Massachusetts heating oil and propane prices per gallon this week

Where Massachusetts stands this week

Among the 21 states the EIA surveys for heating oil, Massachusetts ranks 7 from the most expensive this week, below the U.S. average of $6.190. The wholesale price for the same week was $5.340, so dealers in the state were working on a spread of about $0.775 a gallon to cover trucks, drivers, service plans and margin. That spread is what moves least from week to week; most of the change in the retail price comes from the wholesale market, which follows diesel and crude oil.

Propane tells a different story. Massachusetts ranks 12 of 38 states for propane this week. Propane is cheap at the wholesale level and expensive to deliver, so the state price sits far above what the gas itself costs, and it moves much less than heating oil from one winter to the next.

A winter on oil in Massachusetts

The degree days of the state do most of the work in a winter budget. Massachusetts counts 1,218 degree days in a normal January against 701 in November, so a tank empties more than 1.7 times faster in January than in November. A home that takes a delivery every month in late fall can need one every two or three weeks after New Year. The EIA expects the average oil-heated home of the country to burn 402 gallons this winter in a normal season, 436 gallons if it turns colder.

Last season shows how fast the bill can swing. The Massachusetts price started the 2025-26 heating season near $3.561, averaged $4.221 from November to March and peaked at $5.768 on March 23, 2026. This week it is $6.115. A home that burned 454 gallons at last winter's average paid $1,917; the same gallons at this week's price come to $2,777.

Prebuy offers and the October price

Massachusetts dealers sell fixed-price and capped contracts in late summer and fall. Whether one pays depends on how the winter's average compares with the price you lock. Replayed on every winter since 2013-14, the mid-October Massachusetts price ended below the November to March average in 7 of 13 seasons. The lock-in calculator runs that history against the price your dealer offers.

Help with the bill

A household of three in Massachusetts can receive federal heating assistance with a yearly income up to $86,561, the federal ceiling set by 60 % of the state's median income, which is well above 150 % of the poverty line here. The state's program may apply its own limit within that ceiling; the LIHEAP calculator gives the figure for each household size.