On a national basis, natural gas has long been the dominant choice for primary heating fuel in the residential sector. Lately, electricity has been gaining market share while natural gas, distillate fuel oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas (propane) have declined.
Part of the national change in heating fuel choice can be attributed to population migrations farther west and south. But even within Census regions, electricity has been gaining market share at the expense of natural gas. The Northeast is the exception, as both natural gas and electricity have been increasing while distillate fuel oil and kerosene have declined.
In the Midwest, most homes are heated by natural gas. The Midwest also has the highest percentage of homes heated by propane, although both natural gas and propane have lost market share to electricity since 2005. The South is the only Census region where electricity is the main space heating fuel in the majority of homes. Heating fuel preferences in the West largely mirror the national average, although households in the West are more likely to use wood as their primary heating fuel or to report not using heating equipment at all.
