EIA residential propane, Minnesota
Minnesota propane prices: $2.06 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 seven-month heating season priced in the cheap half of the Midwest: Conway storage a pipeline away, one of the largest propane-heated household bases in the country, and an October grain-drying pull that decides when a Minnesota household should have filled its tank.
Latest EIA residential propane price
Source: EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program, Minnesota residential series. Refreshed automatically every Tuesday in season; wholesale daily.
Minnesota at a glance
Latest survey$2.06/gal
vs week before-5.1c
vs 4 weeks before+0.6c
vs same week last year-1%
vs US ($2.67)23% below
Among 38 surveyed states7th cheapest
500-gal fill (400 usable)$822
Week by week, 2025-26 season
Minnesota against the US average
Every point is an EIA survey week. This season Minnesota ran from a low of $1.78 (6 Oct) to a high of $2.11 (23 Mar), with the US average finishing at $2.67. Against the same week a year earlier it is -1%.
$1.78
Season low
6 October 2025
$2.11
Season high
23 March 2026
$2.08
Same week last year
31 March 2025, now -1%
$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 Minnesota prices are heading.
What a fill costs in Minnesota at $2.06
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 $2.06 | vs US ($2.67) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 gal | 80 gal | $164 | -$49 |
| 250 gal | 200 gal | $411 | -$124 |
| 500 gal | 400 gal | $822 | -$247 |
| 1000 gal | 800 gal | $1645 | -$494 |
A Minnesota home heating on propane through a typical winter burns 1,000 to 1,500 gallons, so fuel alone runs about $2056 to $3084 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.
Minnesota against its Midwest neighbours
The cheapest Midwest cluster (Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Kansas) hugs the Conway, Kansas storage hub and the central-plains fractionator network. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois sit in the next tier. Indiana, Ohio and Michigan run slightly higher, farther from Conway and carrying longer last-mile routes through more populated terrain.
| 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 Minnesota runs 23% under the national average
Minnesota runs one of the longest, coldest heating seasons in the lower 48 yet sits well below the national average. The reasons are structural, not seasonal: storage geography, customer density, farm demand, and the supply discipline built after the 2014 crunch.
PADD 2 storage proximity.
Minnesota sits inside PADD 2, the Midwest, the largest propane-storage region in the US, anchored by the Conway, Kansas hub. Wholesale reaches Minnesota by pipeline and short truck movements rather than the multi-state hauls that bake cost into Northeast and West Coast supply.
The Cochin and Enterprise corridor.
Legacy Cochin infrastructure plus Enterprise's Mid-America system feed Minnesota terminals at Mankato, Benson and Albany. Short trucking distances from those terminals to homes and farms keep last-mile freight low next to interior Northeast states that truck from terminals hundreds of miles farther away.
Route density from a large propane base.
Minnesota has one of the highest absolute counts of propane-heated households in the country, concentrated in rural Greater Minnesota. High customer density per delivery route lets suppliers spread per-gallon overhead across more stops, which feeds back into competitive retail pricing that thin, spread-out states cannot match.
Farm demand and post-2014 discipline.
More than 100,000 Minnesota farms pull large grain-drying volumes each autumn, so terminals carry heavier inventory than a heating-only state would. The 2013-2014 shortage spiked retail above four dollars a gallon and drained rural tanks; the state response added regional storage, supply monitoring and EAP crisis flexibility, and pushed households toward pre-buy. That hedging is why Minnesota holds below the national average even in a hard winter.
Four decisions that set your Minnesota propane bill
A good supplier list is step one. The gap between a careless fill and a well-run propane account in Minnesota is usually a few hundred dollars across a seven-month winter. Here is where that money is won.
01
Vet the supplier the Minnesota way
Minnesota has no public dealer-licence lookup. Bulk-plant safety is enforced by the State Fire Marshal under NFPA 58 and the Minnesota State Fire Code, not through a name-searchable registry. Cross-reference a company against the MPA member directory and NPGA, then ask for proof of liability insurance and current CETP-credentialed delivery staff.
02
Fill before the corn-dry pull
Minnesota wholesale bottoms in June to August, then the October and November grain-drying surge draws down regional inventory just as heating season starts. Top your tank to 80% by mid-September and enrol in pre-buy or a summer-fill programme during the May-to-August window. Ask for a cap-price contract so you keep the saving if winter wholesale falls, and ask whether unused pre-paid gallons roll forward.
