BOSTON -- It will come as no surprise to Bostonians that it's pretty expensive to stay warm through the long New England winters. But it may surprise some that heating is more expensive in Boston than it is in snowy Buffalo, N.Y.

It will cost Bostonians about $333 more this year to heat their homes this winter than Buffalo residents, Forbes.com said.

With the average temperature for Buffalo in January and February just 16 degrees Fahrenheit versus Boston's balmy 23, the cost of heating depends on more than just the reading on the thermometer.

Local prices, inventories, refining capacity and choice of heat also play a role, Forbes said. Eight-eight percent of Buffalo residents rely on natural gas, the most efficient and least volatile energy source available, to heat their homes. Only 2 percent of residents use more expensive heating oil, compared with 36 percent of Bostonians.

So should all Bostonians switch to natural gas? Installing new heating systems can cost thousands and prices for heating fuels can vary regionally. In Boston, 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas costs $17.60, compared with $13.02 in Minneapolis, Forbes said. At those prices, Bostonians could save about $622 a year on heating costs, but that may not be enough of an incentive to offset the initial changeover costs.

But all gas-heating savings could be erased if oil drops to $60 a barrel, as some analysts are projecting.