Home heating oil prices in New York spiked in late January 2026, adding to the mix of rising bills for gas and electric services that have left millions of New Yorkers struggling to heat their homes amid a frigid winter.
With nearly one-in-five homes statewide using heating oil, rising costs for the fuel are key to politically charged fights over measures aimed at shifting more buildings and homes to electric heat, as well as efforts to expand clean energy initiatives.
How much have home heating oil prices changed in NY?
While the weekly home heating oil price per gallon was down about 1.5% on average year-over-year statewide, some regions faced increases, including parts of Western New York and the North Country that leaped 1.4% and 4.4%, respectively, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of state data released on Jan. 26.
At the same time, the weekly heating oil prices spiked partway through last month, leaping nearly 7% between Jan. 12 and Jan. 26, landing at a statewide average of $3.99 per gallon, the data show.
Heating oil is used by 19% of New York households (1.4 million homes). It is most commonly used on the east side of the state including high use rates in the North Country and the Adirondacks. But it is also common in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island, according to a report by the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative Albany-based think tank.
In the Lower Hudson Valley, which state data tracks across Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess counties, the home heating oil price per gallon of $4.06 on Jan. 26 was up about 4% from Jan. 12. Data show further price increases could hit in coming weeks, as the weekly tally peaked at around $4.18 in late February 2025 before declining that year.
In Western New York, home heating oil prices faced a spike in November, reaching $4.17 per gallon, before declining in December. That price ticked up again in 2026, however, reaching $4.14 per gallon on Jan. 26.
Central New York — which state data tracks across the counties of Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Tioga, and Tompkins — had its weekly home heating oil price per gallon ($3.79) at slightly below the statewide average as of Jan. 26.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers have recently blasted the state’s Public Service Commission of ignoring the difficulty New Yorkers are having paying gas and electric bills.
More than 1.3 million households across the state are behind at least two months on their gas and electric bills and owe nearly $2 billion, according to the latest totals from the PSC.
Includes reporting and data work by Thomas C. Zambito and Erik Gliedman of USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Home heating oil prices spiked in NY. See the cost in your region
Reporting by David Robinson, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
