Propane is used across U.S. households, commercial and industrial boilers, petrochemical supply chains, transport, and international trade. The statistics below distinguish any household propane use from primary space heating, observed measurements from estimates, and forecasts from realized outcomes.
Key Propane Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful propane data points across household adoption, demand, prices, trade, and environmental measures:
- About 11 million U.S. households used propane as a major fuel in 2020, according to the Residential Energy Consumption Survey estimate.
- About 42 million U.S. households used propane for outdoor grilling in the United States in 2020, a use that is separate from residential heating.
- Propane was the primary space-heating fuel for 6.596 million U.S. households in 2024, an EIA estimate.
- The Midwest had an estimated 2.215 million propane-primary-heating households in 2024, the largest regional count listed.
- U.S. propane consumption reached 1.48 million barrels per day in January 2025, using EIA product supplied as a consumption proxy.
- The United States recorded 946 heating degree days in January 2025, a weather-demand indicator.
- U.S. propane inventories entered winter 2024–25 at 98 million barrels, before the January 2025 draw.
- U.S. propane inventories fell about 22 million barrels during January 2025, according to EIA.
- The U.S. residential propane price averaged $2.667 per gallon in January 2025, based on the EIA monthly table.
- The U.S. residential propane price averaged $2.566 per gallon in January 2026, in the EIA table accessed in October 2026.
- U.S. propane exports averaged a record 1.8 million barrels per day in 2024.
- U.S. propane exports increased in each of the 17 years through 2024, according to EIA’s annual comparison.
- U.S. propane exports surpassed 2 million barrels per day in November 2024, the first time that monthly threshold was reached.
- The United States supplied 32% of China’s propane imports in 2024, compared with 17% from Iran and 7% from Qatar.
- Transportation accounted for less than 1% of total U.S. propane consumption in 2022.
- EPA’s propane carbon coefficient is 12.68 pounds of CO2 per gallon, a fuel-combustion coefficient rather than a lifecycle estimate.
- EPA estimates typical annual propane-related CO2 emissions at 4,906 pounds per U.S. household, using a national-average calculator input.
Contents
- Key Propane Statistics
- Propane Household Use and Primary Heating
- Propane Consumption, Weather Demand, and Storage
- Propane Prices and Household Heating Costs
- U.S. Propane Production, Exports, and Trade
- Propane Uses and Combustion Emissions
- Propane Heating Forecasts and Regional Indicators
Propane Household Use and Primary Heating
Household propane statistics depend on the definition used. The 2020 RECS estimate covers households using propane as a major fuel, while the EIA heating series identifies propane as the primary space-heating fuel; neither measure counts every household that uses propane in any capacity.
The EIA household series estimates the following primary space-heating counts:
| Year | U.S. households | Unit and definition |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6.123 million | Primary space-heating fuel |
| 2020 | 6.232 million | Primary space-heating fuel |
| 2021 | 6.452 million | Primary space-heating fuel |
| 2022 | 6.437 million | Primary space-heating fuel |
| 2023 | 6.469 million | Primary space-heating fuel |
| 2024 | 6.596 million | Primary space-heating fuel |
Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024. These are EIA estimates drawing on Census and RECS inputs.
The broader 2020 RECS estimate reported about 11 million U.S. households using propane as a major fuel. It also reported about 42 million U.S. households using propane for outdoor grilling, which should not be interpreted as a heating count.
Source: Uses of hydrocarbon gas liquids – propane in depth.
Regional primary-heating estimates show where propane heating is concentrated:
| Region | 2019 households | 2024 households |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 1.033 million | 1.273 million |
| Midwest | 2.178 million | 2.215 million |
| South | 1.914 million | 2.029 million |
| West | 0.998 million | 1.079 million |
Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024. Regional values are EIA estimates, and primary heating differs from any propane use.
Propane Consumption, Weather Demand, and Storage
EIA reported U.S. propane consumption of 1.48 million barrels per day in January 2025. The measure is product supplied, which approximates disappearance from primary sources rather than directly measuring every end use.
Source: U.S. propane consumption reached an 18-year record in January amid cold snap.
Weather and inventories provide important context for that month:
- January 2025 recorded 946 heating degree days in the United States.
- January 2025 had 26 fewer heating degree days than January 2014, according to EIA’s comparison.
- U.S. propane inventories entered winter 2024–25 at 98 million barrels.
- Inventories fell by about 22 million barrels during January 2025.
Heating degree days are a temperature-demand indicator, not a direct measure of propane consumption. The inventory figures describe stored product, not the amount immediately available to every retail customer.
Source: U.S. propane consumption reached an 18-year record in January amid cold snap.
