Heating oil prices in Virginia this week
EIA residential average for the week of October 19, 2026, published weekly, October through March.
Five-year price history, EIA. Dashed line is the five-year average.
What this price means for your bill
At $6.00 per gallon, a typical 200-gallon delivery costs about $1,201. Burned in an oil boiler or furnace running at 83% efficiency, that is $52.22 per million BTU of heat delivered into the house, which is the number to use when comparing against anything else.
At 49% above its five-year average, this is an expensive stretch for heating oil. If your tank can wait, partial deliveries keep you flexible; locking a full-season contract at this level means betting prices stay high. Compared with the same week last year it is 66% higher. We don't forecast prices. What we can tell you is where this week sits against history, and how the fuel compares with the alternatives at today's numbers.
How heating oil compares in Virginia right now
Cost per million BTU delivered, at this week's Virginia prices and typical equipment efficiencies. The cheapest option is geothermal heat pump at $14.77.
- Geothermal heat pump (ground-source)$14.77
- Natural gas (gas furnace or boiler)$17.63
- Heat pump (cold-climate air-source)$20.68
- Cordwood (EPA wood stove)$23.21
- Wood pellets (pellet stove)$25.15
- Kerosene (vented space heater)$40.09
- Propane (propane furnace or boiler)$45.68
- Electric resistance (baseboard or space heaters)$51.70
- Heating oil (oil boiler or furnace)$52.22
Pellet, cordwood and kerosene prices are national averages; everything else is the Virginia figure. Change any price or efficiency in the calculator.
Shopping for heating oil? Dealer prices in the same town routinely differ by 30 to 60 cents a gallon, and the state average above is just that, an average. Get two or three quotes before you fill.
Thinking about switching? Run your own numbers in the calculator, or see how a heat pump compares on the heating oil comparison page.