North Dakota Propane Price 2026: Cost Per Gallon, Suppliers & Delivery

North Dakota residential propane runs $1.70/gal in 2026, roughly -36% versus the national average and one of the three cheapest US markets, behind Nebraska and Iowa. Bakken NGL production gives ND retailers a structural cost advantage that travels through to homeowner bills. This is the no-spin breakdown: real fill-cost math, the LIHEAP route for income-qualified households, supplier verification, and the seasonal timing that matters in a state where grain drying competes with home heat.

Latest EIA residential propane price

Source: EIA North Dakota 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.

North Dakota Propane Pricing Snapshot (2026)

North Dakota residential avg

$1.70/gal

EIA SHOPP weekly survey, week ending 30 March 2026

vs national average

-36%

National avg $2.674/gal. ND pays $0.97 less per gallon than the US average.

vs Midwest region avg

-18%

Region avg $2.07/gal. ND sits well below the Midwest norm thanks to in-state Bakken NGL supply.

Annual fuel cost (1,000 gal)

$1700

Typical ND propane-heat household uses 1,000-1,400 gal/year given the cold winters

500-gallon refill (400 usable)

$680

Most common residential tank size in ND

Pre-buy savings (May-Jul)

10-20%

Lock-in or cap-price contracts beat winter spot pricing and the fall grain-drying bump

North Dakota is one of the cheapest US markets for residential propane. Only Nebraska ($1.64/gal) and Iowa ($1.66/gal) come in below ND in the 2026 EIA dataset. The cluster of three is a Midcontinent supply story: NGL production from the Bakken (ND) and the Conway/Mid-Continent fractionation hub (NE/IA/KS) lands close to retail customers, and agricultural propane keeps year-round route economies tight.

Why North Dakota Propane Prices Sit Where They Do

ND consistently sits in the bottom three of US residential propane prices. The drivers are structural and physical, not seasonal. They will not normalise upward without a major shift in Bakken NGL economics or a collapse in agricultural propane demand.

1. In-state Bakken NGL production. Roughly 90% of US propane comes from natural gas processing. North Dakota produces propane in-state as a byproduct of Bakken Formation oil and gas development in the Williston Basin. The Hess-Targa Tioga Gas Plant near Tioga is one of the largest gas processing and fractionation facilities in the state. The expansion of that plant more than tripled the propane available to North Dakota and the surrounding region. The ONEOK Garden Creek complex and a growing network of gathering systems feed propane and other NGLs into the ONEOK Elk Creek pipeline. ND retailers buy locally; that eliminates the rail-to-truck terminal margins that drive Northeast pricing.

2. Pipeline access and storage close to demand. The Tioga, Stanley, and Watford City corridor concentrates processing, NGL pipeline injection, and rail and truck loading capacity. Hess Midstream operates an underground propane storage cavern with around 330,000 barrels of capacity in nearby Mentor, Minnesota, with rail and truck links back into ND markets. Short physical distance from production to retail keeps logistics costs low and lets ND suppliers carry through cheaper wholesale pricing.

3. Agricultural base load smooths route economics. ND is a top-three US wheat producer and a major source of corn, soybeans, and sunflowers. Grain drying after harvest creates large, predictable propane demand in September and October every year. Combined with winter heating, that gives suppliers two demand peaks instead of one and supports route density across rural counties. Trucks running profitable routes year round let retailers spread fixed costs over more gallons sold and quote tighter per-gallon margins to homeowners.

4. Severe-cold winters do not break the pricing model. Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot regularly see multi-week sub-zero stretches in January and February. That should, in theory, push prices up. It does not, much, because the production-and-ag base load is robust enough to absorb the demand spike. ND households still consume more propane per year than national norms (1,000-1,400 gal versus 800-1,200), but the per-gallon rate stays well below national average. The risk is logistics in extreme cold weeks, not price.

North Dakota Propane Fill Costs by Tank Size (at $1.70/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 ND 2026 average. Real-world quotes vary 10-15% above or below the EIA average depending on supplier, contract type, and proximity to Tioga, Stanley, or Watford City storage.

Tank size	Usable gallons (80%)	Fill cost at $1.70/gal	vs national ($2.674/gal)
100 gal	80 gal	$136.00	-$77.92
250 gal	200 gal	$340.00	-$194.80
500 gal	400 gal	$680.00	-$389.60
1000 gal	800 gal	$1360.00	-$779.20

A typical ND propane-heat household running a 500-gallon tank will need two or sometimes three fills across an October-to-April heating season. Compare to the national refill cost guide or check pricing in other states.

