Natural gas prices are the highest in the residential sector. In 2023, U.S. households paid an all time high average of 15.2 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic feet. Commercial natural gas costs were second-highest, while prices in the electric power sector were the lowest, at around four U.S. dollars on average. Prices for the industrial and electric power customers tend to be close to the wholesale electricity price. All sectors saw a year-on-year increase in natural gas prices in 2022 due to the decline in U.S. natural gas production in the first quarter of 2022, which resulted in high withdrawals of natural gas from storage and an increase in average natural gas prices. The growing natural gas market In recent years, the average natural gas prices for all sectors have been increasing in the United States. In 2022, the residential sector witnessed an increase in natural gas prices higher than 2008, while natural gas prices for other sectors were still lower despite increases in average natural gas prices for those sectors. Meanwhile, consumption of natural gas has increased more than any other fuel type following the 2008 Recession. Petroleum consumption has been more variable, and use of coal has significantly decreased. The price of coal and crude oil had already been increasing since the early 2000s, and was further exacerbated by the financial crisis. Around the same time, the cost of natural gas dropped significantly, making it a more viable economic alternative compared to other fossil fuels. This decrease was in part the result of drastically increased production of shale gas as a result of hydraulic fracturing and other techniques.

Winter natural gas prices in the United States are forecast to see a notable increase in 2022/23. U.S. consumers are expected to pay an average of 15.95 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet of natural gas. This would mean an increase of over two U.S. dollars and comes in the wake of many countries and regions currently embattled in an energy supply shortage.

The state with the highest price of natural gas for industry in 2023 was Hawaii, standing at 28.4 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet, a decrease when compared to the previous year. During the same year, Texas had the lowest industrial natural gas price in the country, at 2.7 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet. Meanwhile, the average natural gas price for industry in the U.S. stood at 7.9 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet in 2022.

In 2024, the price of natural gas in Europe reached 11 constant U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, compared with 2.2 U.S. dollars in the U.S. This was a notable decrease compared to the previous year, which had seen a steep increase in prices due to an energy supply shortage exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. Since 1980, natural gas prices have typically been higher in Europe than in the United States and are expected to remain so for the coming two years. This is due to the U.S. being a significantly larger natural gas producer than Europe. What is natural gas and why is it gaining ground in the energy market? Natural gas is commonly burned in power plants with combustion turbines that generate electricity or used as a heating fuel. Given the fact that the world’s energy demand continues to grow, natural gas was seen by some industry leaders as an acceptable "bridge-fuel" to overcome the use of more emission-intensive energy sources such as coal. Subsequently, natural gas has become the main fuel for electricity generation in the U.S., while the global gas power generation share has reached over 22 percent. How domestic production shapes U.S. natural gas prices The combination of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling can be regarded as one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest breakthroughs in decades, with the U.S. being the largest beneficiary. This technology has helped the industry release unprecedented quantities of gas from deposits, mainly shale and tar sands that were previously thought either inaccessible or uneconomic. It is forecast that U.S. shale gas production could reach 36 trillion cubic feet in 2050, up from 1.77 trillion cubic feet in 2000.

In 2023, the industrial natural gas price in the United States was 4.59 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet. This was a decrease compared to the previous year. In 2008, the U.S. price of natural gas for industry peaked at 9.65 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet as a result of the Great Recession. Despite the increase in natural gas prices for the industry sector in recent years, natural gas prices for other sectors were much higher. Regional price variations across U.S. hubs Natural gas prices can vary significantly across different regions of the United States. In 2024, the Waha trading hub in the Permian basin recorded the lowest spot prices due to its proximity to productive oil and gas wells and limited pipeline capacity. Meanwhile, the Henry Hub, which serves as the U.S. natural gas benchmark, averaged 2.2 U.S. dollars per million British thermal units in 2024. Looking ahead, forecasts suggest that Henry Hub prices could more than double by 2026, driven by increased demand. Industry natural gas prices around the world Switzerland has some of the highest natural gas prices for the industrial sector. U.S. prices are especially low in comparison to European clients who rely on imports. U.S. industrial natural gas consumers paid around one fourth of the price paid by Swiss consumers.

