Cord Calc / By state
NOAA 1991-2020 normals · checked 2026-10-20
How much firewood for a winter, by state
The same 2,000 sq ft house built in the 1970s burns 6.9 cords in a normal North Dakota winter, 3.9 in Oregon (the median state) and 0.5 in Florida. Pick a state for its degree days, cords by house size and age, cold-year swing and cord price where the state publishes one.
- 1Median state (Oregon) 3.9 cords
- 2Coldest (North Dakota) 6.9 cords
- 3Mildest (Florida) 0.5 cords
- 4Example house 2,000 sq ft, 1970s
| State | Degree days | Rank | Cords, example house | State cord price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2,669 | 42 | 2.0 | – |
| Arizona | 1,919 | 45 | 1.4 | – |
| Arkansas | 3,391 | 38 | 2.5 | – |
| California | 2,814 | 40 | 2.1 | – |
| Colorado | 7,053 | 10 | 5.3 | – |
| Connecticut | 5,849 | 19 | 4.4 | – |
| Delaware | 4,483 | 31 | 3.4 | – |
| Florida | 646 | 48 | 0.5 | – |
| Georgia | 2,807 | 41 | 2.1 | – |
| Idaho | 6,870 | 12 | 5.2 | – |
| Illinois | 6,105 | 17 | 4.6 | – |
| Indiana | 5,628 | 23 | 4.2 | – |
| Iowa | 6,822 | 13 | 5.1 | – |
| Kansas | 4,876 | 29 | 3.7 | – |
| Kentucky | 4,397 | 33 | 3.3 | – |
| Louisiana | 1,654 | 47 | 1.2 | – |
| Maine | 7,758 | 6 | 5.8 | $355 (2026-09-21) |
| Maryland | 4,563 | 30 | 3.4 | – |
| Massachusetts | 6,132 | 16 | 4.6 | – |
| Michigan | 6,745 | 14 | 5.1 | – |
| Minnesota | 8,534 | 3 | 6.4 | – |
| Mississippi | 2,389 | 44 | 1.8 | – |
| Missouri | 4,980 | 28 | 3.7 | – |
| Montana | 8,550 | 2 | 6.4 | – |
| Nebraska | 6,281 | 15 | 4.7 | – |
| Nevada | 3,452 | 37 | 2.6 | – |
| New Hampshire | 7,449 | 9 | 5.6 | $436 (2024-07-01) |
| New Jersey | 5,168 | 26 | 3.9 | – |
| New Mexico | 4,462 | 32 | 3.3 | – |
| New York | 6,001 | 18 | 4.5 | – |
| North Carolina | 3,359 | 39 | 2.5 | – |
| North Dakota | 9,184 | 1 | 6.9 | – |
| Ohio | 5,689 | 22 | 4.3 | – |
| Oklahoma | 3,535 | 36 | 2.7 | – |
| Oregon | 5,269 | 25 | 3.9 | – |
| Pennsylvania | 5,701 | 21 | 4.3 | – |
| Rhode Island | 5,761 | 20 | 4.3 | – |
| South Carolina | 2,587 | 43 | 1.9 | – |
| South Dakota | 7,633 | 7 | 5.7 | – |
| Tennessee | 3,754 | 35 | 2.8 | – |
| Texas | 1,818 | 46 | 1.4 | – |
| Utah | 6,979 | 11 | 5.2 | – |
| Vermont | 8,058 | 5 | 6.0 | – |
| Virginia | 4,259 | 34 | 3.2 | – |
| Washington | 5,610 | 24 | 4.2 | – |
| West Virginia | 5,067 | 27 | 3.8 | – |
| Wisconsin | 7,529 | 8 | 5.6 | – |
| Wyoming | 8,225 | 4 | 6.2 | – |
How the cords are worked out
A heating degree day counts how far a day's average temperature falls below 65°F; a year's total measures how much heating a climate asks for. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information publish statewide totals each year, and the 30-year average from 1991-2020 is used here. Degree days alone do not give cords, so the method borrows a measured figure from the federal Residential Energy Consumption Survey: gas-heated homes used 4.688 cubic feet of gas per 1,000 sq ft per degree day if built since 1990, rising to 8.784 for homes built before 1950. That gas, at 1,036 Btu per cubic foot and a 78% furnace, is the heat the house needs; dividing by the wood in a cord (20 million Btu by default) and the stove's efficiency (74%) gives cords. The methodology has every step, and the cord guide converts cords to face cords and ricks.
Only 2 states publish a dated cord price from a state energy office: Maine and New Hampshire. Alaska and Hawaii are not covered: The Climate at a Glance statewide degree-day series for Alaska could not be fetched (request error). NOAA's statewide climate-division series do not cover Hawaii.
Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance statewide heating degree days (base 65°F), each state's series linked on its page; NCEI climate division readme. Checked 2026-10-20.