The Cities With the Most Expensive Home Heating Bills
A recent ranking reveals where wintertime energy costs are the highest.
Dobrila Vignjevic
Whether winter temperatures drop a lot or only a little where you live, there’s one thing that’s bound to be on the rise this time of year: Your energy bill. But as geographically diverse as the United States is, does simply living above a certain latitude mean residents of these northerly major cities pay more to heat their homes than those who live further south? According to a recent report, the financial burden of home heating costs are actually a bit mixed. However, if you live in the Midwest, there’s a good chance that, yes, you are shelling out more to keep your house cozy.
According to findings from Home Gnome, an online service for locating and connecting with local home improvement experts, Ohioans are paying higher than average heating costs, with Cleveland and Dayton topping the list, and two more cities — Toledo and Akron — rounding out the top ten. Five Missouri cities also ranked at the top, along with one outlier: Flint, Michigan due to that city’s outsized electricity costs. See the ten cities that pay the most below:
The Most Expensive Cities to Heat a Home in Winter
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Independence, Missouri
- St. Joseph, Missouri
- Flint, Michigan
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Springfield, Missouri
- Toledo, Ohio
- Akron, Ohio
- Kansas City, Missouri
The data was compiled across 500 cities and took into account a variety of factors, including home sizes, weather conditions, and electricity and gas costs, which were adjusted accordingly for each municipality (or state) based on average income and/or cost of living. (Interestingly, Honolulu, Hawaii was then eliminated from the list due to nearly half of homes having no heating system at all.)
In addition to harsher winter weather, Home Gnome suggests that Midwestern states are in the more expensive half of the list due to both high utility costs and older homes which, generally, are less efficient to heat. Within the top 100, you’ll also find Duluth, Minnesota (54), as well as Bismarck (28) and Fargo (29) in North Dakota. Notably, these three cities are tied as having the highest average number of frigid days (below freezing) at 30 each year. They also top the list of cities having the most “heating degree days,” or days when the temperature is low enough to require heat.
It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that the ten least expensive cities to heat a home are in California. But Home Gnome’s full report points out that, “staying warm can be costly even in Southern states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, which finish in the more expensive half of our ranking.” Findings showed that cities in those states have some of the least-affordable gas prices. In other words, how affordable it is to heat your home isn’t just a matter of how often you turn your thermostat on, but what it costs you when you do.
