Find your fireplace in Lee County.

Gas and electric are by far the most common choices across Lee County, and that tracks with the climate—with average winter lows around 32°F and only a short, mild heating season most years, most households don't need a heavy-duty primary heat source, just something reliable for the coldest stretches. Gas fireplaces and inserts cover that need well without daily tending. Electric units are just as popular, especially as a supplemental heat source in a bedroom or den, or in homes where running a gas line isn't worth the cost for how few days it'd really get used.

Some do, but wood heat isn't the mainstream choice here the way it is in colder parts of the country. A number of older Lee County homes have an existing wood-burning fireplace or masonry hearth, and oak, pine, and pecan are all locally available if you want to burn it, but few homeowners are installing new wood stoves as a primary heat source given how mild and short the heating season is. Where wood fireplaces do get installed or kept in service, it's usually for ambiance, occasional use during a cold front, or a specific aesthetic preference rather than a heating strategy.

Pellet fuel is available regionally—Lignetics, Hamer Pellet Fuel, and Greenway Renewable Energy all distribute in the area—but pellet stoves are uncommon here for the same reason wood stoves are: the heating load just doesn't justify the equipment for most households. A pellet stove makes more sense in a climate with a long, hard winter than one with a short, mild one like Lee County's. If you're drawn to a pellet stove anyway, for its look or the hopper-fed convenience, it's worth talking to a dealer about right-sizing the unit so you're not running an oversized stove through a mild winter.

New gas fireplace and insert installations typically require a permit through your local building department—Tupelo has its own permitting process inside city limits, while unincorporated parts of Lee County go through the county building office. Any new gas line or connection also needs to be run by a licensed gas fitter, separate from the fireplace installation itself. Electric fireplace installs usually skip the permit process entirely unless you're hardwiring a built-in unit and need a new dedicated circuit. Most retailers we match homeowners with handle this paperwork as part of the install.

Gas fireplaces, inserts, and stoves generally run $4,500–$11,000 depending on whether you're extending gas line to a new location or converting an existing masonry fireplace. Electric fireplaces are the more affordable option—$200–$3,000 for the unit, plus $400–$1,200 in labor if it's more than a plug-and-play placement. Wood-burning installs, when a homeowner does want one, tend to run $4,500–$9,000 given the chimney and hearth work involved, even though it's a less common project here than gas or electric. Costs shift with venting complexity and whether existing infrastructure like a chimney or gas line is already in place.

It usually comes down to whether you want supplemental ambiance or real backup heat for the occasional cold snap. Gas fireplaces put out genuine heat output and work as a practical secondary heat source during winter cold fronts, which is the main reason they're the standard choice across the county. Electric fireplaces are simpler to install, cost less upfront, and work well for rooms where you mainly want the visual and a bit of warmth rather than a heating solution—a lot of Lee County homeowners choose electric for a bedroom, basement, or den while keeping gas or a central system as the main heat source. A local dealer can walk through your specific room, existing wiring or gas access, and budget to point you toward the better fit.

On average, a fireplace adds back to the home about the same amount you spent installing it. Add the monthly savings from heating the rooms you actually use instead of the whole house—often hundreds of dollars a year—and the value case is strong before you even count what a fire does for how your family uses the room.

If you're putting a fire in your house on purpose, it's best to work with an expert. Unless you're genuinely experienced in framing, gas line, vent pipe, and the national code on clearances to combustibles, have a professional do it—and ideally the same company that sells you the fireplace, so warranty, service, and liability all live under one roof.

For an average home—covering the fireplace, the vent pipe, and basic installation—a budget between $3,900 and $5,500 gives you a lot of options across wood, gas, and pellet. By the time you add finish work, gas line, and electrical, the average complete installation lands between $5,000 and $12,000 all-in. In a remodel or new build, a good rule is to put about 2.5% of the total project cost toward the fireplace.

Yes—by creating a comfort zone. A furnace heats every square foot of the house just to warm the one room you're in; a gas fireplace on low burns roughly a sixth of the gas a typical furnace does. Set the furnace around 55–60 degrees as a baseline, then heat the rooms your family actually uses. Families who heat this way commonly save $20–$60 a month.