Alabama Propane Price 2026: Cost Per Gallon, Suppliers & Delivery

Alabama residential propane runs $3.52/gal in 2026, roughly +31% above the national average and the second-most-expensive state in the South region. Despite Mobile-area Gulf Coast access, low household propane share concentrates supplier overhead on a thin rural route base. This page is the no-spin breakdown: ADECA LIHEAP, the Alabama LPGas Board permit search, fill-by-tank-size math, and the hurricane-coast backup case.

Latest EIA residential propane price

Source: EIA Alabama residential propane price survey. Current data is the final release of the 2025/26 heating season (week ending 30 March 2026). EIA pauses weekly publication April-September; next release expected October 2026. Refreshed 26 May 2026.

Alabama Propane Pricing Snapshot (2026)

Alabama residential avg

$3.52/gal

EIA SHOPP weekly survey, full-service residential delivery

vs national average

+31%

National avg $2.67/gal. Alabama pays $0.84 more per gallon than the US average.

vs South region avg

+8%

South region avg $3.26/gal. Alabama is the second-most-expensive South state, behind only Florida.

Annual fuel cost (1,000 gal)

$3516

Typical Alabama propane-heat household uses 800-1,200 gal/year

500-gallon refill (400 usable)

$1406

Most common residential tank size in Alabama

Pre-buy savings (May-Aug)

$300-$600/yr

Lock-in or cap-price contracts beat winter spot pricing

Alabama is an outlier inside an otherwise cheap region. The South region as a whole averages $3.26/gal, the lowest of the four US Census regions. Alabama at $3.52/gal sits well above its Gulf-coast neighbours (Louisiana, Mississippi) and slightly above the Atlantic-coast cluster (Georgia, North Carolina). The next section explains why.

Why Alabama Propane Prices Sit Where They Do

On paper Alabama should be cheap. The state has working Gulf import-export terminals at Mobile and Theodore, sits within ground-truck range of Mont Belvieu (the largest US propane storage hub) and Lake Charles, and shares a border with Louisiana, the cheapest propane state in the country. The actual EIA reading puts Alabama at $3.52/gal, second-most-expensive in the South region. The drivers are structural and have nothing to do with wholesale supply.

1. Low household propane share concentrates overhead. Roughly 5% of Alabama households use propane as their primary heating fuel, a low share even by Southern standards. Most of the urban population (Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile inside city limits) is on natural gas through Spire or Southwest Gas. The Tennessee Valley (Huntsville, Decatur, Florence) is electric-resistance and heat-pump dominant via TVA. That leaves propane to dispersed rural routes where each bobtail truck covers more miles per delivery than in a higher-density state. High overhead per gallon delivered, not high wholesale cost, is what shows up at the meter.

2. Mobile/Theodore terminal capacity does not flow to retail. The Gulf-coast import-export infrastructure at Mobile and Theodore is sized for petrochemical export to Latin America and Asia, not residential bulk distribution into central Alabama. There is no large in-state retail bulk-storage hub. Most Alabama residential bobtail loads originate from refinery and terminal stops in Pasadena (TX), Mont Belvieu (TX), and Geismar (LA), with a smaller share from Mid-Atlantic terminals serving north Alabama. The Gulf access is real but commercially structural, not retail-helpful.

3. Supplier competition is thin outside the I-65 corridor. The I-65 spine (Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile) and parts of I-20 (Tuscaloosa, Anniston) have multiple residential propane suppliers competing for delivery routes. Black Belt counties (Wilcox, Greene, Perry, Lowndes, Sumter), Choctaw, Washington, and large parts of north-central Alabama (Walker, Winston, Cullman) often have only one or two active residential propane retailers. That lets the dominant retailer in a county hold per-gallon margin $0.40-$0.80 above competitive-zone pricing.

4. Hurricane backup demand on the Gulf Coast. Mobile and Baldwin counties carry meaningful generator-backup propane demand from June through November. That is concentrated, route-dense, predictable load, the kind suppliers price competitively. It does not move the statewide average much because it is two counties out of 67, but it does explain why coastal AL pricing reads notably better than rural north-AL pricing in supplier quote samples.