Household prices for natural gas in the United States reached 15.2 nominal U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet in 2023, representing the highest price during the period in consideration. This was due to the the extreme winter weather events and freeze-offs in the United States which resulted in a decline in natural gas production.

The average monthly price for natural gas in the United States amounted to 4.13 nominal U.S. dollars per million British thermal units (Btu) in March 2025. By contrast, natural gas prices in Europe were about three times higher than those in the U.S. Prices in Europe tend to be notably higher than those in the U.S. as the latter benefits from being a major hydrocarbon producer. Europe's import reliance European prices for natural gas rose most notable throughout the second half of 2021 and much of 2022, peaking at over 70 U.S. dollars per million Btu in August 2022. The sharp rise was due to supply chain issues and economic strain following the COVID-19 pandemic, which was further exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. As a result of the war, many countries began looking for alternative sources, and Russian pipeline gas imports to the European Union declined as a result. Meanwhile, LNG was a great beneficiary, with LNG demand in Europe rising by more than 60 percent between 2021 and 2023. How domestic natural gas production shapes prices As intimated, the United States’ position among the leaders of worldwide natural gas production is one of the main reasons for why prices for this commodity are so low across the country. In 2023, the U.S. produced more than one trillion cubic meters of natural gas, which allays domestic demand and allows for far lower purchasing prices.

Working gas held in storage facilities in the United States increased by 122 billion cubic feet in the week ending May 30 of 2025 . This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Natural Gas Stocks Change - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In 2023, the price of natural gas in Europe reached 13.1 constant U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, compared with 2.5 U.S. dollars in the U.S. This was a notable decrease compared to the previous year, which had seen a steep increase in prices due to an energy supply shortage exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. Since 1980, natural gas prices have typically been higher in Europe than in the United States and are expected to remain so for the coming two years. This is due to the U.S. being a significantly larger natural gas producer than Europe.

What is natural gas and why is it gaining ground in the energy market? Natural gas is commonly burned in power plants with combustion turbines that generate electricity or used as a heating fuel. Given the fact that the world’s energy demand continues to grow, natural gas was seen by some industry leaders as an acceptable "bridge-fuel" to overcome the use of more emission-intensive energy sources such as coal. Subsequently, natural gas has become the main fuel for electricity generation in the U.S., while the global gas power generation share has reached 22 percent.

How domestic production shapes U.S. natural gas prices The combination of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling can be regarded as one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest breakthroughs in decades, with the U.S. being the largest beneficiary. This technology has helped the industry release unprecedented quantities of gas from deposits, mainly shale and tar sands that were previously thought either inaccessible or uneconomic. It is forecast that U.S. shale gas production could reach 35 trillion cubic feet in 2050, up from 1.77 trillion cubic feet in 2000.

During the past decade, the worldwide demand for energy has continued toincrease at a rapid rate. Natural gas has emerged as a primary source of US energy. Thetechnically recoverable natural gas resources in the United States have increased fromapproximately 1,400 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to approximately 2,100 trillion cubic feet(Tcf) in 2010. The recent declines in gas prices have created short-term uncertainties andincreased the risk of developing natural gas fields, rendering a substantial portion of thisresource uneconomical at current gas prices.

Residential natural gas prices in the United States amounted to 4.52 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet in 2021, up from 4.17 dollars per thousand cubic feet in the year prior. In 2019, figures reached the lowest price since the turn of the century, with a peak of 5.69 U.S. dollars recorded in 1985.

In February 2025, the monthly average LNG export price stood at 8.43 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic feet. This was a decrease compared to the previous month but higher than prices a year prior. In June 2022, a fire at the Freeport LNG export terminal impacted export capacities, pushing up prices in the months following. Natural gas prices and those for LNG specifically increased in the spring of 2022 following the Russia-Ukraine war as many European countries looked for suppliers outside Russia. The annual LNG export price from the United States stood at 6.41 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic feet in 2024.

