15 States With the Most Expensive Natural Gas Prices

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Natural gas refinery
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Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Commodity.com.

With winter and cold weather upon us, many consumers will be bearing the burden of increased costs for heating sources like natural gas this year.

New data released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in early December showed a continued rise in inflation, with consumer prices in November rising 6.8% over the prior year. One of the main categories driving inflation overall has been energy, where prices now are up a total of 33.3% over their 2020 levels.

While the rate of growth month-to-month has slowed, the cost of utility gas service was 25.1% higher in November than it was one year ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased volatility in both demand and supply for energy, and with supply currently lagging behind demand, consumers are facing higher prices as a result.

To identify the states with the most expensive natural gas prices, researchers at Commodity.com calculated the average residential natural gas price, expressed in dollars per million BTU.

Here are the states with the most expensive natural gas prices.

15. Maryland

Annapolis, Maryland
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $12.60
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 13.23
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $167
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 80,133,138

14. Arizona

Tucson
Chris Rubino / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $12.63
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 5.80
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $73
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 43,051,055

13. Vermont

Burlington, Vermont
Erika J Mitchell / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $12.74
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 6.33
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $81
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 3,948,896

12. North Carolina

Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $12.76
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 6.27
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $80
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 66,414,665

11. South Carolina

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Kevin Ruck / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $13.01
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 5.79
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $75
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 30,188,107

10. California

Santa Monica, California
Natalia Macheda / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $13.64
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 12.08
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $165
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 475,462,426

9. New Hampshire

Manchester, New Hampshire
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $14.14
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 5.62
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $79
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 7,676,911

8. Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut
James Kirkikis / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $14.16
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 14.20
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $201
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 50,502,937

7. Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $14.19
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 18.10
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $257
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 124,785,321

6. Maine

Bangor, Maine
jiawangkun / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $14.35
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 2.28
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $33
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 3,071,594

5. Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $14.52
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 17.93
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $260
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 18,954,286

4. Georgia

Kennesaw, Georgia
Demetrius C / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $14.90
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 11.60
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $173
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 124,266,821

3. Alabama

Huntsville Alabama cityscape skyline
By Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $15.44
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 5.94
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $92
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 29,220,586

2. Florida

Tampa, Florida flood
Bobtown / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $20.62
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 0.83
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $17
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 17,967,062

1. Hawaii

Honolulu City neighborhood
Real Window Creative / Shutterstock.com
  • Average residential natural gas price (dollars per million BTU): $36.40
  • Annual natural gas consumption per capita (million BTU): 0.44
  • Annual natural gas cost per capita: $16
  • Total residential natural gas consumption (million BTU): 625,311

Methodology

Man analyzing data on a laptop
fizkes / Shutterstock.com

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s State Energy Data System (SEDS) and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

To determine the states with the most expensive natural gas prices, researchers calculated the average residential natural gas price, expressed in dollars per million BTU (MMBtu).

In the event of a tie, the state with the higher annual natural gas consumption per capita expressed in million BTU (MMBtu) was ranked higher. All data is for 2020, the most recent full year of data available.

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