None of the four drivers above will normalise without a major shift in either Alabama household-heating mix (which would take a decade) or a new in-state bulk-storage hub serving residential routes (which is not currently on any operator's roadmap). Treat $3.52/gal as the baseline for the next several heating seasons, not a temporary spike.

How to Find a Licensed Propane Supplier in Alabama

Alabama regulates propane through an independent state board, not the Department of Agriculture. Buying propane from an unlicensed dealer is a misdemeanour under Code of Alabama 1975, § 9-17-100 et seq., and your homeowner's insurance may not cover loss arising from unlicensed delivery. Three reliable starting points:

Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board (LPGas Board), the state authority. Public LPGas Permit Search at lpgb.alabama.gov. Run any quoting company through that search before signing. The board issues Class A dealer (full retail), Class B dealer, transport, dispensing, and individual installer/service licenses, and publishes inspection and complaint records. This is the legal qualification.
Alabama Propane Gas Association (APGA), voluntary trade-member directory founded in 1939 at alabamapropane.com/member-list. APGA is not a licensing body, but its member list is a useful starting list of established Alabama retailers. Cross-check every APGA name against the LPGas Board permit search.
National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), national member directory at npga.org. Useful for verifying that a national chain quoting you in Alabama is a recognised industry member, but does not replace the state LPGas Board check.

Always get a written quote that itemises per-gallon price, delivery fee, tank rental (if applicable), minimum-delivery surcharge, and any monthly tank fee. Quote at least three suppliers, one national chain (AmeriGas, Suburban Propane), one APGA-listed regional family operator with in-state bulk storage, and one local-only retailer in your county. Per-gallon spreads of 30-60 cents within the same Alabama county are common, and the spread tends to widen in low-density counties.

Tier-1 supplier list coming. A hand-curated list of named Alabama propane suppliers (with HQ, coverage area, and notes on contract types) is in our editorial pipeline. We publish supplier lists only once each name has been verified against the Alabama LPGas Board permit search and the supplier's active service-area page. We do not generate supplier names from training data; that is a hallucination risk we treat seriously.

Alabama Propane Fill Costs by Tank Size (at $3.52/gal)

Propane tanks fill to 80% of stated capacity (the "80% rule") to allow for thermal expansion. Below is what each fill costs at the Alabama 2026 average. Real-world quotes vary 10-15% above or below the EIA average depending on supplier, contract, and delivery frequency. Black Belt and rural north-Alabama counties tend to sit on the high end of that range; Mobile, Baldwin, and the I-65 corridor tend to sit closer to the average.

Tank size	Usable gallons (80%)	Fill cost at $3.52/gal	vs national ($2.67/gal)
100 gal	80 gal	$281	+$67
250 gal	200 gal	$703	+$168
500 gal	400 gal	$1406	+$337
1000 gal	800 gal	$2813	+$674

Compare to the national refill cost guide or check pricing in other states.

Alabama Heating Season, Annual Use & ADECA LIHEAP

Alabama's residential heating season is short by US standards: mid-November through early March, with peak demand in January. North Alabama (Huntsville, Decatur, Cullman, Florence) sees a meaningful December-January cold-snap load. Central and south Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile) carry a much lighter heating footprint, with most propane volume going to water heating, cooking, dryer, generator, and pool/spa rather than space heat.

Typical Alabama propane-heat households consume 800-1,200 gallons per year, depending on house size, insulation, and how much of the load is propane versus another fuel. A 2,000 sqft home in Madison County with propane handling space heat, water heat, and cooking averages 900-1,000 gallons. A propane-only-for-cooking-and-water-heating household, with electric or heat-pump for space heat (the most common Alabama pattern), runs 150-300 gallons annually.

