Last updated: October 27, 2026. EIA prices are from the Natural Gas Monthly released September 30, 2026 (data through July 2026, preliminary). Gas utility tariffs checked October 27, 2026.
Natural gas prices look strange on paper. Texas homes pay more per unit than the U.S. average. And the per-unit price peaks in summer, when nobody is running a furnace.
Both oddities come from the same place, the fixed monthly charge on every gas bill. My family moved to Fort Bend County in 2025, in CenterPoint’s electric territory, and CenterPoint also runs the Houston-area gas system, so its tariff is my main example. I’ll start with prices by state, then take a gas bill apart and finish with what Texas’s three big gas utilities charge.
Quick answer
- U.S. homes paid $26.45 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in July 2026, about $2.55 per therm. Texas homes paid $34.30/Mcf (about $3.31/therm). Both are preliminary (EIA).
- Over all of 2025, Texas averaged $19.42/Mcf and the U.S. $15.34, also preliminary until EIA’s Natural Gas Annual comes out.
- Summer prices look high because of fixed charges. The average Texas home used roughly a quarter as much gas in July 2026 as in February 2026 (GridPenny estimate from EIA), but the customer charge stays the same.
- Monthly customer charges today: CenterPoint (Houston area, inside city limits) $24.83; Atmos Energy Mid-Tex (RRM-tariff cities) $24.40; Texas Gas Service (small residential) $23.08. Then you pay per Ccf on top.
- Units: 1 Ccf = 100 cubic feet ≈ 1.037 therms; 1 Mcf = 1,000 cubic feet ≈ 10.37 therms (EIA).
Texas vs. the U.S.: 2026 month by month
EIA’s residential price is total spending divided by gas sold, “inclusive of all tax, delivery, commodity, demand and other charges” (EIA Natural Gas Monthly, Appendix A).
| Period | Texas ($/Mcf) | U.S. ($/Mcf) | Texas vs. U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | $16.47 | $13.96 | +18% |
| Feb 2026 | $18.74 | $14.95 | +25% |
| Mar 2026 | $24.61 | $16.16 | +52% |
| Apr 2026 | $26.91 | $18.04 | +49% |
| May 2026 | $30.48 | $19.73 | +54% |
| Jun 2026 | $31.89 | $24.09 | +32% |
| Jul 2026 | $34.30 | $26.45 | +30% |
| Jan–Jul 2026 | $21.72 | $16.34 | +33% |
| All of 2025 | $19.42 | $15.34 | +27% |
Texas costs more per Mcf every month, and the gap was widest in spring. One likely reason is that Texas homes buy less gas. Dividing EIA’s 2025 residential deliveries by its latest customer count (2024) gives about 42 Mcf per Texas customer for the year, against about 66 Mcf nationally (Table 14, customer counts; rough GridPenny estimate), so fixed charges are spread over fewer Mcf.
Natural gas prices by state (July 2026)
States are ranked by July 2026, the latest month EIA has published. EIA shows no July figure (NA) for 7 states, so they’re at the bottom. Per-therm prices use EIA’s 10.37 therms per Mcf. July is a low-use month, so the 2025 column better reflects a full year.
