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

Massachusetts residential propane runs $3.65/gal in 2026, roughly 36% above the $2.67 national average and inside the high-cost Northeast cluster. This is the no-spin breakdown: live EIA pricing, fill-cost math by tank size, MA HEAP fuel assistance, the DFS-licensed dealer lookup, and how to actually save in a heating-oil-dominant market.

Latest EIA residential propane price

Source: EIA Massachusetts 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.

Massachusetts Propane Pricing Snapshot (2026)

Massachusetts residential avg

$3.65/gal

EIA SHOPP weekly survey, full-service residential delivery

vs national average

+36%

National avg $2.67/gal. MA pays $0.98 more per gallon.

vs Northeast region avg

-1%

Region avg $3.69/gal. MA sits below the regional norm.

Annual fuel cost (1,000 gal)

$3649

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

500-gallon refill (400 usable)

$1460

Most common residential tank size in Massachusetts

Pre-buy savings (May-Aug)

$300-$600/yr

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

Massachusetts is mid-tier within an expensive regional cluster. The Northeast averages roughly $3.69/gal, dragged up by Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; Pennsylvania at the lower end pulls the regional average down. MA pricing reflects the state's heating-oil-dominant residential mix, distance from Gulf production, and rural delivery routes in the Berkshires, Worcester County, the South Coast, and Cape Cod.

Why Massachusetts Propane Prices Sit Where They Do

Massachusetts pricing is structural, not seasonal. Four factors lock MA into the high-cost Northeast cluster, and none will normalise back toward the national average without a major shift in regional propane infrastructure or a meaningful drop in heating demand.

1. Distance from production, no in-state output. Roughly 90% of US propane comes from natural-gas processing in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and the Marcellus/Utica shale (PA, OH, WV). Massachusetts has no in-state NGL production, no refinery, and no major bulk terminal. Propane reaches MA via rail and pipeline into Mid-Atlantic terminals, Marcus Hook (PA) is the dominant handoff for New England, then bobtail-trucks across the state. Each transport leg and each handoff is a margin layer baked into the per-gallon price before retail markup.

2. Heating-oil-dominant residential mix. Massachusetts has the highest residential heating-oil share of any US state. That leaves propane as a smaller, more dispersed customer base, so MA suppliers run lower customer density per route, smaller terminal storage volumes, and weaker procurement scale than supplier networks in propane-dominant regions. Less scale means higher per-gallon overhead, which retailers pass through.

3. Rural delivery economics. Propane in Massachusetts concentrates outside the natural-gas-served metro corridor. The Berkshires, Worcester County hill towns, the South Coast, and Cape Cod are where propane heat dominates rural pockets. These are exactly the long-route, low-stop-density zones where each delivery costs the supplier more to fulfill. Greater Boston and the Route 128 belt have far fewer propane customers because they are on natural gas.

4. Electrification policy compresses the customer base further. The Massachusetts Climate Roadmap and the state's 2050 net-zero target push residential heating toward electric heat pumps. Mass Save offers some of the largest residential heat-pump rebates in the country, typically $10,000+ for whole-home cold-climate systems plus 0% HEAT Loan financing up to $25,000. As propane households convert, the residual customer base gets smaller, route density drops further, and per-gallon overhead structurally rises. Tomorrow's MA propane customer base is smaller and more concentrated than today's.

Massachusetts Propane Fill Costs by Tank Size (at $3.65/gal)

Propane tanks fill to 80% of stated capacity (the "80% rule") to allow for thermal expansion, a federal NFPA 58 safety requirement, not a supplier markup. Below is what each fill costs at the MA 2026 average. Real-world quotes vary 10-15% above or below the EIA average depending on supplier, contract type, and delivery frequency.

Tank size	Usable gallons (80%)	Fill cost at $3.65/gal	vs national ($2.67/gal)
100 gal	80 gal	$292	+$78
250 gal	200 gal	$730	+$195
500 gal	400 gal	$1460	+$390
1000 gal	800 gal	$2919	+$780

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

Massachusetts Heating Season, Annual Use & Assistance

Massachusetts's residential heating season runs roughly five months, November through March, with peak demand in January and February. Spring (April-May) and fall (September-October) shoulder seasons see modest space-heating demand on cold nights, while June-August is essentially water-heating and cooking only for propane-heated households.

Typical MA 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 2,400 sqft Colonial in Worcester County with propane handling space heat, water heat, range, and dryer averages 1,000-1,100 gallons. A propane-only-for-cooking-and-water-heating household (with electric or oil for space heat) runs 150-300 gallons annually.

Translated to dollars at the 2026 MA average: a 1,000-gallon household pays $3649 per year for fuel alone, before tank rental, delivery surcharges, or service contracts. That is roughly $975 more than a comparable household in a national-average market.