North Dakota Heating Season, Grain Drying & Annual Use

North Dakota's residential heating season runs roughly seven months, October through April, with peak demand in January and February. Multi-week sub-zero stretches in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot push daily consumption rates well above what households in milder Midwest states see. Spring (May) and fall (September) see modest space-heating demand, while June through August is essentially water-heating and cooking only for propane-heated households.

Typical ND propane-heat households consume 1,000 to 1,400 gallons per year, depending on house size, insulation, and how much of the load is propane versus another fuel. A 2,400 sqft farmhouse outside Minot with propane handling space heat, water heat, range, and dryer averages 1,200-1,400 gallons. A propane-only-for-cooking-and-water-heating household, with electric or wood for space heat, runs 200-400 gallons annually. Lake Sakakawea cabin owners and oil-patch worker housing in Williston, Watford City, and Tioga typically run 1,000-gallon tanks and fill once or twice in the cold months.

Translated to dollars at the 2026 ND average: a 1,000 gallon household pays $1700 per year for fuel alone, before tank rental fees, delivery surcharges, or service contracts. That is roughly $974 less than a comparable household in a national-average market would pay for the same gallons.

Layer on the agricultural cycle: a North Dakota grain operation drying wheat, corn, soybeans, or sunflowers can burn an additional 1,500 to 4,000 gallons per harvest, with that demand concentrated into a narrow September-October window. That seasonal spike is what makes a late-summer pre-buy worth real money for both farms and rural homeowners, the spot-market bump in early autumn does happen, even in a cheap state.

LIHEAP assistance for income-qualified households. The North Dakota Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is administered by ND Health and Human Services and covers propane along with natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, coal, and wood. The program is designed so eligible households pay no more than 6% of total income toward heating costs. Application window: October 1 through May 1. Benefits average around $161 per household per month and reach about 37,000 North Dakotans annually. Apply at hhs.nd.gov/applyforhelp, locally at a Human Service Zone office, or by mail. Weatherization (insulation, weather-stripping, furnace repair or replacement, chimney inspection) is included for eligible homeowners and renters.

Time pre-buy around the September grain-drying bump. Most ND suppliers run pre-buy or cap-price enrollment between May 1 and August 31. Lock in before September because grain-drying demand can push spot rates up by 10-20 cents per gallon for several weeks. Read the fine print: cap-price contracts let you keep savings if wholesale falls; flat pre-buy locks you in either direction.

How to Find a Licensed Propane Supplier in North Dakota

North Dakota does not run a consumer-facing dealer license the way some states do. The State Fire Marshal (a division within the ND Insurance Department) regulates propane bulk plant safety, storage, and dispensing under NFPA 58 and ND Administrative Code Chapter 10-07. Verification routes for residential customers:

North Dakota Propane Gas Association (NDPGA), based in Bismarck at 1014 East Central Avenue. Member directory at ndpropane.org. NDPGA runs Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) safety courses for the industry, so members are typically the operators most invested in compliance.
National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) member directory at npga.org, the national trade association lists licensed propane retailers across all 50 states.
North Dakota State Fire Marshal, firemarshal.nd.gov. Approves bulk plant pre-installation plans and inspects aboveground LP storage. If you have any doubt about a supplier's bulk plant compliance, the Fire Marshal's office is the right place to ask.

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 signing. Per-gallon spreads of 20 to 40 cents within the same county are common in ND, particularly between oil-patch counties (Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail, Dunn) and the eastern Red River Valley.

Tier-1 supplier list coming. A hand-curated list of named North Dakota 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 NDPGA member 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.

North Dakota vs Other Midwest States (2026)

State	Price/gal	500-gal refill (400 usable)	vs national ($2.674)
Illinois	$2.03	$810	-24%
Indiana	$2.63	$1054	-1%
Iowa	$1.66	$664	-38%
Kansas	$1.98	$791	-26%
Michigan	$2.37	$948	-11%
Minnesota	$2.06	$822	-23%
Missouri	$2.21	$884	-17%
Nebraska	$1.64	$657	-39%
North Dakota (this page)	$1.70	$680	-36%
Ohio	$2.69	$1078	+1%
South Dakota	$1.84	$736	-31%
Wisconsin	$2.07	$826	-23%
National average	$2.67	$1070	0%

North Dakota sits in the cheapest cluster of the Midwest, behind Nebraska ($1.64/gal) and Iowa ($1.66/gal) but ahead of South Dakota and the rest of the region. The Midwest regional average is $2.07/gal, and that whole region sits comfortably below the $2.674 national mark thanks to in-region NGL production at Conway (KS) and Tioga (ND) and a robust agricultural propane base.

North Dakota Propane FAQ

Why is propane so cheap in North Dakota?