| Rank (Jul) | State | Jul 2026 ($/Mcf) | Jul 2026 ($/therm) | Feb 2026 ($/Mcf) | 2025 avg. ($/Mcf) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $65.72 | $6.34 | $57.11 | $52.38 |
| 2 | Georgia | $43.28 | $4.17 | $14.63 | $20.42 |
| 3 | Maine | $40.85 | $3.94 | NA | NA |
| 4 | Oklahoma | $39.23 | $3.78 | $10.52 | $14.38 |
| 5 | Kentucky | $36.74 | $3.54 | $14.45 | $14.23 |
| 6 | Texas | $34.30 | $3.31 | $18.74 | $19.42 |
| 7 | North Carolina | $34.09 | $3.29 | $17.50 | NA |
| 8 | Delaware | $33.41 | $3.22 | $16.15 | $15.97 |
| 9 | Vermont | $32.73 | $3.16 | $15.82 | $18.00 |
| 10 | Missouri | $32.00 | $3.09 | $14.24 | $14.94 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | $31.62 | $3.05 | $16.42 | $16.68 |
| 12 | New York | $30.86 | $2.98 | $16.42 | $17.58 |
| 13 | Mississippi | $30.60 | $2.95 | $14.26 | $16.65 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | $30.57 | $2.95 | $26.05 | $25.06 |
| 15 | Arkansas | $30.26 | $2.92 | $17.89 | $19.25 |
| 16 | South Carolina | $29.90 | $2.88 | $18.24 | NA |
| 17 | Virginia | $29.83 | $2.88 | $16.66 | $16.79 |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | $28.73 | $2.77 | $14.49 | $15.04 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $28.22 | $2.72 | $9.91 | $11.74 |
| 20 | North Dakota | $27.68 | $2.67 | $9.27 | $9.50 |
| 21 | Arizona | $26.31 | $2.54 | $17.73 | $18.58 |
| 22 | Washington | $25.72 | $2.48 | $17.32 | $17.62 |
| 23 | Alabama | $25.16 | $2.43 | $15.89 | $17.56 |
| 24 | Nebraska | $24.69 | $2.38 | $10.83 | $11.40 |
| 25 | Maryland | $24.22 | $2.34 | NA | NA |
| 26 | Indiana | $24.12 | $2.33 | $11.17 | $11.49 |
| 27 | Iowa | $23.93 | $2.31 | $13.03 | $10.61 |
| 28 | Oregon | $23.23 | $2.24 | $14.41 | $16.71 |
| 29 | California | $21.35 | $2.06 | $22.45 | $22.01 |
| 30 | Illinois | $21.04 | $2.03 | $11.40 | $11.25 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $20.35 | $1.96 | $13.12 | $11.84 |
| 32 | Michigan | $19.88 | $1.92 | $11.13 | $10.92 |
| 33 | New Jersey | $18.76 | $1.81 | $13.91 | $14.21 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | $18.58 | $1.79 | $14.70 | $10.74 |
| 35 | South Dakota | $17.77 | $1.71 | $11.29 | $9.86 |
| 36 | Colorado | $17.56 | $1.69 | $10.99 | $11.17 |
| 37 | Alaska | $17.49 | $1.69 | $13.12 | $12.96 |
| 38 | Rhode Island | $17.33 | $1.67 | $19.00 | NA |
| 39 | Minnesota | $17.28 | $1.67 | $13.03 | $10.98 |
| 40 | Nevada | $15.47 | $1.49 | $9.31 | $13.14 |
| 41 | Idaho | $13.29 | $1.28 | $7.18 | $7.69 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $13.21 | $1.27 | $9.38 | $9.83 |
| 43 | Montana | $12.40 | $1.20 | $8.60 | $8.99 |
| 44 | Utah | $12.38 | $1.19 | $10.59 | $10.19 |
| – | Connecticut | NA | NA | $17.65 | NA |
| – | Florida | NA | NA | NA | $25.48 |
| – | Kansas | NA | NA | $14.37 | $14.81 |
| – | Louisiana | NA | NA | $17.82 | $17.39 |
| – | New Hampshire | NA | NA | $18.94 | $18.61 |
| – | Ohio | NA | NA | $12.81 | $13.85 |
| – | West Virginia | NA | NA | $12.46 | $13.80 |
| U.S. average | $26.45 | $2.55 | $14.95 | $15.34 |
Hawaii ($65.72) and Georgia ($43.28) top July, and Utah is cheapest at $12.38. Texas ranks 6th of 44. For the electric side, see our ranking of electricity prices by state.
Why your summer gas bill barely drops
Take a CenterPoint customer inside Houston city limits. The current tariff charges $24.83 a month plus 16.158¢ per Ccf (Rate Schedule R-2099-I-GRIP 2026, 14.95 pressure base). On top comes the gas itself: CenterPoint’s October 2026 cost-of-gas line for Houston is 86.578¢ per Ccf, including storage and the winter-storm CRR charge (CenterPoint PGA sheet).