03
Quote all three supplier tiers
Minnesota has a genuine three-tier market: national carriers, member-owned cooperatives and CHS affiliates, and local independents with dense county routes. In rural Minnesota the spread between the cheapest local and the priciest national quote is often 30 to 50 cents a gallon, so pull one written quote from each tier. If you own your tank, say so up front: it removes the switching penalty leased-tank customers face.
04
Check EAP eligibility
The Minnesota Energy Assistance Program, run by the Department of Commerce, pays a heating benefit straight to your propane supplier for households at or below 50% of state median income (a household of four earning up to roughly $73,000 can qualify). Crisis benefits cover runouts and no-heat emergencies year-round. Apply through your local provider or the Commerce energy-assistance pages, or call 651-539-1500. Winter 2025-2026 applications close 31 May 2026.
Rated by customers
Minnesota 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.
Twin Cities metro
Mike's LP Gas & RV Service Center
Maplewood, Minnesota
4.8239 reviews, Birdeye
Family-run east-metro cylinder fill, RV service, and tank work with the deepest positive review base of any propane name in the Twin Cities.
See the reviews ›Southern Minnesota farm belt
Crystal Valley
Vernon Center, Minnesota
4.514 reviews, Birdeye
Member-owned cooperative serving the Mankato and Blue Earth County corn belt with residential, farm, and autogas propane.
See the reviews ›Western Minnesota
Dooley's Petroleum
Willmar, Minnesota
4.79 reviews, Chamber of Commerce
Independent Kandiyohi County fuel and propane supplier since 1956, cited for responsive residential delivery across west-central Minnesota.
See the reviews ›Northern Minnesota / lake country
Federated Co-ops (Moose Lake Country Store)
Moose Lake, Minnesota
4.745 reviews, Chamber of Commerce
Carlton County branch of the Princeton-based Federated cooperative, one of the larger propane co-ops in the country, strong reviews in the Northland.
See the reviews ›Verified on the state registry
8 of the 331 Minnesota dealers on the MPA register
| Dealer | City | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| A & J Gas | Blomkest | (320) 212-8497 |
| Ag Partners | Belle Plaine | (952) 873-4244 |
| Ag Partners | Goodhue | (651) 923-6004 |
| Ag Partners | Lake City | (651) 345-3328 |
| Ag Partners | Le Center | (507) 357-6868 |
| Ag Partners | LeSueur | (507) 665-6270 |
| Ag Partners | Morristown | (507) 685-2700 |
| Albertville Fire Department | Albertville | (763) 497-3384 x107 |
Source: Minnesota Propane Association member directory, captured 5 June 2026. A registry listing is a licence record, not an endorsement.
Minnesota propane, the questions people ask
Where do the suppliers in your Minnesota directory come from?
Every company listed on this page is drawn from the Minnesota Propane Association (MPA) member roster at discoverpropanemn.com, captured on 5 June 2026. Minnesota does not publish a public per-dealer licence registry the way Florida, North Carolina, or Wisconsin do, so this trade-association roster is the closest thing to a verified statewide list of active propane companies. It is a membership snapshot, not a licence check or an endorsement. MPA members commit to CETP-credentialed staff and the association code of practices, but you should still confirm a company's insurance and safety standing before you sign.
How do I check whether a Minnesota propane supplier is properly licensed?
Minnesota does not license propane dealers through a single public registry. Bulk-plant and cylinder-filling safety is enforced by the State Fire Marshal Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, which has adopted NFPA 58 (the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code) into the Minnesota State Fire Code. Retailers are regulated through fire-code enforcement, fuel-distribution registration, and federal hazmat carrier credentials rather than a consumer-facing dealer licence you can look up by name. Two practical checks: cross-reference the company against the Minnesota Propane Association member directory at discoverpropanemn.com, and against the National Propane Gas Association directory at npga.org. For a safety concern about a bulk plant or delivery operation, contact the State Fire Marshal at sfm.dps.mn.gov. For a pricing or billing complaint, contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
How do I apply for the Minnesota Energy Assistance Program (EAP)?
EAP is Minnesota's federal-LIHEAP-funded heating help, administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Energy Resources Division, through a network of local service providers (mostly Community Action Agencies and tribal nations). Income eligibility is set at 50% of Minnesota State Median Income, so a household of four earning up to roughly $73,000 can still qualify. Apply through your local energy-assistance provider, online via the Department of Commerce energy-assistance pages, or by calling the Commerce EAP line at 651-539-1500 (statewide help is also available on 1-800-657-3710). Primary Heat benefits are paid directly to your propane supplier rather than to you, and the amount scales with income, household size, and fuel cost. The 2025-2026 program year runs on the federal fiscal calendar, and applications for winter 2025-2026 are accepted through 31 May 2026. Crisis benefits are available year-round for households facing a fuel runout, a disconnect notice, or a no-heat emergency. Apply early: funds are first-come, first-served and rural propane households often face delivery delays in the January-February demand peak.