North Dakota sits on top of one of the largest NGL production zones in the United States. The Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin produces propane as a byproduct of the natural gas processing that follows oil drilling. The Hess-Targa Tioga Gas Plant near Tioga and the ONEOK Garden Creek complex strip propane, butane, and ethane from associated gas before residue gas flows into the Northern Border interstate pipeline. That in-state production, combined with direct connections to the ONEOK Elk Creek NGL pipeline, means ND propane retailers do not pay the long-haul rail-to-truck markups that Northeast suppliers do. The 1.70/gal 2026 EIA average reflects that supply advantage. Add a heavy agricultural base load (grain drying creates year-round demand that supports route economies) and you get one of the three cheapest residential propane markets in the country, behind only Nebraska and Iowa.

How much does propane cost per gallon in North Dakota?

North Dakota residential propane is $1.70/gallon based on the latest EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program release (week ending 30 March 2026). That figure is -36% versus the $2.674 national average and -18% versus the Midwest regional average of $2.07. The number is the statewide retail average; what you actually pay depends on your supplier, contract type (will-call, auto-fill, pre-buy or cap-price), location within the state, and tank ownership status. In the oil-patch counties (Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail, Dunn) per-gallon rates can run a few cents under the state average because of supplier proximity to Tioga and Watford City storage. Always get two or three written quotes before signing.

What does a full tank of propane cost in North Dakota?

At the North Dakota statewide rate of $1.70/gallon, filling a 500-gallon residential tank to its 80%-rule capacity (400 usable gallons) costs about $680.00. A 250-gallon tank fills for about $340.00, and a 1,000-gallon tank fills for about $1360.00. Propane tanks fill to 80% rather than 100% to allow for thermal expansion in summer heat, this is a federal NFPA 58 safety requirement, not a supplier markup. ND households with 1,000-gallon tanks are common because of severe-cold winters: a single fall fill can carry a well-insulated farmhouse through to spring without a January top-up.

How much do North Dakota households spend on propane per year?

A typical North Dakota household using propane for primary heating burns 1,000 to 1,400 gallons per year, higher than the national 800 to 1,200 range because of multi-week sub-zero stretches in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot. At the current statewide rate of $1.70/gallon, that translates to about $1700 to $2380 per year. Households using propane only for water heating, cooking, or supplemental space heat typically burn 200 to 400 gallons annually, costing roughly $340 to $680. Farms running grain drying for wheat, corn, soybeans, or sunflowers can burn an additional 1,500 to 4,000 gallons per harvest depending on moisture content; that demand peaks in September and October.

Does LIHEAP help pay for propane in North Dakota?

Yes. The North Dakota Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is administered by the ND Department of Health and Human Services and covers propane along with natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, coal, and wood. The program is designed so that no eligible household pays more than 6% of their total income toward heating costs. ND HHS accepts LIHEAP applications from October 1 through May 1 each heating season. Over the most recent year the program helped about 37,000 North Dakotans with $15.3 million in benefits, averaging $161 per household per month. Apply online at hhs.nd.gov/applyforhelp, locally at a Human Service Zone office, or by mail. Weatherization (insulation, weather-stripping, furnace repair or replacement, chimney inspection) is included for eligible homeowners and renters. Apply early, crisis-only applications face delivery delays in peak January and February demand.

Who regulates propane suppliers in North Dakota?

The North Dakota State Fire Marshal (a division within the ND Insurance Department) is the primary regulator for propane bulk plant safety, storage, and dispensing. The Fire Marshal enforces NFPA 58 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code) and NFPA 30/30A as adopted into ND Administrative Code Chapter 10-07, performs inspections on aboveground fuel dispensing and bulk tank storage sites, and approves pre-installation plans for new aboveground LP storage. The North Dakota Propane Gas Association (NDPGA), based in Bismarck at 1014 East Central Avenue, runs Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) safety courses for industry staff and maintains an ND member directory at ndpropane.org. ND has minimal state-level dealer licensing compared with states like Texas or Connecticut, bulk-plant compliance is the focus, and there is no consumer-facing dealer license you check the way you would in those states. Verify a supplier through the NDPGA member list, NPGA national directory at npga.org, or by asking the Fire Marshal whether their bulk plant is on file.

When is the cheapest time to buy propane in North Dakota?

Late spring through midsummer (typically May through July). Propane prices follow a clear seasonal cycle: prices bottom after heating season ends in April and before the next winter's pre-buy window opens, and peak in January and February when cold-snap demand strains regional storage. ND has an additional pricing wrinkle, September and October see a localised demand bump from agricultural grain drying (wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflowers), so per-gallon rates can creep up briefly before the heating-season pre-buys settle. Most ND suppliers offer pre-buy contracts (lock a per-gallon rate for next winter's deliveries) and cap-price contracts (set a ceiling but benefit if the market falls) during May through August. If your tank is below 30% in September, fill it before grain-drying demand bites, do not wait for January hoping prices will fall.