Usage is EIA’s Texas residential deliveries divided by customers, a statewide average used as example data:
| Month | Avg. Texas use (est.) | Example CenterPoint bill | Customer charge | Fixed share | Per Ccf | Per Mcf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 87.5 Ccf | $114.70 | $24.83 | 22% | $1.31 | $13.11 |
| Feb 2026 | 53.1 Ccf | $79.36 | $24.83 | 31% | $1.50 | $14.95 |
| Jul 2026 | 12.7 Ccf | $37.89 | $24.83 | 66% | $2.98 | $29.81 |
Use falls by about 76% from February to July. The bill falls only about 52%, and the price per Mcf roughly doubles. Electric bills in Texas run the opposite way, peaking in summer, as our look at the average electric bill in Texas shows.
How a gas bill is built
The tariffs of the three big Texas gas utilities share four building blocks, though each uses its own names:
| Part | What it pays for | CenterPoint | Atmos Mid-Tex | Texas Gas Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer charge (fixed) | Meter, service line, billing; same every month | Customer Charge, incl. GRIP charges | Customer Charge per Bill, incl. Rider CEE | Customer charge, incl. Interim Rate Adjustment |
| Volumetric (delivery) charge | The pipe network, per Ccf | Commodity Charge | Commodity Charge | Cost of Service rate per Ccf |
| Cost of gas | The gas itself, passed through | Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) | Rider GCR (Gas Cost Recovery) | Cost of Gas Component |
| Riders and taxes | Surcharges and taxes | CRR, Tax Act 2022, rate case expense | CRR, weather normalization | CRR, pipeline integrity, weather normalization |
- PGA / GCR / Cost of Gas. The utility passes its gas cost straight through and resets it monthly. CenterPoint’s own wording: “We don’t add any markup to the cost of natural gas” (CenterPoint). It’s the part that follows market prices.
- CRR (Customer Rate Relief). A per-Ccf charge repaying bonds issued through a state securitization program for gas utilities’ February 2021 winter storm costs (CenterPoint CRR schedule). In October 2026 it was 11.531¢/Ccf in CenterPoint’s Houston area, 11.3¢ at Atmos Mid-Tex and $1.13/Mcf at Texas Gas Service.
- GRIP / Interim Rate Adjustment. Add-ons to the customer charge for capital investment “not included in any previous rate case” (Texas Gas Service notice). CenterPoint’s $24.83 is a $19.50 base plus $2.86 (2025) and $2.47 (2026).
Ccf, Mcf, therms: the units on your bill
| Unit | What it is | Conversion (EIA) |
|---|---|---|
| Ccf | 100 cubic feet | ≈ 1.037 therms |
| Mcf | 1,000 cubic feet (10 Ccf) | ≈ 10.37 therms |
| Therm | 100,000 Btu of heat | $/Mcf ÷ 10.37 = $/therm |
Texas utilities bill in Ccf, so divide EIA’s $/Mcf by 10 to get $/Ccf. Texas gas averaged 1,016 Btu per cubic foot in 2025 against 1,036 nationally (EIA Table 25), so a Texas Mcf is closer to 10.16 therms.
Texas’s main gas utilities and their current charges
Rates differ inside and outside city limits. Cities regulate within their limits, and outside them the Railroad Commission of Texas does (Texas Gas Service notice). Atmos alone has four residential rate sets in its Mid-Tex division.