HEAP / Fuel Assistance for income-qualified households. The Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), also called Fuel Assistance, the state's delivery vehicle for federal LIHEAP, covers propane and other deliverable fuels for households at or below 60% of State Median Income. FY2026 benefits run $200-$600 toward primary heating, plus up to $600 in winter crisis assistance for emergency fuel deliveries. Administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities through 22 local agencies. Apply at mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-home-heating-and-energy-assistance, find your local agency at masscap.org/heatinghelpma, or call the Massachusetts Heat Line on 1-800-632-8175.

Mass Save changes the long-run propane math. Mass Save offers some of the largest residential heat-pump rebates in the country, typically $10,000+ for whole-home cold-climate systems, plus 0% HEAT Loan financing up to $25,000 over seven years, plus envelope rebates (insulation, air sealing) that are often free for income-qualified households. For a propane household paying $$3649/year at the 2026 average, the propane-to-heat-pump rebate is one of the largest categories Mass Save funds. Most converters keep a smaller propane tank for cooking, generators, pool heaters, and as backup for the heat pump in deep cold rather than removing propane entirely.

Summer pre-buy is the biggest in-fuel lever. Pre-buying or capping in May-August routinely saves $300-$600 per year for a 1,000-gallon MA household versus paying winter spot rates. Most MA suppliers run pre-buy enrollment 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. Ask whether unused pre-paid gallons roll over.

How to Find a Licensed Propane Dealer in Massachusetts

Massachusetts propane dealers operate under 527 CMR, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Safety Code, and are licensed by the Department of Fire Services (DFS) through the Office of the State Fire Marshal's Fire Safety Division. Buying from an unlicensed dealer is a safety and consumer-protection risk: licensed dealers carry insurance, comply with NFPA 58 storage and delivery standards, and follow state-specific consumer rules on tank ownership and contract disclosure.

Massachusetts DFS Licensing, primary licensee list at mass.gov/info-details/dfs-licensing. If a company quoting you is not on the DFS list, do not sign. DFS Fire Safety Division Licensing: (978) 567-3700.
Propane Gas Association of New England (PGANE), regional trade body covering MA and the other five New England states. Member directory at pgane.org. Roughly 750 members. PGANE also runs propane safety training (CETP) and publishes licensing resources for installers and delivery personnel.
National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), national member directory at npga.org. Useful as a third filter for cross-state operators.

Always get a written quote that itemises per-gallon price, delivery fee, tank rental (if applicable), minimum-delivery surcharge, and any monthly tank fee. Compare two or three quotes before committing. Per-gallon spreads of $0.30-$0.50 within the same county are common in Massachusetts.

Hand-curated MA supplier list coming. A named list of Massachusetts propane suppliers (with HQ, coverage area, and notes on contract types) is in our editorial pipeline. We publish supplier names only after verifying each entry against the DFS licensee list 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.

Massachusetts vs Other Northeast States (2026)

State	Price/gal	500-gal refill (400 usable)	vs national ($2.67)
Connecticut	$4.12	$1646	+54%
New Jersey	$3.82	$1528	+43%
New Hampshire	$3.78	$1512	+41%
Rhode Island	$3.76	$1503	+41%
New York	$3.75	$1499	+40%
Vermont	$3.73	$1493	+40%
Delaware	$3.73	$1492	+40%
Massachusetts (this page)	$3.65	$1460	+36%
Maine	$3.52	$1409	+32%
Pennsylvania	$3.08	$1233	+15%
National average	$2.67	$1070	0%

Massachusetts sits mid-tier within the Northeast, cheaper than Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, more expensive than Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic states. The full Northeast region averages roughly $3.69/gal, all of which sits well above the $2.67 national mark. See full state-by-state pricing for all 50 states.

Massachusetts Propane FAQ

Am I eligible for Massachusetts Fuel Assistance (HEAP / LIHEAP)?

Massachusetts delivers the federal LIHEAP as the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), also called Fuel Assistance. The program is administered by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (formerly DHCD) through 22 local administering agencies, Community Action Agencies and a handful of municipal partners. Households at or below 60% of the State Median Income are income-eligible. For the 2025-2026 heating season, FY2026 benefits run $200-$600 toward primary heating (propane is fully eligible) plus up to $600 in winter crisis assistance for emergency fuel deliveries. Apply at mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-home-heating-and-energy-assistance, find your local agency at masscap.org/heatinghelpma, or call the Massachusetts Heat Line on 1-800-632-8175. Apply early, propane households face delivery cutoffs in deep winter and the application-to-first-delivery loop takes weeks.

Why is propane so expensive in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts sits roughly 1,500 miles from Gulf Coast propane production. There is no in-state NGL output, no refinery, and no major bulk terminal, propane reaches MA via rail and pipeline to Marcus Hook (PA) and other Mid-Atlantic terminals, then bobtail-trucks the rest of the way. Two structural drivers keep MA prices high. First, Massachusetts is a heating-oil-dominant state for residential heating, so propane is a smaller, more dispersed customer base; fewer customers per route means higher per-gallon overhead. Second, the customer base is concentrated in rural pockets, the Berkshires, parts of Worcester County, the South Coast, and Cape Cod, where delivery routes are long and supplier density is low. The 2026 EIA average for MA is $3.65/gal, versus $2.67 national and roughly $3.69 across the Northeast region. Massachusetts pays about 36% above national and runs roughly in the middle of the expensive Northeast cluster.

