How big should a propane dealer's service area be?
By Bill Stomp
About 30 to 35 miles from each plant, as a rule of thumb: the radius your trucks can run at a profit, not a circle on a map. Then list the towns you really serve.
How to size it
- Map drive time from each plant. Pull recent routes. Note the time to each town, the time between stops and the trip back. Ask your drivers where the map misses the real trip.
- Know your cost per stop. Add driver time, truck fuel and truck costs for each route. Divide by the stops made. Hold each stop's cost against what its gallons earn after the cost of propane. Use your own books.
- Plot your current customers. Mark their towns and the plant that serves each one. Look for towns you can serve on the same run. Check a far stop against the full trip it needs.
- Pick the towns you want to grow in. Ask dispatch if you can add stops there and still run the route on time. Put a town on the public list once you can take and fill orders there.
- Make one town list for each plant. Go over it with dispatch. Keep the towns where you can deliver at a profit and keep your word to the customer.
- Match your Google Business Profile and website to that list. Google caps a profile at about 20 service areas, so pick the ones you serve most. Check each town page for the right plant, phone and delivery details. Take down any town you no longer serve.
Why it matters for Google and AI
When someone asks for "propane near <town>," Google and AI tools pull from the facts on your site and your Google profile. Put your town list in plain text on your site and match it to the profile. On each town page, say which plant serves it and how a customer can check delivery. Only list a town you can deliver to.
FAQ
How far should a propane company deliver?
A common rule of thumb is about 30 to 35 miles from each plant. Set your own line from drive time, cost per stop and what each delivery earns.
Should each plant have the same service area?
No. Set each plant's area from the routes it really runs. Go over each town with dispatch so your public list matches the plant that can fill the order.
What if we serve more towns than Google lets us list?
Google caps a Business Profile at about 20 service areas. Pick areas you actually serve, and keep the full town list on your website.
What does the free AI audit show?
Enter your company name and ZIP. Email is optional. It shows who AI names for propane in your county and what to fix on your site. The findings come from a sample of web searches. The engine labels share one reading; they are not separate tests of each engine.
Last reviewed: September 2026
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