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Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA, Census Bureau · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Who heats with electricity where it is cold in Massachusetts?

495,363homes in Massachusetts heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

All 14 Massachusetts counties average at least 4,000 heating degree days in a normal year, and 18% of the 2,762,070 occupied homes heat mainly with electricity. Rank 14 of 35 by count, 22 by share. Middlesex County holds the most: 107,166 electric-heated homes at 6,213 heating degree days.

Where Massachusetts sits among the states

Share of homes that heat with electricity in cold counties, by state, one tile per stateAlaska: no data in this seriesAKMaine: 10.1% of homesMEVermont: 8.1% of homesVTNew Hampshire: 10.7% of homesNHWashington: 57.7% of homesWAIdaho: 35.0% of homesIDMontana: 26.6% of homesMTNorth Dakota: 39.9% of homesNDMinnesota: 18.8% of homesMNIllinois: 18.2% of homesILWisconsin: 17.3% of homesWIMichigan: 11.6% of homesMINew York: 14.4% of homesNYRhode Island: 12.1% of homesRIMassachusetts: 17.9% of homesMAOregon: 53.1% of homesORNevada: 8.7% of homesNVWyoming: 23.3% of homesWYSouth Dakota: 32.6% of homesSDIowa: 24.3% of homesIAIndiana: 30.7% of homesINOhio: 25.6% of homesOHPennsylvania: 24.8% of homesPANew Jersey: 15.6% of homesNJConnecticut: no data in this seriesCTCalifornia: 2.0% of homesCAUtah: 16.4% of homesUTColorado: 25.2% of homesCONebraska: 31.2% of homesNEMissouri: 37.0% of homesMOKentucky: 49.5% of homesKYWest Virginia: 45.5% of homesWVVirginia: 32.2% of homesVAMaryland: 42.6% of homesMDDelaware: 37.0% of homesDEArizona: 0.9% of homesAZNew Mexico: 13.1% of homesNMKansas: 26.5% of homesKSArkansas: 1.9% of homesARTennessee: 9.9% of homesTNNorth Carolina: 5.6% of homesNCSouth Carolina: 0.0% of homesSCDistrict of Columbia: no data in this seriesDCOklahoma: 0.5% of homesOKLouisiana: 0.0% of homesLAMississippi: 0.0% of homesMSAlabama: 0.0% of homesALGeorgia: 0.4% of homesGAHawaii: no data in this seriesHITexas: 0.1% of homesTXFlorida: 0.0% of homesFL

Darker is a larger share. Massachusetts is outlined.

Massachusetts: cold counties and electric heat

Massachusetts cold counties, electric heating
Middlesex County630,93917.0107,1666,213-7%21.6
Suffolk County322,18429.996,4675,815-7%19.5
Worcester County333,27319.263,8926,596-7%12.9
Essex County311,67616.651,7376,194-5%10.4
Norfolk County281,40817.850,1295,935-7%10.1
Hampden County184,21720.137,0356,455-5%7.5
Bristol County232,20212.027,8785,690-6%5.6
Plymouth County200,99511.523,0715,699-7%4.7
Hampshire County61,77020.712,8086,635-5%2.6
Barnstable County102,98112.012,3135,576-6%2.5
Berkshire County56,51710.25,7737,241-6%1.2
Franklin County31,49814.54,5596,878-7%0.9
Nantucket County5,04825.41,2815,548-7%0.3
Dukes County7,36217.01,2545,436-5%0.3

14 cold counties, ranked by electric-heated homes. All counties, CSV.

Where the electric-heated homes are

The 3 largest counties, Middlesex County, Suffolk County, Worcester County, hold 54% of the 495,363 electric-heated homes in Massachusetts cold counties. The highest electric-heat share among cold counties with 5,000+ homes is Suffolk County at 30%. The coldest, Berkshire County, averages 7,241 heating degree days; Massachusetts as a whole averages 6,128 when weighted by homes.

electric-heated homes, Massachusetts cold counties, 12 largest

  • Middlesex County107,166
  • Suffolk County96,467
  • Worcester County63,892
  • Essex County51,737
  • Norfolk County50,129
  • Hampden County37,035
  • Bristol County27,878
  • Plymouth County23,071
  • Hampshire County12,808
  • Barnstable County12,313
  • Berkshire County5,773
  • Franklin County4,559

Massachusetts: the 10 coldest counties

Berkshire County is coldest at 7,241 heating degree days with 10% electric heat. The 10 coldest hold 452,637 electric-heated homes.

