Heating oil holds at $6.25 a gallon in Massachusetts as propane rises again
A 200-gallon oil delivery costs about $528 more than a year ago. Gasoline fell for a fifth straight week, and the fuel assistance season starts Sunday, Nov. 1.
SOUTH COAST Massachusetts households that heat with oil paid an average of $6.254 a gallon on Monday, Oct. 26, three-tenths of a cent more than a week earlier and $2.64 more than at this time last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. The agency also revised its Oct. 19 average to $6.251 a gallon, up from the $6.115 it first published Oct. 21. At the Oct. 26 price, a 200-gallon delivery costs about $1,251, roughly $528 more than the same delivery a year ago, when oil averaged $3.612.
Propane rose for a second straight week. The state's residential average reached $3.717 a gallon, up 5.8 cents from the week before and 36 cents from the $3.353 households paid on Oct. 27, 2025. Oil now costs 73% more than it did a year ago, while propane is up about 11%.
What a delivery costs
The weekly figures are statewide averages of what households pay for delivered fuel, before taxes, and a South Coast dealer's price can sit above or below them. At the Oct. 26 average, a 150-gallon oil delivery comes to about $938. For homes that heat with propane, 100 gallons costs about $372 and 150 gallons about $558, against about $335 and $503 at last year's price.
The wholesale price of heating oil in Massachusetts fell 3 cents in the week, to $5.310 a gallon, leaving a gap of about 94 cents between the wholesale and residential averages. The wholesale price a year ago was about $2.57.
How Massachusetts compares
Massachusetts oil is the second most expensive in New England, behind Rhode Island at $6.396 a gallon. Connecticut averaged $6.150, and the region as a whole $6.165. The national residential average was $6.233.
Propane runs the other way: the Massachusetts price sits below the New England average of $3.917, and only Maine, at $3.679, was lower in the region. Connecticut households paid the most, $4.315 a gallon.
At the pump, regular gasoline averaged $4.145 a gallon in Massachusetts on Oct. 26, down 5.7 cents from a week earlier and the fifth weekly drop in a row. That is still $1.25 more than the $2.897 drivers paid a year ago.
Help with the bills
Households that heat with oil and earn between 60% and 100% of the state median income may qualify for a one-time benefit of up to $680 starting in December under Gov. Maura Healey's winter energy plan, announced Oct. 5. At this week's average, $680 buys about 109 gallons of oil. Who qualifies and how the solar charge comes off electric bills.
Fuel assistance, which pays part of the winter heating bill for eligible households of any heat source, starts its season Sunday, Nov. 1. PACE runs the program for New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester from 255 Union St. in New Bedford, open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays with walk-ins welcome. New applicants can apply online at toapply.org/PACE starting Nov. 1, and the phone line is 508-525-4271. Citizens for Citizens serves Fall River, Freetown (including Assonet), Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Rehoboth, Dighton, Seekonk, Taunton, Berkley and Lakeville. Benefit levels and how to apply.
What happens next
The next weekly heating oil and propane prices come out Wednesday, Nov. 4. The prices are collected each week of the heating season, from October through March.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every price comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Heating Oil and Propane Update and its weekly Massachusetts series for the week of Oct. 26, released Oct. 28 (gasoline Oct. 27). Fuel assistance details come from the PACE and Citizens for Citizens program pages, and the $680 benefit from the governor's Oct. 5 release. We read them on Oct. 29. Delivery costs, gaps and percentages are our arithmetic from the published averages. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (7)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Heating Oil and Propane Update (residential and wholesale heating oil and propane by state, change from week ago and year ago)Prices for the week of Oct. 26, 2026, released Oct. 28, 2026. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- EIA: Weekly Massachusetts No. 2 heating oil residential priceWeekly series through Oct. 26, 2026; release date Oct. 28, next release Nov. 4. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- EIA: Weekly Massachusetts propane residential priceWeekly series through Oct. 26, 2026. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- EIA: Weekly Massachusetts regular retail gasoline priceWeekly series through Oct. 26, 2026; release date Oct. 27. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- PACE: Home Energy Assistance Program 2026-2027Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Citizens for Citizens: Fuel Assistance Program (HEAP), service areaRead Oct. 29, 2026.
- Office of the Governor: Governor Healey Announces New Winter Energy Bill Relief for Massachusetts Families (press release), State Library of Massachusetts copyDated Oct. 5, 2026. Read Oct. 29, 2026.