How much carbon dioxide does your state produce?

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the state’s carbon footprint, according to the May Choose Energy analysis of the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas produces about 13% of the nation’s carbon dioxide, according to the numbers.

The Lone Star State’s 683 million metric tons of carbon dioxide produced in 2019 was more than double the amount emitted in California, the second-largest producer.

Following are the states that produced the most carbon dioxide emissions (in million metric tons):

State	2019	State	2019
Texas	683.2	Georgia	136.5
California	358.2	North Carolina	122.6
Florida	233.6	Missouri	117.0
Pennsylvania	218.7	Kentucky	115.4
Illinois	203.4	Virginia	106.8
Ohio	196.7	Alabama	106.3
Louisiana	194.9	New Jersey	100.8
Indiana	176.1	Wisconsin	94.8
New York	169.0	Arizona	92.5
Michigan	159.2	Tennessee	92.2

Following are the states that produced the least carbon dioxide:

State	2019	State	2019
Vermont	6.0	Connecticut	36.6
Rhode Island	10.4	Nevada	41.7
Delaware	13.6	Oregon	41.8
New Hampshire	13.9	New Mexico	48.9
Maine	14.4	Nebraska	50.5
South Dakota	16.0	Maryland	56.9
Idaho	20.1	North Dakota	57.2
Hawaii	20.5	Wyoming	59.1
Montana	32.3	Kansas	60.5
Alaska	34.3	Utah	61.5

Following is a state-by-state look at the amount of carbon dioxide produced during 2019 and the previous year, as well as the percentage increase or decrease from the year 2000 and the percentage increase or decrease from 2018:

State	2019	2018	% change from 2000	% change from 2018
Alabama	106.3	112.4	-25.3	-5.4
Alaska	34.3	34.5	-21.4	-0.7
Arizona	92.5	94.1	6.8	-1.7
Arkansas	65.1	70.8	2.7	-8.1
California	358.2	358.6	-6.3	-0.1
Colorado	91.7	90.1	7.3	1.8
Connecticut	36.6	37.4	-14.3	-2.0
Delaware	13.6	14.0	-18.5	-2.9
Florida	233.6	242.0	-2.3	-3.5
Georgia	136.5	141.9	-19.6	-3.8
Hawaii	20.5	20.3	9.6	1.1
Idaho	20.1	19.0	28.0	5.5
Illinois	203.4	213.1	-13.4	-4.5
Indiana	176.1	189.2	-26.5	-6.9
Iowa	77.3	82.4	-2.7	-6.2
Kansas	60.5	62.9	-20.3	-3.8
Kentucky	115.4	122.8	-21.6	-6.0
Louisiana	194.9	194.7	-11.7	0.1
Maine	14.4	14.8	-35.2	-2.3
Maryland	56.9	61.7	-27.6	-7.8
Massachusetts	63.3	64.1	-23.1	-1.2
Michigan	159.2	163.7	-18.2	-2.7
Minnesota	92.1	94.8	-6.2	-2.8
Mississippi	62.5	63.2	1.9	-1.1
Missouri	117.0	124.8	-7.7	-6.2
Montana	32.3	31.3	1.6	3.3
Nebraska	50.5	52.4	21.1	-3.6
Nevada	41.7	41.4	-8.5	0.9
New Hampshire	13.9	14.2	-20.2	-2.1
New Jersey	100.8	105.1	-19.1	-4.0
New Mexico	48.9	45.9	-16.0	6.7
New York	169.0	175.1	-20.4	-3.5
North Carolina	122.6	124.2	-17.8	-1.3
North Dakota	57.2	59.3	11.4	-3.6
Ohio	196.7	209.0	-26.3	-5.9
Oklahoma	90.8	98.0	-9.3	-7.3
Oregon	41.8	39.6	0.7	5.7
Pennsylvania	218.7	220.2	-21.5	-0.7
Rhode Island	10.4	11.1	-11.9	-6.3
South Carolina	69.4	74.1	-15.3	-6.3
South Dakota	16.0	15.5	12.3	2.9
Tennessee	92.2	93.8	-28.3	-1.7
Texas	683.2	684.7	1.5	-0.2
Utah	61.5	61.2	-6.0	0.4
Vermont	6.0	5.9	-11.3	2.8
Virginia	106.8	110.1	-13.4	-3.0
Washington	84.2	78.7	-0.2	7.0
West Virginia	85.4	89.1	-26.2	-4.1
Wisconsin	94.8	101.2	-12.0	-6.3
Wyoming	59.1	63.8	-6.9	-7.4
U.S.	5,158.8	5,294.8	-12.1	-2.6

Another way of measuring carbon emissions

Because some states are more populous, they produce greater amounts of carbon dioxide. We control for this by measuring the carbon dioxide per capita — metric tons of emissions per person in each state. Following are the 10 states with the lowest per capita carbon emissions:

State	Percapita carbon	State	Percapita carbon
New York	8.7	Rhode Island	9.8
California	9.1	Oregon	9.9
Massachusetts	9.2	New Hampshire	10.2
Maryland	9.4	Connecticut	10.3
Vermont	9.6	Maine	10.7

Following are the 10 states with the highest emissions per capita:

State	Percapita carbon	State	Percapita carbon
Wyoming	101.9	Montana	30.2
North Dakota	74.8	Indiana	26.2
West Virginia	47.6	Nebraska	26.1
Alaska	46.7	Kentucky	25.8
Louisiana	41.8	Iowa	24.5

Which states are improving their carbon footprint? Which aren’t?

Nationally, carbon dioxide emissions have fallen 12% compared with 2000 levels. And since 2018, emissions have decreased by 2.6% across the country.

The state where levels have fallen the greatest since 2000 is Maine. Following are the 20 states where levels decreased by the greatest amounts since 2000.

State	% decrease	State	% decrease
Maine	-35.2	Alaska	-21.4
Tennessee	-28.3	New York	-20.4
Maryland	-27.6	Kansas	-20.3
Indiana	-26.5	New Hampshire	-20.2
Ohio	-26.3	Georgia	-19.6
West Virginia	-26.2	New Jersey	-19.1
Alabama	-25.3	Delaware	-18.5
Massachusetts	-23.1	Michigan	-18.2
Kentucky	-21.6	North Carolina	-17.8
Pennsylvania	-21.5	New Mexico	-16.0

Unfortunately, levels haven’t gone down in every state. Following are states where carbon dioxide emissions have increased since 2000:

State	% increase	State	% increase
Idaho	28.0	Hawaii	9.6
Nebraska	21.1	Colorado	7.3
South Dakota	12.3	Arizona	6.8
North Dakota	11.4	Arkansas	2.7

There are four states that have experienced a significant percentage increase in carbon dioxide emissions since 2018, including Washington, New Mexico, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

There were also several states that showed a meaningful decrease in emissions since 2018. The top states for decreased carbon emissions were Arkansas, Maryland, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Indiana.

Where does the carbon dioxide originate?

Nationally, transportation is responsible for the largest chunk of carbon dioxide emissions — 37.6%. But the generation of electricity is the second-largest offender, with 31.2%.

Following is a percentage breakdown by sector for each state’s carbon dioxide emissions:

State	Commercial	Electric power	Residential	Industrial	Transportation
Alabama	2.1%	45.6%	1.9%	18.5%	31.8%
Alaska	5.9%	7.9%	4.2%	47.4%	34.6%
Arizona	3.3%	47.0%	2.9%	5.0%	41.8%
Arkansas	5.4%	48.0%	3.2%	13.1%	30.3%
California	5.6%	8.7%	7.6%	19.8%	58.3%
Colorado	5.2%	36.5%	9.8%	14.6%	34.0%
Connecticut	11.5%	21.6%	20.0%	4.7%	42.3%
Delaware	8.0%	13.0%	7.3%	28.8%	42.9%
Florida	3.0%	40.4%	0.6%	5.1%	51.0%
Georgia	3.3%	35.6%	5.3%	9.0%	46.8%
Hawaii	2.8%	30.7%	0.3%	6.4%	59.8%
Idaho	7.9%	8.4%	10.2%	16.1%	57.4%
Illinois	7.6%	28.6%	12.6%	17.8%	33.3%
Indiana	3.5%	43.0%	5.1%	26.2%	22.2%
Iowa	5.8%	31.0%	7.3%	29.3%	26.6%
Kansas	4.5%	33.6%	7.2%	22.4%	32.4%
Kentucky	2.5%	51.6%	2.8%	13.5%	29.6%
Louisiana	1.2%	15.7%	1.1%	61.2%	20.7%
Maine	12.4%	4.9%	21.0%	11.5%	50.2%
Maryland	10.0%	20.7%	10.1%	5.2%	54.0%
Massachusetts	12.7%	9.8%	21.6%	5.3%	50.6%
Michigan	7.4%	34.3%	13.5%	11.9%	32.9%
Minnesota	8.0%	24.8%	11.1%	19.5%	36.6%
Mississippi	2.6%	39.2%	2.6%	18.1%	37.5%
Missouri	4.0%	49.5%	6.2%	7.2%	33.1%
Montana	5.4%	49.4%	6.1%	14.5%	24.7%
Nebraska	4.7%	43.6%	5.7%	17.5%	28.5%
Nevada	6.1%	32.6%	6.7%	8.9%	45.8%
New Hampshire	10.6%	13.0%	21.3%	5.6%	49.4%
New Jersey	10.0%	17.2%	15.1%	9.4%	48.2%
New Mexico	4.1%	41.4%	5.3%	16.6%	32.6%
New York	13.6%	12.7%	21.1%	5.3%	47.3%
North Carolina	4.2%	37.6%	4.2%	8.1%	45.9%
North Dakota	2.2%	49.6%	2.4%	29.0%	16.9%
Ohio	6.3%	34.3%	9.3%	19.2%	30.9%
Oklahoma	3.8%	29.7%	4.7%	26.6%	35.2%
Oregon	6.1%	25.2%	7.1%	10.8%	50.8%
Pennsylvania	5.5%	34.3%	8.9%	23.1%	28.2%
Rhode Island	9.0%	27.1%	19.9%	6.1%	37.9%
South Carolina	3.3%	35.9%	2.8%	10.8%	47.3%
South Dakota	5.8%	20.0%	7.9%	23.9%	42.4%
Tennessee	4.6%	26.1%	4.7%	15.3%	49.4%
Texas	2.1%	27.9%	2.0%	34.6%	33.4%
Utah	5.0%	46.3%	7.2%	11.5%	30.0%
Vermont	14.8%	0.0%	25.8%	7.5%	51.9%
Virginia	5.7%	25.2%	5.7%	10.8%	52.5%
Washington	5.6%	16.3%	7.3%	15.5%	55.4%
West Virginia	2.1%	67.6%	2.0%	13.9%	14.4%
Wisconsin	7.1%	35.1%	11.4%	14.1%	32.3%
Wyoming	1.7%	61.7%	1.7%	21.4%	13.5%
US	5.0%	31.2%	6.7%	19.5%	37.6%