Massachusetts 10 coldest counties
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Berkshire County56,51710.27,2416,841
Franklin County31,49814.56,8786,422
Hampshire County61,77020.76,6356,275
Worcester County333,27319.26,5966,129
Hampden County184,21720.16,4556,102
Middlesex County630,93917.06,2135,789
Essex County311,67616.66,1945,884
Norfolk County281,40817.85,9355,505
Suffolk County322,18429.95,8155,400
Plymouth County200,99511.55,6995,310

Massachusetts: where electric heat is most common

Among counties with 2,000+ homes, Suffolk County is highest at 30% and Franklin County is 10th at 14%.

Massachusetts 10 counties with the highest electric heat share
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Suffolk County322,18429.95,8155,400
Nantucket County5,04825.45,5485,176
Hampshire County61,77020.76,6356,275
Hampden County184,21720.16,4556,102
Worcester County333,27319.26,5966,129
Norfolk County281,40817.85,9355,505
Dukes County7,36217.05,4365,150
Middlesex County630,93917.06,2135,789
Essex County311,67616.66,1945,884
Franklin County31,49814.56,8786,422

Winter disconnections and price in Massachusetts

Massachusetts utilities logged 0.04 disconnections per 100 residential accounts a month in December to February 2024 and 0.17 in June to August.

At the 2025 average residential price of 30.48 cents a kWh, 1,000 kWh costs 305 dollars in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts in the ranking

Colorado is 12th with 586,733 homes (25.2% of its homes). New Jersey is 13th with 541,309 homes (15.6% of its homes). Michigan is 15th with 467,609 homes (11.6% of its homes). Minnesota is 16th with 430,264 homes (18.8% of its homes).

Massachusetts beside 2 neighbors

Massachusetts neighbors with a winter page
NeighborElectric homesShare, %Avg HDD
New Hampshire59,15710.7%7,170
New York1,104,38414.4%5,621

Look up your Massachusetts county

  • Pick your Massachusetts county.

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Sources

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Questions

How many Massachusetts homes heat with electricity in cold counties?

495,363 homes, 17.9% of 2,762,070 occupied Massachusetts homes, in 14 counties averaging 4,000+ heating degree days.

Which Massachusetts county has the most electric-heated homes among its cold counties?

Middlesex County, with 107,166 of its 630,939 homes (17%) at 6,213 normal heating degree days.

Which Massachusetts county is the coldest, and how many of its homes heat with electricity?

Berkshire County, at 7,241 normal heating degree days: 5,773 of 56,517 homes (10%).

How far did the last decade run from the Massachusetts normal?

Massachusetts cold counties averaged 6.2% below their 1991-2020 heating degree days over 2016-2025.

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495,363 homes in Massachusetts heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

Cite this page

Underlying data are U.S. government works (EIA, Census Bureau). Our tables and charts: CC BY 4.0, credit Electric Consumer. The access date fills in when you open this page.

APA

Electric Consumer. (2026). Massachusetts winter exposure: 495,363 electric-heated homes in cold counties. Data as of 9 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/massachusetts.html

MLA

Electric Consumer. “Massachusetts winter exposure: 495,363 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Electric Consumer, data as of 9 October 2026, https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/massachusetts.html. Accessed 9 October 2026.

Chicago

Electric Consumer. “Massachusetts winter exposure: 495,363 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026. https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/massachusetts.html.

BibTeX

@misc{usedata_winter_states_massachusetts,
  author = "Electric Consumer",
  title = {Massachusetts winter exposure: 495,363 electric-heated homes in cold counties},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/massachusetts.html},
  note = {Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026}
}
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