How Home Heating Is Changing in Connecticut

How homes are heated shapes household budgets and impacts the environment. Like much of New England, Connecticut remains unusually reliant on oil for heating homes, a legacy shaped by cold winters, older housing stock, and historically limited gas pipeline infrastructure.

That picture, however, is beginning to change. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, released in September 2025, heating oil use is gradually declining in Connecticut, while electricity and (to a lesser extent) natural gas are on the rise.  This shift reflects changes in both technology and policy.  Electric heat pumps allow homes to be heated by electricity more efficiently than traditional electric resistance heating, and Connecticut state policy has incentivized their installation through rebates.

The stakes are significant. Heating oil remains one of the most carbon-intensive and costly fuels used in Connecticut -- producing about 163 Pounds of CO2 per million BTU, compared to 117 for natural gas. The Energy Information Administration estimated that it cost around $1,500 to heat a home with oil for the 2023-2024 season (pdf), higher than any other major heating fuel type (though which type is “most expensive” for a given household varies by many factors). Heating oil is particularly variable from season to season, subjecting families to large, unpredictable costs. That volatility is evident in the rapid price swings in recent years, with oil prices ranging from roughly $2 per gallon in May 2020 to almost $6 in May 2022.

In this post, we will use ACS data to analyze how Connecticut’s home heating landscape is evolving. We review state, regional, and national trends, explore differences within the state, and consider what these trends may mean for future policy and the path toward decarbonizing home heating. Results in this post will refer to 2024 1-year ACS data unless otherwise specified.

Connecticut Relies Heavily on Oil

The ACS reveals that, as of 2024, 35% of Connecticut households rely on heating oil, far above the national average of 4%. Thirty-six percent (36%) of CT homes use utility gas, compared to 47% nationwide, and 20% of homes heat primarily with electricity (compared to 42% nationally). A small share in CT and across the U.S. use tank gas (such as liquid propane), or another form of heating energy. Less common forms of heating fuel measured by the ACS include wood (2% of homes in CT), coal or coke, solar energy, or “other” (all less than 1%).

Connecticut ranks fourth in the nation in reliance on home heating oil, behind only fellow New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. 

Other states that heavily rely on home heating oil include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania and Alaska. This may be due to these states’ limited gas pipeline infrastructure and older housing stock.  Connecticut’s median year of housing built, 1967, is among the oldest in the nation (fifth overall), a trait shared by Rhode Island (3rd oldest; median built in 1961) and Massachusetts (2nd oldest; median built in 1963).

Changes Over the Decade: 2014–2024

However, the data reveals that Connecticut’s reliance on oil has steadily declined over the past decade. The share of homes heated primarily by oil fell from 43% in 2014 to 35% in 2024. Over the same period, electric heating rose from 16% to 20%, while utility gas increased slightly from 34% to 36%.

These shifts mirror broader national trends. Across the U.S., electric heating grew from 37% to 42%, while natural gas use declined slightly from 48% to 47%. Oil, already uncommon nationally in 2014, declined from 5% to 4% of homes.

Connecticut’s New England neighbors have undergone similar changes. Connecticut’s nearly 8-point drop in oil share resembles the decline in Vermont (-9), New Hampshire (-7), and Massachusetts (-8). Connecticut therefore maintained its rank of 4th most heating-oil-reliant state in the country.

Large Within-State Differences

While Connecticut is an oil-reliant state overall, the proportion of homes that are heated by oil varies dramatically from town to town. The 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates[1] show that home heating oil use ranges from as low as 7% of households in dense, gas-served cities like Hartford and New Haven to up to 81% in more rural towns like Barkhamsted, Sterling, and Haddam. This unevenness may reflect differences in both infrastructure and history.

Population density is a strong predictor of heating type within Connecticut. Cities and towns with higher densities (i.e., urban and populated suburban areas) tend to have lower oil dependence, reflecting how gas utility infrastructure historically has typically been stronger around urban cores.

Heating Transitions Look Different Across the State

While oil heating remains more common in rural areas, the pattern of change over the past decade varies sharply across Connecticut’s cities. Between 2014 and 2024, many larger urban areas shifted their home-heating mix, though not in the same ways. Cities where ACS heating fuel data were available for both 2014 and 2024 are analyzed here. 

Bridgeport saw a notable decrease in oil use (21% to 11%) and a significant increase in electric heating (17% to 22%), matching the statewide trends. In contrast, Hartford, already not very oil-reliant in 2014 (11%), saw little decline in oil reliance over the past decade (to 10%) although its reliance on utility gas fell during this period, mirroring national trends. Danbury remained stable in its relatively balanced heating fuel mix.  Stamford experienced the largest jump in electric heating, from 25% to 37% of homes.

Conclusion

The 2024 ACS 1-year estimates reveal that Connecticut’s home heating mix is moving gradually away from oil, at a rate similar to many of our New England neighbors. In 2024, oil is no longer the predominant heating fuel in the state as it was in 2014, but remains the primary heating fuel for over a third of homes. The share of homes heated by electricity has risen unevenly across the state. The uneven patterns seen across Connecticut reflect a mix of historical, economic and geographic influences. Examining those determinants in detail is beyond the scope of this post, but would offer a rich area for future analysis.

Shifts in home heating energy sources carry both promise and challenge. Electrification through heat pumps offers a path toward lower emissions and potentially lower heating costs. Connecticut’s electricity rates, which rank among the highest in the nation, may remain a significant barrier to wider adoption, even as heat pump technology dramatically improves efficiency. Combined with high upfront installation costs, these expenses pose particular challenges for low- and moderate-income households. Continued investments in incentives, efficiency, and efforts to control electricity costs will be critical to ensure that the benefits of cleaner heating reach all corners of the state.

[1] 2023 ACS 5-year estimates, while less current, allow analyses at the level of small towns. ACS 1-year estimates are not published for geographic areas with populations under 65,000.