Who heats with electricity where it is cold? Winter exposure by state and county
1,943 of 3,098 counties average 4,000+ heating degree days (base 65 F, 1991-2020). 18,283,367 homes there use electricity as the main heating fuel, 14.6% of all 124,982,222 occupied homes. Washington leads on both count (1,742,020) and share (57.7% of its homes). Electric heat includes heat pumps; the survey does not separate them from resistance heat.
Share of a state's homes, by state
- 0.9% to 11.6%
- 11.6% to 18.2%
- 18.2% to 26.5%
- 26.5% to 37.0%
- 37.0% to 57.7%
Grey states have no winter page: fewer than 25,000 electric-heated homes in cold counties, or fewer than 6 counties. Grey states link to their price page.
All 35 states in one table
| Arizona | 2,796,790 | 59.9 | 3 | 26,047 | 0.9 | 1,788 | 0.64 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 13,434,847 | 28.9 | 18 | 263,319 | 2.0 | 2,495 | 0.20 |
| Colorado | 2,325,576 | 25.2 | 64 | 586,733 | 25.2 | 6,674 | 0.26 |
| Idaho | 693,821 | 35.0 | 44 | 243,011 | 35.0 | 6,673 | 0.39 |
| Illinois | 5,001,904 | 18.2 | 102 | 910,214 | 18.2 | 6,044 | 0.02 |
| Indiana | 2,681,537 | 30.7 | 92 | 824,332 | 30.7 | 5,625 | 0.41 |
| Iowa | 1,303,763 | 24.3 | 99 | 316,696 | 24.3 | 6,736 | 0.12 |
| Kansas | 1,160,715 | 26.5 | 105 | 307,442 | 26.5 | 4,839 | 0.24 |
| Kentucky | 1,791,991 | 54.3 | 107 | 886,223 | 49.5 | 4,435 | 0.57 |
| Maine | 589,085 | 10.1 | 16 | 59,234 | 10.1 | 7,787 | 0.00 |
| Maryland | 2,339,510 | 43.5 | 22 | 996,863 | 42.6 | 4,529 | 0.18 |
| Massachusetts | 2,762,070 | 17.9 | 14 | 495,363 | 17.9 | 6,128 | 0.04 |
| Michigan | 4,040,168 | 11.6 | 83 | 467,609 | 11.6 | 6,722 | 0.53 |
| Minnesota | 2,282,967 | 18.8 | 87 | 430,264 | 18.8 | 8,162 | 0.15 |
| Missouri | 2,484,834 | 38.2 | 109 | 919,771 | 37.0 | 4,743 | 0.49 |
| Montana | 452,683 | 26.6 | 56 | 120,498 | 26.6 | 8,474 | 0.08 |
| Nebraska | 786,885 | 31.2 | 93 | 245,560 | 31.2 | 6,208 | 0.31 |
| Nevada | 1,183,393 | 35.3 | 16 | 102,403 | 8.7 | 3,600 | 1.09 |
| New Hampshire | 551,186 | 10.7 | 10 | 59,157 | 10.7 | 7,170 | 0.02 |
| New Jersey | 3,478,355 | 15.6 | 21 | 541,309 | 15.6 | 5,013 | 0.09 |
| New Mexico | 825,021 | 23.1 | 22 | 108,308 | 13.1 | 4,702 | 0.46 |
| New York | 7,668,956 | 14.4 | 62 | 1,104,384 | 14.4 | 5,621 | 0.05 |
| North Carolina | 4,186,924 | 65.1 | 19 | 235,396 | 5.6 | 3,365 | 0.61 |
| North Dakota | 325,079 | 39.9 | 53 | 129,646 | 39.9 | 9,106 | 0.18 |
| Ohio | 4,829,571 | 25.6 | 88 | 1,235,472 | 25.6 | 5,624 | 0.41 |
| Oregon | 1,701,548 | 53.1 | 36 | 904,332 | 53.1 | 5,563 | 0.27 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,235,339 | 24.8 | 67 | 1,297,991 | 24.8 | 5,554 | 0.03 |
| South Dakota | 358,552 | 32.6 | 66 | 117,036 | 32.6 | 7,706 | 0.38 |
| Tennessee | 2,768,743 | 63.3 | 21 | 274,094 | 9.9 | 3,678 | 1.35 |
| Utah | 1,094,896 | 16.4 | 29 | 180,092 | 16.4 | 6,521 | 0.17 |
| Virginia | 3,324,199 | 57.2 | 81 | 1,069,495 | 32.2 | 4,084 | 0.72 |
| Washington | 3,020,558 | 57.7 | 39 | 1,742,020 | 57.7 | 6,244 | 0.32 |
| West Virginia | 721,448 | 45.5 | 55 | 328,483 | 45.5 | 5,043 | 0.42 |
| Wisconsin | 2,446,028 | 17.3 | 72 | 423,487 | 17.3 | 7,487 | 0.00 |
| Wyoming | 238,176 | 23.3 | 23 | 55,528 | 23.3 | 8,244 | 0.04 |
State table, CSV All 3,098 counties, CSV
Click a header to sort.