Translated to dollars at the 2026 Alabama average: a 1,000 gallon household pays $3516 per year for fuel alone, before tank rental fees, delivery surcharges, or service contracts. That is roughly $842 more than a national-average household and around $1336 more than a Texas household at the cheapest US end.

ADECA LIHEAP for income-qualified households. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program operates in Alabama through the Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), with intake handled by 21 local Community Action Agencies. Eligibility is set at or below 150% of federal poverty level. Households with elderly members, persons with disabilities, or children under 6 are prioritised. Benefits are paid directly to your propane supplier toward winter delivery costs, and a separate crisis-benefit category covers emergency fuel run-outs. Each Community Action Agency announces its own intake window, typically December through February. Apply through adeca.alabama.gov/liheap, call 211, or contact your county's CAA directly. Apply early, funds run out before the heating season ends in most counties.

Summer pre-buy is the single biggest lever. Pre-buying or capping in May-August routinely saves $300-$600 per year for a 1,000 gallon Alabama household versus paying winter spot rates. Most Alabama suppliers run their pre-buy enrolment between May 1 and August 31. Read the fine print: cap-price contracts let you keep savings if wholesale falls; flat pre-buy locks you in either direction. Coastal Mobile/Baldwin households should top up to 60%+ before June 1 hurricane-season opens regardless of pre-buy decision.

Alabama vs Other South Region States (2026)

State	Price/gal	500-gal refill (400 usable)	vs national ($2.67)
Oklahoma	$2.27	$909	-15%
Arkansas	$2.37	$947	-11%
Louisiana	$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	$3.51	$1405	+31%
West Virginia	$3.51	$1405	+31%
Alabama (this page)	$3.52	$1406	+31%
Virginia	$3.56	$1426	+33%
Maryland	$3.74	$1496	+40%
Florida	$4.71	$1882	+76%

South region average: $3.26/gal. Alabama at $3.52/gal is the second-most-expensive state in the region behind Florida, and roughly $234 more per 500-gallon fill than next-door Louisiana. The gap is structural (low household propane share, dispersed rural routes, thin supplier competition outside I-65), not a wholesale-price spike. See full state-by-state pricing for all 50 states.

Alabama Propane FAQ

Why is propane so expensive in Alabama despite Gulf Coast access?

On a map Alabama looks like it should sit at the cheap end of the South: Mobile and Theodore have working propane import-export terminals on the Gulf, and the state is closer to Texas/Louisiana production than any other Atlantic state. The numbers do not back that up. Alabama residential propane is $3.52/gal, +31% versus the $2.67 national average and +8% versus the South regional average of $3.26/gal. The EIA SHOPP series puts Alabama as the second-most-expensive state in the South region, behind only Florida. The driver is customer density, not transport. Alabama household propane share for primary heating is roughly 5%, well below the South regional pattern. Birmingham, Huntsville, and Montgomery are dominated by natural gas inside the city limits and by TVA-supplied electric resistance heat across the Tennessee Valley. That leaves propane on dispersed rural routes (Black Belt, north-central pine belt, parts of Baldwin and Mobile County outside city water/gas) where each bobtail truck covers more miles per delivery than in a higher-density state. High overhead per gallon delivered, not high wholesale price, is what is showing up at the meter.

Does Alabama have a state energy assistance program for propane?

Yes. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) operates in Alabama as straight LIHEAP, administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) and distributed through 21 local Community Action Agencies. ADECA does not run intake itself, every application goes through the Community Action Agency that covers your county. Eligibility is set at or below 150% of the federal poverty level. Households containing an elderly member, a person with disabilities, or a child under 6 are prioritised. Benefits are paid directly to your propane supplier (not to the household) toward winter delivery costs, and a separate crisis-benefit category covers emergency fuel run-outs. Alabama does not have a single statewide opening date: each Community Action Agency announces its own intake window between December and February each season. Start at adeca.alabama.gov/liheap, call 211, or contact your county's CAA directly. Apply early, funds run out before the heating season ends in most counties.

How do I check if an Alabama propane company is licensed?