This statistic gives a forecast of natural gas end use prices between 2015 and 2025 in the United States, by scenario. The average residential price of U.S. natural gas will be 11.19 U.S. dollars per million cubic feet over this period, according to the reference scenario. The reference scenario is a a business-as-usual trend estimate, given known technology and technological and demographic trends.

Shale gas and tight oil production in the United States is forecast to increase to more than 35 trillion cubic feet by 2050, up from 29.4 trillion cubic feet in 2024. Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within dense shale formations. Tight oil is crude oil contained in such rock formations. It is extracted by drilling wells and pumping a sand, water, and chemical mixture into the rock. The pressure under which the mixture is pushed into fissures cracks the rock open, allowing for the gas and oil to be removed. Origins of U.S. shale gas production The extraction of shale gas and tight oil in the U.S. has increased dramatically since 2000; from about 1.77 trillion cubic feet to over 29 trillion cubic feet in 2024. The economic viability of shale exploration is a result of technological advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), as well as a surge in oil benchmark prices in the late 2000s and early 2010s. China's fast-growing economy meant it required ever greater amounts of petroleum products, while the largest oil producing body, OPEC, tightly controlled production output in order to push prices higher. This led to the WTI crude oil price climbing to an annual average of nearly 100 U.S. dollars in 2008, despite the onset of the financial crisis. Although early shale pioneer Mitchell Energy had experimented with horizontal drilling and fracking, it took until the 2000s for the technology to hit off. Shale gas production is concentrated primarily in regions such as the Northeast and the Gulf Coast, with Appalachia being the most productive U.S. natural gas region. Chevron is the largest U.S. shale oil producer by daily crude oil output.

Natural gas pipeline import prices from Mexico to the United States amounted to 11.1 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet in 2021. This was a the peak of the period in consideration and a nearly three-fold increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, imports from Canada stood at 3.71 U.S. dollars that year. Since 1985, figures fluctuated with an overall increase between 2005 and 2008. Natural gas import prices from Canada peaked in 2008 and 2005, at 8.58 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet and 8.46 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet, respectively.

Consumption of natural gas in the United States amounted to 32.51 trillion cubic feet in 2021. This was a record high, up from 30.65 trillion cubic feet in 2020. Natural gas consumption increased consistently from 2009 to 2019, after over a decade of fluctuation from 1995 to 2008, before decreasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. High demand for natural gas Natural gas is a colorless, odorless fossil fuel that comes from underground rock formations. It is typically used in the United States to generate electricity and heat homes. The electric power sector is responsible for the largest share of natural gas consumption in the U.S., followed closely by the industrial sector. Consumption of natural gas by the electric power sector has doubled since 2005, but remained lower than industrial sector consumption until 2012. Fossil fuel consumption overall Natural gas has the second-highest rate of consumption in the United States following petroleum. After the 2008 Recession, consumption of natural gas has increased more than any other energy source. The use of coal, however, decreased significantly in the past decade as natural gas is seen as a lower-emission alternative and more cost-effective.

The export of 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas from the United States to Mexico was priced at an average of 5.41 U.S. dollars in 2021. For Canada, this figure stood at 3.87 U.S. dollars. In the period shown, prices fluctuated with an overall decrease between 2008 and 2020. Figures peaked in 2008, the year of the global recession, when natural gas exported by pipeline to Canada was sold at an average price of 8.86 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic feet.

South Korea is the leading importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States by cumulative volumes. Between February 2016 and October 2024 some 2.26 trillion cubic feet of LNG arrived were shipped to South Korean ports. During that period of time, the U.S. exported nearly 21,5 trillion cubic feet in total.South Korea makes up over 11 percent of all LNG shipments from the United States.