How does the October corn-drying season move Minnesota propane prices?
Minnesota has more than 100,000 farms, and a large volume of propane moves through commercial grain dryers during the October-November corn harvest each year. In a wet harvest, dryer demand can run well above normal within weeks. That pull lands at the exact moment residential tanks are being filled for winter, so terminals at Mankato, Benson, and Albany draw down just as heating season begins. Minnesota retail propane typically bottoms in May-August, holds flat through early September, then climbs from late September as dryers begin buying. By mid-October, will-call rates often sit above the summer low. The household play is simple: top your tank to 80% by mid-September, before the corn-dry pull, and ride the heating season on a pre-buy or cap-price contract from there.
Does summer pre-buy actually save money in Minnesota?
Yes, consistently. Minnesota wholesale propane usually bottoms in June-August, when refinery output is high, agricultural demand is near zero, and residential heating demand is essentially nil. Suppliers running pre-buy or budget-lock programs in May-August commonly price below the eventual winter spot rate. On a 1,500-gallon annual usage, typical for a propane-heated home in Greater Minnesota, that difference adds up to real money across a seven-month season. Federated Co-ops, Lakes Gas, AmeriGas, Ferrellgas, and Suburban all offer some flavour of pre-buy or summer-fill. Read the contract before signing: a cap-price contract lets you keep the savings if winter wholesale falls, while a strict pre-buy locks the price in either direction. Ask whether the deal is per-gallon or capped, and whether unused pre-paid gallons roll over to the next season.
Why is Minnesota propane cheaper than the national average when winters are so cold?
Minnesota residential propane runs $2.06 a gallon, roughly 23% below the $2.67 national average, despite one of the longest heating seasons in the lower 48. Three structural reasons. First, Minnesota sits inside PADD 2 (Midwest), the cheapest US propane region, with pipeline access to the Conway, Kansas hub and short trucking distances to in-state terminals. Second, Minnesota has one of the highest absolute counts of propane-heated households in the country, which gives suppliers dense delivery routes and economies of scale a small-customer-base state cannot match. Third, the state's large farm base pulls high grain-drying volumes each autumn, so wholesale terminals carry heavier inventory than a heating-only state would. Higher inventory plus a competitive cooperative-and-national supplier mix keeps retail spreads tight. Where Minnesota does pay more: winter spot premiums during cold snaps and any will-call delivery in January-February.
What did the 2014 propane shortage teach Minnesota households about winter buying?
The winter of 2013-2014 was a defining event for Minnesota propane. A wet 2013 corn harvest pulled record volumes into grain dryers, the Cochin Pipeline reversal that year cut a major eastward propane flow into the Upper Midwest, and Polar Vortex cold snaps in January 2014 drove regional inventory to multi-decade lows. Minnesota retail propane spiked from autumn lows around $1.80/gal to well over $4.00/gal at the peak, and some rural households faced runouts. The governor declared a propane emergency, federal hours-of-service rules were waived for propane truckers, and the state later expanded regional storage and supply monitoring and added crisis-fund flexibility to EAP. The lessons still hold: never let your tank drop below 30% in heating season, sign a pre-buy or cap-price contract in May-August before the autumn corn-dry pull, top up to 80% by mid-September, and avoid will-call deliveries during January-February cold snaps when emergency premiums are common.
Who has the cheapest propane in Minnesota?
There is no single cheapest supplier statewide. Pricing turns on ZIP code, contract type, delivery frequency, and whether you own or rent your tank. In practice, member-owned cooperatives like Federated Co-ops (Princeton) and CHS affiliates often beat national chains because they return margin to members rather than shareholders. Regional operator Lakes Gas is competitive on automatic-delivery contracts. Local independents with dense routes, such as Dooley's Petroleum, Beaudry Oil & Propane, and Crystal Valley, frequently post the lowest will-call rates in their home counties. Quote at least three suppliers: one national (AmeriGas, Suburban, Ferrellgas), one cooperative or regional, and one local independent in your county. A pre-buy or cap-price contract signed in May-August routinely beats winter spot pricing.
Keep reading
All Minnesota dealers
The complete verified directory of 331 Minnesota 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 natural gas
Per-BTU economics for Minnesota homes inside and outside the gas-main grid.