Report · Money and Finance

Natural gas heats more American homes than any other source

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No other heat source comes close to natural gas: 36% of Americans name a natural gas furnace as their home's main source of heat, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.

Electric resistance heating and air-source heat pumps tie for a distant second, each named by 17%. Boilers account for 8%, delivered fuels such as oil or propane 5%, something else 4%, and a ground-source or geothermal heat pump 1%, while 11% are not sure.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Natural gas heats more American homes than any other source.

In your home, what type of heating system is used as your main source of heat?

  • Natural gas furnace 36.4%
  • Electric resistance 17.3%
  • Heat pump (air source) 16.5%
  • Not sure / I don't know 11.1%
  • Boiler 7.9%
  • Delivered fuels (e.g., oil or propane) 5.3%
  • Other 4.1%
  • Other heat pump (e.g., ground source or geothermal) 1.4%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.1%

Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-21 → 2026-05-26
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.1%
Module
Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052

Source

Citation

Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052, fielded May 21-26, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/aapor-2026

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.