How are homes heated in the Town of Riverhead, NY?

Name: Heating fuel in the Town of Riverhead, NY, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

Fuel oil or kerosene is the most common heating fuel in the Town of Riverhead, used by 48.5% (±3.9 points) of occupied homes (2020–2024 American Community Survey).

31.7% heat with utility gas.

7.3% heat with electricity.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Utility gas: 31.7% (±3.0 points)
Electricity: 7.3%
Fuel oil, kerosene: 48.5%

Heating fuel in the Town of Riverhead

Occupied housing units by house heating fuel, 2020–2024
Fuel used most	Town of Riverhead	Suffolk County	New York	United States
Utility gas	31.7% (±3.0 points)	41.1%	59.1%	46.5%
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.	48.5% (±3.9 points)	44.0%	16.1%	3.9%
Electricity	7.3% (±1.8 points)	9.2%	15.4%	41.3%
Bottled or tank gas (propane)	9.8% (±2.4 points)	4.0%	4.9%	4.9%
Wood	0.9% (±0.9 points)	0.5%	1.3%	1.4%
Solar energy	0.0% (±0.1 points)	0.3%	0.1%	0.3%
Coal or coke	0.3% (±0.2 points)	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%
Other fuel	1.0% (±0.7 points)	0.6%	1.3%	0.5%
No fuel used	0.6% (±0.6 points)	0.4%	1.6%	1.2%

The survey asks which fuel is used most to heat the home, so a home with a heat pump and an oil backup is counted once, under the one it uses most.

In the Town of Riverhead, the share of homes heating with fuel oil is higher than in Suffolk County (44.0%).

It is also higher than in New York (16.1%).

It is higher than the national figure (3.9%).

In the Town of Riverhead, the share of homes heating with electricity is lower than in Suffolk County (9.2%).

It is also lower than in New York (15.4%).

It is lower than the national figure (41.3%).

Homes heated by electricity in places near the Town of Riverhead

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with the Town of Riverhead
Place	Distance	Homes heated by electricity	Compared with this place
Town of Riverhead	—	7.3% (±1.8 points)	—
Riverside (community)	5.3 mi	5.4% (±5.7 points)	Not measurably different
Flanders	8.2 mi	12.6% (±5.9 points)	Not measurably different
Laurel	8.4 mi	20.0% (±18.1 points)	Not measurably different
East Shoreham	8.5 mi	3.8% (±3.1 points)	Not measurably different
Manorville	8.6 mi	9.0% (±3.0 points)	Not measurably different
Mattituck	9.2 mi	1.3% (±1.5 points)	Lower
Westhampton	9.2 mi	3.9% (±2.8 points)	Lower
Eastport	9.7 mi	14.1% (±11.9 points)	Not measurably different

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Mattituck, NY (1.3%), Westhampton, NY (3.9%).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Homes heated by fuel oil across Suffolk County, place by place

Rank	Place	Homes heated by fuel oil
1	Town of Shelter Island	78.1% (±12.4 points)
2	Poospatuck Reservation	68.7% (±17.3 points)
3	Town of Southold	55.9% (±3.8 points)
4	Town of Southampton	53.0% (±2.2 points)
5	Town of Brookhaven	52.0% (±1.1 points)
6 (tie)	Town of East Hampton	48.5% (±3.4 points)
6 (tie)	Town of Riverhead	48.5% (±3.9 points)
8	Town of Smithtown	38.9% (±1.6 points)
9	Town of Islip	38.8% (±1.2 points)
10	Town of Huntington	37.3% (±1.3 points)
11	Shinnecock Reservation	34.8% (±13.3 points)
12	Town of Babylon	34.4% (±1.5 points)

A New York town includes the villages and hamlets inside it, so the figures for the Town of Riverhead include them.

The figures for the Town of Riverhead include the places inside it that have pages of their own: Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Northville (community), Riverhead (community), Wading River.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates).

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Town of Riverhead

What is the most common way to heat a home in the Town of Riverhead?

Fuel oil or kerosene is the most common heating fuel in the Town of Riverhead, used by 48.5% of occupied homes (2020–2024 American Community Survey).

How many homes in the Town of Riverhead heat with oil?

48.5% (±3.9 points) of occupied homes in the Town of Riverhead use fuel oil or kerosene as their main heating fuel.

How many homes in the Town of Riverhead have electric heat?

7.3% (±1.8 points) of occupied homes in the Town of Riverhead heat mainly with electricity, which includes heat pumps.

Sources

Selected Housing Characteristics (DP04), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Riverhead town, Suffolk County, New York

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Riverhead town, Suffolk County, New York (county subdivision:61984, in state:36 county:103).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0063PE, DP04_0063PM, DP04_0066PE, DP04_0066PM, DP04_0065PE, DP04_0065PM, DP04_0064PE, DP04_0064PM, DP04_0068PE, DP04_0068PM, DP04_0069PE, DP04_0069PM, DP04_0067PE, DP04_0067PM, DP04_0070PE, DP04_0070PM, DP04_0071PE, DP04_0071PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.