The Midwest accounts for about one-third of the estimated 6.6 million U.S. households using propane as their primary space heat in 2024. For the 2024–25 heating-season conditions, EIA estimated that 83% of Midwest propane consumption was for space heating and 17% was non-heating demand.
Source: U.S. propane consumption reached an 18-year record in January amid cold snap.
Propane Prices and Household Heating Costs
The EIA residential price table reports monthly observations, so these figures are January prices rather than annual averages:
| Month | U.S. residential propane price |
|---|---|
| January 2022 | $2.730 per gallon |
| January 2023 | $2.699 per gallon |
| January 2024 | $2.534 per gallon |
| January 2025 | $2.667 per gallon |
| January 2026 | $2.566 per gallon |
Source: U.S. Propane Residential Price (Dollars per Gallon). The January 2026 observation is from the table accessed in October 2026.
EIA’s October 2024 outlook forecast an average U.S. retail propane price of $2.40 per gallon for winter 2024–25, which was forecast to be 5% below the previous winter. The Midwest forecast was $1.89 per gallon.
These were forecasts published October 8, 2024, so they should not be treated as realized prices. Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024.
International benchmark spreads are different from household retail prices. The East Asia–Mont Belvieu propane price spread was 42 cents per gallon in 2023 and 43 cents per gallon in 2024.
Source: U.S. propane exports have increased every year since 2007.
U.S. Propane Production, Exports, and Trade
U.S. propane exports averaged a record 1.8 million barrels per day in 2024. EIA reported annual export increases in each of the 17 years through 2024, and monthly exports exceeded 2 million barrels per day in November 2024 for the first time.
Source: U.S. propane exports have increased every year since 2007.
Asia was a major destination for the growth. U.S. propane exports to Asia grew 13% in 2024 from 2023, an increase of 131,000 barrels per day. Exports to China grew 40% in 2024, although the cited EIA passage does not state the base volume.
| Supplier | Share of China’s propane imports in 2024 |
|---|---|
| United States | 32% |
| Iran | 17% |
| Qatar | 7% |
These are import-origin shares for China, not shares of the global propane market. Source: U.S. propane exports have increased every year since 2007.
U.S. propane exports to Europe exceeded 200,000 barrels per day in 2023, which EIA described as a new record. Source: U.S. propane exports have increased every year since 2007.
Propane Uses and Combustion Emissions
Propane serves residential, commercial, industrial, petrochemical, agricultural, and transport applications. Transportation represented less than 1% of total U.S. propane consumption in 2022, so transport is a small share of the national total in that measurement.
Source: Uses of hydrocarbon gas liquids – propane in depth.
EPA’s household calculator provides typical fuel-combustion estimates, not measurements for every propane-heated home:
- EPA uses a propane carbon coefficient of 139 pounds of CO2 per million Btu.
- EPA lists 12.68 pounds of CO2 per gallon of propane.
- EPA estimates typical annual propane-related emissions at 4,906 pounds of CO2 per household.
- The household calculation assumes national-average propane consumption of 32 gallons per month, not a survey limited to propane-heated homes.
Source: Assumptions and References for Household Carbon Footprint Calculator. These coefficients concern fuel combustion and are not lifecycle emissions estimates.
For specified industrial and commercial propane boilers, EPA’s AP-42 table lists default factors of 0.7 pounds of total particulate matter per 1,000 gallons and 13 pounds of NOx per 1,000 gallons. Actual emissions vary with equipment and operating conditions.
Source: Table 1.5-1. EMISSION FACTORS FOR LPG COMBUSTION.
Propane Heating Forecasts and Regional Indicators
EIA’s October 2024 outlook estimated that propane was the primary heating fuel for 5% of U.S. households, mostly in rural areas. The outlook also forecast U.S. propane production to rise about 3% in winter 2024–25 from the previous winter and consumption across all sectors to rise about 11%; the consumption forecast included space heating and petrochemical demand.
Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024.
For the Midwest, the base-case winter 2024–25 forecast called for household propane expenditures 2% above the previous winter, consumption 11% above, and prices 8% below. The forecast was weather- and market-sensitive.
Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024.
EIA’s scenario results illustrate how weather could change household costs:
| Scenario | Region | Forecast change in propane household expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| Colder | Midwest | 19% above previous winter |
| Colder | Northeast | 13% above previous winter |
| Colder | South | 7% above previous winter |
| Warmer | All regions | About 8% below previous winter |
These are scenario outcomes, not realized results. Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024.
Inventory conditions entering that outlook were also explicit: U.S. propane inventories stood at 100 million barrels at the end of September 2024, which was 9 million barrels above the previous five-year average. Midwest inventories were 29 million barrels, 3 million above the five-year average, and the Midwest represented 26% of U.S. propane inventories in 2023.
The inventory share is not a consumption share. Source: Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2024.