Ranked by electric-heated homes in cold counties
Washington leads with 1,742,020, then Pennsylvania (1,297,991) and Ohio (1,235,472). The five largest hold 35% of the national count.
The 15 counties with the most
Counties where electric heat and cold meet in the largest numbers. A county can lead because it is big: read the share column in the table beside the count.
Colder states and electric heat
Across 35 states the correlation is r = -0.54, a moderate negative link. Colder states tend to have less electric heat; gas, oil and wood carry more of the load. A relationship across states says nothing about why one home chose a fuel.
What is my county's electric heat share?
- Pick a county.
What this means for you
- Your own bill is the best evidence. Compare the coldest and the mildest month of last year before you budget for this winter.
- Heat pumps and baseboard heat are both counted as electric here. Ask your utility whether it has a heat pump or winter rate plan.
- Cold-weather rules limit some shutoffs but do not cancel the bill. Your state's shutoffs page lists the rule we read and the help programs.
- These are county averages. Your own street, building age and insulation are not in this data.
How we measure it
Heating fuel comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2019-2023, table B25040, which asks for the main fuel used to heat the home. We take the occupied homes and the homes answering electricity for every county. Cold comes from NOAA's nClimDiv county heating degree days (base 65 F), 1991-2020 normal; we call a county cold at 4,000 or more in a normal year, a line we chose and show on every page. The two are joined by county code: 3,098 counties have both. The state figure adds the electric-heated homes of the cold counties; the share divides that by all occupied homes in the state. A state gets its own page at 25,000 such homes or more and at least 6 counties (35 states). Disconnection rates come from Form EIA-112 (2024), December to February monthly mean per 100 accounts.
What this does not show: how much power the homes use, their bills, heat pump share, or how cold this winter is. NOAA's county value is an average over the whole county area, so a county with mountains reads colder than the towns where most people live (King County, Washington, reads 6,290 because the Cascades are inside it). ACS estimates carry sampling error that is larger for small counties. The recent 2016-2025 mean is shown beside the normal so you can see warming, and the cold line uses the normal only. Alaska, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii have no county degree-day match in our files (NOAA publishes no Alaska normals, and still uses the pre-2022 Connecticut counties that the 2023 Census file no longer has), so they are not on these pages.
Browse by state
Sources
| Source | Period | Retrieved | SHA-256 (first 12) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year 2019-2023, table B25040 (house heating fuel), by county | 2019-2023 | read 7 Oct 2026 | 299c043dd32b |
| NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, county heating degree days, 1991-2020 normal (code 0010) and 2016-2025 yearly mean | data version 20260904 | retrieved 2026-10-07 | 811e238faa3c |
| EIA Form EIA-112, residential electric disconnections by state and month | calendar 2024 | release of 14 Apr 2026 | see shutoffs hub |
| EIA retail sales, average residential price by state | annual 2025 | cached copy used by every price page | see data page |
Downloads: state table CSV, all counties CSV. Method on the hub page.
Questions
What does 'electric-heated homes in cold counties' mean?
Occupied homes whose main heating fuel is electricity, counted in counties that average at least 4,000 heating degree days in a normal year. Nationally that is 18,283,367 homes.
Which state has the most?
Washington with 1,742,020, followed by Pennsylvania (1,297,991) and Ohio (1,235,472).
Does this include heat pumps?
Yes. The survey records electricity as the fuel, so heat pumps and resistance heat are counted together.
Is this a forecast of winter bills?
No. It counts homes and measures cold; it does not estimate use or cost.
Why is my state missing?
A state needs 25,000 electric-heated homes in cold counties and at least 6 counties for a page. The CSV lists every county with matched heating-fuel and degree-day data.