Where does your state rank among the largest producers?

While generating electricity produces the highest percentage of carbon dioxide emissions in most states, West Virginia experiences that to the extreme because of its reliance on coal. Louisiana generates more than half of its CO₂ from industrial uses. See where your state ranks among the largest producers in each sector:

Commercial uses

State	Commercial	State	Commercial
Vermont	14.8%	Minnesota	8.0%
New York	13.6%	Idaho	7.9%
Massachusetts	12.7%	Illinois	7.6%
Maine	12.4%	Michigan	7.4%
Connecticut	11.5%	Wisconsin	7.1%
New Hampshire	10.6%	Ohio	6.3%
New Jersey	10.0%	Oregon	6.1%
Maryland	10.0%	Nevada	6.1%
Rhode Island	9.0%	Alaska	5.9%
Delaware	8.0%	South Dakota	5.8%

Generating electricity

State	Electric Power	State	Electric Power
West Virginia	67.6%	Nebraska	43.6%
Wyoming	61.7%	Indiana	43.0%
Kentucky	51.6%	New Mexico	41.4%
North Dakota	49.6%	Florida	40.4%
Missouri	49.5%	Mississippi	39.2%
Montana	49.4%	North Carolina	37.6%
Arkansas	48.0%	Colorado	36.5%
Arizona	47.0%	South Carolina	35.9%
Utah	46.3%	Georgia	35.6%
Alabama	45.6%	Wisconsin	35.1%

Residential uses

State	Residential	State	Residential
Vermont	25.8%	Wisconsin	11.4%
Massachusetts	21.6%	Minnesota	11.1%
New Hampshire	21.3%	Idaho	10.2%
New York	21.1%	Maryland	10.1%
Maine	21.0%	Colorado	9.8%
Connecticut	20.0%	Ohio	9.3%
Rhode Island	19.9%	Pennsylvania	8.9%
New Jersey	15.1%	South Dakota	7.9%
Michigan	13.5%	California	7.6%
Illinois	12.6%	Iowa	7.3%

Industrial uses

State	Industrial	State	Industrial
Louisiana	61.2%	Kansas	22.4%
Alaska	47.4%	Wyoming	21.4%
Texas	34.6%	California	19.8%
Iowa	29.3%	Minnesota	19.5%
North Dakota	29.0%	Ohio	19.2%
Delaware	28.8%	Alabama	18.5%
Oklahoma	26.6%	Mississippi	18.1%
Indiana	26.2%	Illinois	17.8%
South Dakota	23.9%	Nebraska	17.5%
Pennsylvania	23.1%	New Mexico	16.6%

Transportation

State	Transportation	State	Transportation
Hawaii	59.8%	Maine	50.2%
California	58.3%	New Hampshire	49.4%
Idaho	57.4%	Tennessee	49.4%
Washington	55.4%	New Jersey	48.2%
Maryland	54.0%	New York	47.3%
Virginia	52.5%	South Carolina	47.3%
Vermont	51.9%	Georgia	46.8%
Florida	51.0%	North Carolina	45.9%
Oregon	50.8%	Nevada	45.8%
Massachusetts	50.6%	Delaware	42.9%

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(Last updated May 11, 2022)