Average annual heating oil cost
What EIA actually publishes
EIA's Winter Fuels Outlook (October 2026 edition, winter 2026-27) estimates that US households heating with oil burn about 400 gallons over the winter, at a forecast average of about $5.27/gal before taxes, for a US average winter spend of $2,115, 21% more than last winter. A winter with 10% more heating degree days takes that to $2,332; 10% fewer takes it to $1,974. Heating oil is the main space heating fuel for 3% of US households, and more than 80% of those homes are in the Northeast.EIA
Those are national averages across every oil-heated home, including small and mild-climate ones. If you are in the eight states this site covers, your home is probably larger and your winter colder, so expect to sit above the 400 gal figure. The table below is how far above.
By home size and climate zone (our model)
The gallons are ours, not EIA's, and the whole model is two lines: floor area times 50,000 BTU per sqft per season in IECC climate zone 5 (or 55,000 BTU in the colder zone 6), divided by 117,725 BTU of delivered heat per gallon, which is 138,500 BTU per gallon run through a 85% furnace. A draughty house or a thermostat at 72°F will beat it; a recently insulated one will come in under. Swap your own BTU-per-sqft number in and redo it.
By state, 764-gal household
Same model at 1,800 sqft in zone 5, priced at each state's own last EIA reading rather than the national average. EIA