Electric Consumer

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 Washington?

1,742,020homes in Washington heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

All 39 Washington counties average at least 4,000 heating degree days in a normal year, and 58% of the 3,020,558 occupied homes heat mainly with electricity. Rank 1 of 35 by count, 1 by share. King County holds the most: 492,390 electric-heated homes at 6,290 heating degree days.

Where Washington 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. Washington is outlined.

Washington: cold counties and electric heat

Washington cold counties, electric heating
King County927,81753.1492,3906,290-3%28.3
Pierce County346,70858.8203,9386,533-3%11.7
Snohomish County311,82552.0162,1666,703-3%9.3
Clark County193,38761.8119,4714,923-2%6.9
Spokane County215,87944.495,9406,831-4%5.5
Thurston County117,17258.868,9385,180-2%4.0
Kitsap County107,26459.263,4874,987-4%3.6
Benton County76,69678.960,5415,223-2%3.5
Yakima County86,68968.159,0486,872-3%3.4
Whatcom County92,41145.642,1217,410-2%2.4
Cowlitz County43,40985.337,0115,571-3%2.1
Grant County34,50294.632,6375,904-3%1.9
Clallam County34,37785.629,4136,329-3%1.7
Chelan County30,82592.928,6397,992-3%1.6
Lewis County32,31475.324,3326,326-2%1.4
Grays Harbor County29,98273.422,0015,415-2%1.3
Skagit County51,51840.220,7086,860-2%1.2
Island County35,52956.019,8825,131-4%1.1
Franklin County29,11866.819,4615,401-2%1.1
Mason County25,37373.318,6065,819-4%1.1

Largest 20 of 39 cold counties, ranked by electric-heated homes. The 19 smaller cold counties are in the CSV. All counties, CSV.

Where the electric-heated homes are

The 3 largest counties, King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, hold 49% of the 1,742,020 electric-heated homes in Washington cold counties. The highest electric-heat share among cold counties with 5,000+ homes is Douglas County at 96%. The coldest, Pend Oreille County, averages 8,252 heating degree days; Washington as a whole averages 6,244 when weighted by homes.

electric-heated homes, Washington cold counties, 12 largest

  • King County492,390
  • Pierce County203,938
  • Snohomish County162,166
  • Clark County119,471
  • Spokane County95,940
  • Thurston County68,938
  • Kitsap County63,487
  • Benton County60,541
  • Yakima County59,048
  • Whatcom County42,121
  • Cowlitz County37,011
  • Grant County32,637

Washington: the 10 coldest counties

Pend Oreille County is coldest at 8,252 heating degree days with 64% electric heat. The 10 coldest hold 122,745 electric-heated homes.

Washington 10 coldest counties
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Pend Oreille County5,82964.38,2528,016
Okanogan County17,20871.98,1647,984
Ferry County3,13838.68,0867,922
Chelan County30,82592.97,9927,780
Stevens County18,98340.67,4197,272
Whatcom County92,41145.67,4107,226
Kittitas County19,60155.77,2987,121
Skamania County4,96556.27,0616,855
Jefferson County16,15667.46,9506,767
Lincoln County4,65950.76,8856,799

Washington: where electric heat is most common

Among counties with 2,000+ homes, Douglas County is highest at 96% and Mason County is 10th at 73%.

Washington 10 counties with the highest electric heat share
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Douglas County15,70896.26,6376,568
Grant County34,50294.65,9045,752
Chelan County30,82592.97,9927,780
Clallam County34,37785.66,3296,114
Cowlitz County43,40985.35,5715,399
Benton County76,69678.95,2235,144
Pacific County10,75777.45,3085,137
Lewis County32,31475.36,3266,193
Grays Harbor County29,98273.45,4155,310
Mason County25,37373.35,8195,599

Winter disconnections and price in Washington

Washington utilities logged 0.32 disconnections per 100 residential accounts a month in December to February 2024 and 0.29 in June to August.

At the 2025 average residential price of 13.11 cents a kWh, 1,000 kWh costs 131 dollars in Washington.

Washington in the ranking

Pennsylvania is 2nd with 1,297,991 homes (24.8% of its homes). Ohio is 3rd with 1,235,472 homes (25.6% of its homes).

Washington beside 2 neighbors

Washington neighbors with a winter page
NeighborElectric homesShare, %Avg HDD
Idaho243,01135.0%6,673
Oregon904,33253.1%5,563

Look up your Washington county

  • Pick your Washington county.

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Sources

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Questions

How many Washington homes heat with electricity in cold counties?

1,742,020 homes, 57.7% of 3,020,558 occupied Washington homes, in 39 counties averaging 4,000+ heating degree days.

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

King County, with 492,390 of its 927,817 homes (53%) at 6,290 normal heating degree days.

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

Pend Oreille County, at 8,252 normal heating degree days: 3,746 of 5,829 homes (64%).

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

Washington cold counties averaged 2.6% below their 1991-2020 heating degree days over 2016-2025.

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1,742,020 homes in Washington 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). Washington winter exposure: 1,742,020 electric-heated homes in cold counties. Data as of 9 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/washington.html

MLA

Electric Consumer. “Washington winter exposure: 1,742,020 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Electric Consumer, data as of 9 October 2026, https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/washington.html. Accessed 9 October 2026.

Chicago

Electric Consumer. “Washington winter exposure: 1,742,020 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026. https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/washington.html.

BibTeX

@misc{usedata_winter_states_washington,
  author = "Electric Consumer",
  title = {Washington winter exposure: 1,742,020 electric-heated homes in cold counties},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/washington.html},
  note = {Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026}
}
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