| Utility / area | Customer charge | Delivery per Ccf | Gas cost per Ccf (Oct 2026) | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CenterPoint Energy (Houston and Texas Coast, incorporated) | $24.83 | 15.834¢–16.158¢ (by pressure base) | 86.578¢ (Houston; incl. storage and CRR) | Current tariff, GRIP 2026 |
| CenterPoint Energy (South Texas, Beaumont/East Texas) | $30.33 | 33.6¢–48.0¢ | 84.8¢–86.6¢ | Current tariff, GRIP 2026 |
| Atmos Energy Mid-Tex (RRM cities) | $24.40 | 103.839¢ | 109.025¢ (division-wide GCR, incl. CRR) | Bills on/after Oct 1, 2026 |
| Atmos Energy Mid-Tex (City of Dallas) | $37.55 | 70.921¢ | 109.025¢ | Bills on/after Jul 1, 2026 |
| Atmos Energy Mid-Tex (ATM coalition cities) | $35.64 | 78.025¢ | 109.025¢ | Services on/after Jul 1, 2026 |
| Atmos Energy Mid-Tex (unincorporated areas) | $46.27 | 49.289¢ | 109.025¢ | Services on/after Jul 1, 2026 |
| Texas Gas Service (small residential, under 331 Ccf/yr) | $23.08 | 92.086¢ | Not verified (CRR: 11.3¢) | Meters read on/after Jun 24, 2026 |
| Texas Gas Service (large residential, 331+ Ccf/yr) | $38.58 | 35.722¢ | Not verified (CRR: 11.3¢) | Meters read on/after Jun 24, 2026 |
Texas Gas Service sorts homes by annual use. Under 331 Ccf a year, the small rate has the lower fixed charge; above it, the large rate’s lower per-Ccf charge wins, and you can ask to switch if you’ll stay at least 12 months (Rate Schedule 10). I couldn’t read TGS’s monthly cost-of-gas rate on its site today, so I’ve left it blank rather than guess.
For example, a 20 Ccf month in October costs $45.38 at CenterPoint’s Houston rates and $66.97 at Atmos’s RRM-city rates, before taxes and riders.
Winter bill tips that actually move the number
January was Texas homes’ heaviest gas month of 2026 so far (EIA Table 14), and DOE puts heating at about 30% of the average utility bill. Here’s what DOE and ENERGY STAR suggest:
- Turn the thermostat back. DOE: “You can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.” (DOE). A programmable or smart thermostat does it for you, and ENERGY STAR says a certified smart thermostat can save about $100 a year in homes with high heating and cooling bills (ENERGY STAR).
- Seal and insulate. ENERGY STAR estimates up to 10% off annual energy bills from sealing air leaks and adding insulation (ENERGY STAR). Duct sealing can improve efficiency “by as much as 20 percent.”
- Look at the water heater. DOE says water heating is “nearly 20% of the average home’s energy use,” usually second only to heating and cooling.
- Replacing a furnace? Get it sized and installed right. Texas falls in ENERGY STAR’s “U.S. South” furnace zone, where certified gas furnaces are up to 16% more efficient and save about $60 a year on average (ENERGY STAR). Poor installation can cut efficiency by up to 30%.
Summer is the electric side’s turn; here’s what it costs to run central AC in Texas. And if you’ve just moved, start with setting up electricity in a new Texas home.
My take
You control the volume, not the fixed charge, and in Texas the volume is mostly a winter story. Don’t judge a utility by summer bills. The customer charge alone is $23 to $46 a month here, before any gas. Know your rate area and keep an eye on the cost-of-gas line. Then put your effort into the thermostat and the water heater, where it pays. (CenterPoint’s electric side has fixed charges too; see CenterPoint delivery charges explained.)
FAQ
What is the average price of natural gas per therm?
In July 2026 the U.S. residential average was about $2.55 per therm ($26.45/Mcf); for all of 2025 it was about $1.48 ($15.34/Mcf). Both are preliminary EIA figures.
Why is my gas bill high in summer when I barely use any?
Because the customer charge, $23 to $46 a month at the Texas utilities above, stays the same while usage drops. On a small bill it’s most of the total.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Average residential price by state and Natural Gas Monthly (Sept 30, 2026), Table 20, Table 14, Table 25, Appendix A, definitions and notes; number of residential consumers; Natural Gas Annual page; FAQ on Ccf, Mcf and therms. All fetched Oct 27, 2026.
- CenterPoint Energy: Texas gas rates and tariffs, R-2099-I-GRIP 2026, Purchased Gas Adjustments, October 2026, Customer Rate Relief schedule. Checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Atmos Energy: Mid-Tex rates and tariffs, Mid-Tex Tariffs, Oct 1, 2026, Mid-Tex GCR rates, Oct 2026. Checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Texas Gas Service: rates and tariffs, Rate Schedule 10, Rate Schedule 15, cost of gas, interim rate adjustment notice. Checked Oct 27, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Home Upgrades; ENERGY STAR, Heating & Cooling, Seal and Insulate, Furnaces. Checked Oct 27, 2026.