How do I find a licensed propane dealer in Massachusetts?

Propane dealers in Massachusetts operate under 527 CMR (the Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Safety Code) and are licensed by the Department of Fire Services (DFS), specifically the Office of the State Fire Marshal's Fire Safety Division. Start at mass.gov/info-details/dfs-licensing for the current licensee list and license-class definitions; if a company you are quoting is not on the DFS list, do not sign. The Propane Gas Association of New England (PGANE) at pgane.org is the regional trade body covering Massachusetts and the other five New England states; its member directory is a useful second filter. The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) directory at npga.org adds a third layer. Always cross-check the supplier on at least the DFS list before service begins. DFS Fire Safety Division Licensing: (978) 567-3700.

How do I switch propane suppliers in Massachusetts when my tank is supplier-owned?

The single biggest constraint on price-shopping in Massachusetts is supplier-owned tanks. Most MA homeowners rent their tank from their current supplier under a "free tank" arrangement that legally restricts who can refill it. To switch, your new supplier arranges a tank swap-out: they notify the existing supplier, pump out residual propane (you typically get a credit for that fuel), pull the old tank, and install their own. The full cycle takes 1-3 weeks. If you own your tank, purchased outright, inherited with the house, or paid off over time, any DFS-licensed dealer can fill it, and that ownership is the strongest pricing leverage you have. Tank purchase from a supplier in Massachusetts ranges $800-$2,500 depending on size, install state, and whether it is above-ground or buried. At MA's $3.65/gal rate, a 1,000-gallon-per-year household that gains $0.20-$0.40/gal of supplier-shopping leverage from owning the tank recoups a $1,500 purchase in 4-7 years.

Should I switch from heating oil to propane in Massachusetts (or the other way)?

Massachusetts has the highest residential heating-oil share of any US state, so this question comes up often. Propane delivers about 91,500 BTU per gallon versus 138,500 for heating oil, so you burn roughly 1.5 gallons of propane to match 1 gallon of oil. At 2026 MA prices ($3.65/gal propane versus typical $4.10-$4.60/gal heating oil), per-BTU costs are roughly comparable, propane is slightly more expensive per BTU at the high end of the oil range, slightly cheaper at the low end. Propane wins on cleanliness (no sulfur, no soot), appliance flexibility (range, dryer, generator, pool heater all run on the same fuel), and indoor-tank elimination. Heating oil wins on raw BTU density and Massachusetts's existing oil-delivery infrastructure. Conversion cost runs $6,000-$12,000 for a new boiler/furnace plus tank install, which takes 8-15 years to recoup at current spreads. The economic case for switching only really clears when (a) your oil system is at end of life anyway, (b) you want propane for non-heating uses regardless, or (c) you are pairing the switch with a Mass Save heat-pump install that drops both fuels to backup-only. For new construction in MA, electrification (heat pumps) is now the default per the state's Climate Roadmap and 2050 net-zero policy.

Does Mass Save change the math on staying with propane?

Yes, materially. Mass Save (the joint utility program funded by ratepayer assessments) offers some of the largest residential heat-pump rebates in the country, typically $10,000+ for whole-home cold-climate heat pumps, plus 0% HEAT Loan financing up to $25,000 over seven years, plus envelope rebates (insulation, air sealing) that are often free for income-qualified households. For propane-heated MA homes specifically, the propane-to-heat-pump switch is one of the largest rebate categories because propane is treated as a non-utility delivered fuel. The decision is rarely "should I get cheaper propane" so much as "should I keep paying $3.65/gal at all, given the rebates available to leave." That said, propane retains a role for cooking, generators, pool heaters, and as backup for heat pumps in deep cold, most MA propane households who electrify keep a smaller tank for those uses rather than removing propane entirely.

When is the best time to fill my propane tank in Massachusetts?

Late spring (May) and early summer (June-July) are the lowest-price windows. Massachusetts wholesale propane prices typically bottom in June-August, when refinery output is high and residential demand is near zero, and peak in January-February when cold-snap demand strains regional storage. MA suppliers running pre-buy or cap-price programs in May-August have offered $0.30-$0.60/gal below winter spot rates in recent years. On a 1,000-gallon annual usage, that is $300-$600/year saved. Tactical play: time your fill so you enter winter at 75-80% from a September top-up at shoulder-season prices, then ride that tank as far into February as possible. Read the contract before signing, a cap-price contract lets you keep savings if wholesale falls, while strict pre-buy locks you in regardless. Ask whether unused pre-paid gallons roll over to next season.