Buyers ask about the kitchen range. What they are actually asking, without knowing it, is whether the house is connected to a gas main, because that one fact decides the range, the water heater, the furnace, the standby generator and roughly half the renovation options they will consider over the next decade.
In the Richmond region the answer is not a county-by-county rule. It follows the pipe.
How to read this, and what nobody publishes. There is no public map that shows natural gas availability lot by lot across the metro. Service follows distribution mains, mains follow density and development age, and the only authoritative answer for a specific property comes from the utility that serves it. Two houses on the same street can differ if one was built before the main reached it and never converted.
What can be established is which utility serves which territory and where mains generally do and do not run. That is what this guide does. Confirm any specific address with the provider before you buy a gas range for a house that has no gas.
Who actually supplies the gas here
Two providers matter in this market, and one of them surprises people.
Richmond Gas Works is a city department, not a private utility. It sits inside the City of Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities and it serves well beyond the city line, including parts of the surrounding counties. That is unusual, and it is why gas service in parts of Henrico and Chesterfield comes with a City of Richmond bill.
Columbia Gas of Virginia is the investor-owned utility serving other parts of the region. Both are regulated by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which is where rate cases and service territory questions ultimately land.
Where natural gas is generally available
These are the older, denser parts of the metro, where mains were laid early and have been extended repeatedly.
Inside the city, the Fan and the Museum District are about as reliably gas-served as anywhere in the region. The housing stock predates widespread electric heating, the street grid is dense, and gas heat is the default rather than the exception. North Side and Carytown sit in the same category.
In inner Henrico County, Lakeside developed early enough and densely enough that gas is common. In inner Chesterfield County, Bon Air is the equivalent.
Wrong for you if: you specifically want an all-electric home, whether for a heat pump retrofit, solar with electrification, or simply to avoid combustion appliances. In these areas you will be swimming against the existing stock, and conversion means abandoning a working system.
Where you are usually on propane or all-electric
Move outward and the mains stop. In Powhatan County and much of Goochland County, natural gas distribution does not reach most residential addresses. Homes there are heated by electricity, usually a heat pump, or by propane delivered to a tank on the property.
Propane is not natural gas with a different name. It is bought by the gallon from a supplier you choose, the price moves with the market rather than a regulated tariff, the tank is either owned or leased, and a leased tank ties you to that supplier. Ask which arrangement exists before closing, because inheriting a leased tank with an unfavorable contract is a real and avoidable annoyance.
This tracks closely with the public water and sewer picture, which we mapped in where the region is on public water and sewer and where you are on a well. The same density logic drives both.
Wrong for you if: you cook seriously and want a gas range, or you want a gas standby generator. Propane can do both, at a running cost you should price before you commit rather than after.
Where it is genuinely mixed, and you must check the address
This is the category that catches people, because the neighborhood name tells you nothing.
Short Pump and the western Henrico growth corridor developed across decades, so some subdivisions were built with gas and some were not, sometimes within a mile of each other. Varina in eastern Henrico is rural in parts and served in others. Western Midlothian and the newer Chesterfield corridors are similar: whether gas reached a given subdivision often came down to what the developer negotiated at the time.
Wrong for you if: you want certainty from the listing. In these areas the listing is not reliable on this point, and neither is the neighbor’s house. Check the specific parcel with the utility.
See what is available in the areas that fit
We can set up a saved search across the neighborhoods named here, filtered to whichever side of the gas question you actually want. Ask us to set up a saved search for these areas, or browse new construction in the Richmond area, where the utility question is usually settled at the subdivision level and easier to answer.
What it changes in practice
Heating cost structure, not just heating cost. Gas and electric bills move on different cycles. A cold snap hits a gas-heated home immediately and a heat-pump home differently, with resistance backup heat being the expensive part.
Appliance replacement. Replacing like with like is straightforward. Switching fuel means new lines, new venting or new circuits, and the cost lands on you rather than the seller.
Generators. A natural gas standby generator needs a main. On propane it needs a tank sized for it. All-electric means battery storage or nothing.
Resale. In the gas-served city neighborhoods a gas kitchen is expected. In the outer counties nobody blinks at all-electric. Buying against the local norm is fine to live with and slightly harder to sell.
What these localities cost, August 2026
| Locality | Median sales price | Year over year | Closed sales | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henrico County | $425,000 | up 7.9% | 229 | 1.6 |
| Chesterfield County | $453,975 | up 0.9% | 372 | 1.9 |
| Richmond City | $403,500 | down 5.3% | 163 | 1.4 |
| Goochland County | $688,702 | up 17.7% | 33 | 2.7 |
| Powhatan County | $551,975 | up 0.2% | 24 | 3.5 |
Locality-wide figures for single family detached homes, not neighborhood figures. Goochland and Powhatan closed only 33 and 24 sales respectively in the month, so those medians rest on small samples and move sharply from month to month. Read them as context, not as a precise value for any address. Source: Central Virginia Regional MLS, published in the Richmond Association of REALTORS housing reports as sortable monthly statistics, current as of 10 September 2026.
[DATA NEEDED: median price per square foot, August 2026, by area. Not published in the free sortable tables.]
Questions about natural gas service around Richmond
Who provides natural gas in the Richmond area?
Two providers cover most of the market. Richmond Gas Works is a department of the City of Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities and serves the city plus parts of the surrounding counties, which is why some Henrico and Chesterfield addresses receive a City of Richmond gas bill. Columbia Gas of Virginia is the investor-owned utility serving other parts of the region. Both are regulated by the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
How do I find out whether a specific house has natural gas?
Ask the utility that serves the address, not the listing agent and not the neighbor. Availability follows distribution mains, and a main running down the street does not by itself mean the house is connected. If the house is not connected, ask what a connection would cost before you assume it is a small job.
Which Richmond neighborhoods are most likely to have gas?
The older, denser parts of the city and the inner suburbs. The Fan, the Museum District, North Side and Carytown are reliably gas-served, as are Lakeside in inner Henrico and Bon Air in inner Chesterfield. These areas were developed when gas heat was standard and the mains have been in place for decades.
Are Powhatan and Goochland on natural gas?
Mostly no. Natural gas distribution does not reach most residential addresses in Powhatan and much of Goochland. Homes there are typically heated with electricity, usually a heat pump, or with propane delivered to an on-site tank. This mirrors the public water and sewer picture in those counties.
Is propane the same as natural gas?
No. Propane is delivered by truck and stored in a tank on the property, priced by the gallon at market rates rather than under a regulated tariff. The tank is either owned by you or leased from the supplier, and a leased tank generally ties you to that supplier. Establish which arrangement is in place before closing.
Can I convert an all-electric house to gas?
Sometimes, and it is rarely cheap. It requires a main within reach, a service connection, interior gas lines, and appliances plus venting. Get a written estimate from the utility and a licensed contractor before you buy a house on the assumption that you will convert it later.
Does having gas affect resale value in Richmond?
It affects expectations more than it affects price directly. In the gas-served city neighborhoods buyers expect a gas kitchen and notice its absence. In the outer counties all-electric and propane are the norm and nobody remarks on it. The risk is buying against the local norm, which is comfortable to live with and slightly harder to sell.
Why is Short Pump listed as mixed rather than served?
Because western Henrico developed across several decades and gas mains were extended subdivision by subdivision as development negotiated it. Neighboring subdivisions built years apart can differ. The neighborhood name is not a reliable guide there, so check the specific parcel.
