electric; from January 1, 2029 the prohibition extends to all new construction, with exemptions including restaurants, hospitals, laboratories, agricultural buildings, and emergency standby generators. For existing propane-heated New York homes nothing changes: replacement furnaces, boilers and water heaters are not affected, only new construction. The Act caps the long-term residential propane customer base because rural new builds in the Catskills, Adirondacks, Finger Lakes and Western NY that would historically have gone propane will now go heat-pump-electric. Realistically that pressure does not reach retail pricing for years; near-term NY propane prices remain a function of supply chain and route economics, not policy.
Why is propane more expensive in the Hamptons and on Long Island second homes?
Suffolk County's East End (the Hamptons and the North Fork) is one of the few downstate pockets where propane is a primary heating fuel, because much of the East End sits outside the natural-gas-main footprint. Combine that with high seasonal-occupancy second-home density, low full-time customer counts per route, and weekend-loaded delivery scheduling, and per-gallon margins routinely run 20 to 40 cents above the statewide $3.73 average. Coastal storm prep adds another factor: many East End homes keep whole-house propane standby generators for the regular Long Island Sound storm risk, which means tanks must be kept above 40% year-round and supplier emergency-fill premiums apply. Tank ownership and a summer pre-buy contract are the strongest cost levers in this zone because they let you shop the September or October refill rather than the automatic-delivery premium rate.
What drives the propane premium in the Adirondacks and Catskills?
The Adirondack Park (six million acres, larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined) and the Catskill Park have almost no natural gas service, so propane and heating oil are the only delivered-fuel options for primary heat across Essex, Hamilton, Franklin, Clinton, Sullivan, Delaware and much of Greene and Ulster counties. Annual residential propane usage in this belt runs 1,000 to 1,500 gallons because of the long heating season and older housing stock. The regional premium over the $3.73 statewide average comes from long delivery routes with low customer density, far fewer suppliers competing for any given town than on the I-87 corridor, and spring mud-season road-weight restrictions that can push deliveries into more expensive windows. The Finger Lakes and Western NY rural counties see similar economics on a smaller scale. Same playbook applies: own your tank, lock a summer pre-buy or cap-price contract, and top up to 80% in October.
Does Western NY pay more for propane because of lake-effect snow?
Indirectly, yes. Buffalo, Rochester and the Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua lake-effect belt see annual snowfall of 90 to 130-plus inches, well above the state average. That stretches the heating season and pushes annual propane consumption higher per household, which compounds the bill rather than the per-gallon rate. The Western NY rural belt outside the Buffalo and Rochester gas footprints (small-town Wyoming, Allegany, parts of Cattaraugus and southern Erie) is propane-dominant and historically heating-oil legacy: many homes converted from oil to propane in the 2010s as propane wholesale fell with Marcellus and Utica shale growth. Buffalo and Rochester themselves are natural-gas-dominant. Storm prep means standby generators are common, adding 50 to 150 gallons per year to the average household load.
When is the best time to fill a propane tank in New York?
Late spring through midsummer, roughly May through July. New York wholesale propane bottoms after heating season ends and before next-winter pre-buy contracts open. By September most NY suppliers have raised will-call and cap-price rates ahead of October deliveries. The worst months to fill are December through February, when cold-snap demand, lake-effect Western NY draws, and constrained Northeast storage push spot rates 30 to 80 cents above summer lows. A practical sequence for an upstate primary-heat home: top up to 80% in June or July at off-season rates, run from that into October, then take a single shoulder-season top-up in late September to start the heating season at 80 to 90% full. Suppliers also tend to waive minimum-delivery surcharges in the off-season, so a smaller summer top-up can be cheaper net than waiting for a full-tank January delivery.
Keep reading
All New York dealers
The complete verified directory of 38 New York 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 for the upstate New York oil-to-propane decision.
Connecticut propane price
Northeast neighbour: how Connecticut, New Jersey and New York compare for fills and delivery.