Alabama is unusual in that propane is regulated by an independent state board, the Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board (LPGas Board), not by the Department of Agriculture, the Public Service Commission, or the State Oil & Gas Board. The board's authority is set out in the Code of Alabama 1975, § 9-17-100 et seq. It issues permits for Class A dealers (full retail), Class B dealers, transport, dispensing, and individual installer/service licenses, and it runs the public LPGas Permit Search at lpgb.alabama.gov. Always run any quoting company's name through that search before signing. If the company does not appear, do not sign, unlicensed delivery in Alabama is a misdemeanour and your homeowner's insurance may not cover loss arising from it. The board also publishes inspection and complaint records. The Alabama Propane Gas Association (APGA, alabamapropane.com) maintains a separate trade-member directory which is useful as a starting list, but APGA membership is voluntary; the LPGas Board permit is the legal qualification.

What does a full propane tank cost at Alabama prices?

Propane tanks fill to 80% of stated capacity to allow for thermal expansion (federal NFPA 58 standard). At the Alabama statewide rate of $3.52/gal that means a 100-gallon portable fills for about $281.28 (80 usable gallons), a 250-gallon residential tank fills for about $703.20 (200 usable), the standard 500-gallon tank fills for about $1406.40 (400 usable), and a 1,000-gallon tank fills for about $2812.80 (800 usable). Real-world quotes commonly run 10-15% above or below the EIA average depending on county, supplier overhead, will-call vs auto-fill, and whether you signed a pre-buy.

Should Mobile and Baldwin County homes keep propane for hurricane backup?

Yes, with caveats. The Gulf Coast counties (Mobile, Baldwin) regularly lose grid power for 24-72 hours during named storms. Propane is the most resilient backup fuel for those scenarios because it stores indefinitely without degrading (unlike gasoline or diesel), the tank lives outdoors, and a 250-500 gallon residential tank powers a whole-home generator for a week of typical hurricane-recovery load. Propane backup is overkill for inland counties (Tuscaloosa, Madison, Lee) where outages rarely exceed 12 hours and a smaller dual-fuel or gasoline-only generator will do. If you are sizing for hurricane backup specifically, target a 250-500 gallon tank rated for whole-home transfer-switch operation, and keep it above 60% full from June 1 through November 30. Some Mobile-area suppliers run a free pre-hurricane-season top-up programme for tanks above 250 gallons; ask before storm season opens.

When is the cheapest time to buy propane in Alabama?

Late spring through midsummer (May through August). Propane prices follow a predictable seasonal cycle: prices bottom after the heating season ends and before the next winter's pre-buy window opens, and they peak in January and February when cold-snap demand strains regional storage. Most Alabama suppliers run pre-buy enrolment (lock a per-gallon rate for next winter's deliveries) and cap-price contracts (set a ceiling, benefit if the market falls) between May 1 and August 31. If your tank is below 30% in October, fill it, do not wait for January hoping prices will fall. Read the contract before signing: cap-price beats flat pre-buy in a falling market, but charges a small per-gallon premium up front.

Should I switch from electric heat to propane in Alabama?

Usually no, and the math is unusual for Alabama specifically. Most Alabama households on electric heat are served by TVA in the north (Huntsville, Decatur, Florence, Athens) or Alabama Power in the south. Both have residential rates well below the national average. Electric resistance at $0.12-$0.14/kWh delivered is roughly competitive with propane at $${AL.price.toFixed(2)}/gal on a per-BTU basis once efficiency is normalised. Heat-pump systems (which dominate new-construction Alabama HVAC) deliver 2.5-4x the BTU per kWh and beat propane decisively except in the coldest week or two of the year. The case for propane in Alabama is non-heating: cooking, water heating, dryer, generator backup, and pool/spa. Switching primary space heat from a heat pump to a propane furnace at current prices does not pay back. Switching from a 20-year-old straight-resistance system to a propane furnace can pay back over 8-12 years if you also use propane for water heating and generator load.