Home heating oil prices in New York spiked in early March 2026 — far exceeding levels during the same time last year — as costs for fuels overall leaped globally in the first weeks of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
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?
The weekly home heating oil price per gallon spiked about 39% on average year-over-year statewide, with some regions facing even higher increases, including New York City and Long Island that leaped about 41%, respectively, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of state data released on March 16.
At the same time, the weekly heating oil prices spiked in the first weeks of this month, leaping about 21% between Mach 2 and March 16, landing at a statewide average of $5.32 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 $5.42 on March 16 was up about 21% from March 2.
In Western New York, home heating oil prices faced a spike in early March, reaching $5.15 per gallon on March 16, up from $4.45 on March 2.
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 ($5.25) at slightly below the statewide average ($5.32) as of March 16.
Meanwhile Washington may drop sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian oil in a bid to tamp down soaring prices, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said March 20, as President Donald Trump again demanded United States allies join efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran neared the three-week mark, USA TODAY reported.
Includes data analysis by Erik Gliedman of USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Heating oil prices in NY surge amid Iran war. See cost in your region
Reporting by David Robinson, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
