Beat the Heat: Extreme Heat Risk Perceptions & Air Conditioning Ownership in California

The research finds that risk perceptions of extreme heat in California vary significantly by gender, race, age, and political affiliation, with women, non-White Hispanic residents, and Democrats reporting higher levels of worry. Conversely, older populations—despite being physically more vulnerable—are the least worried. Regarding adaptation, 75% of Californians own air conditioning, which is 16 percentage points lower than the U.S. average. Ownership of central AC is lower among Hispanic respondents (48%) compared to White, non-Hispanic respondents (58%), and among renters (39%) compared to homeowners (59%). The report highlights that those facing the highest heat risks often lack AC and face financial barriers to installation and energy costs, while noting that increased AC usage stresses the state's power grid.

• Risk perceptions of extreme heat in California are influenced by gender, race, and age: women and non-White Hispanic residents express more worry than men and White residents, while older populations are the least worried despite their higher physical vulnerability.
• Air conditioning (AC) ownership in California is lower than the national average, with 75% of Californians owning AC compared to 91% in other U.S. states.
• Disparities in central AC ownership exist based on ethnicity and housing tenure: 48% of Hispanic respondents have central AC compared to 58% of White, non-Hispanic respondents, and 39% of renters have central AC compared to 59% of homeowners.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2021). Beat the Heat: Extreme Heat Risk Perceptions & Air Conditioning Ownership in California. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/beat-the-heat-extreme-heat-risk-perceptions-air-conditioning-ownership-in-california/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Beat the Heat: Extreme Heat Risk Perceptions & Air Conditioning Ownership in California. 2021. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/beat-the-heat-extreme-heat-risk-perceptions-air-conditioning-ownership-in-california/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Beat the Heat: Extreme Heat Risk Perceptions & Air Conditioning Ownership in California |date=8 July 2021 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/beat-the-heat-extreme-heat-risk-perceptions-air-conditioning-ownership-in-california/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2021beat, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Beat the Heat: Extreme Heat Risk Perceptions \& Air Conditioning Ownership in California}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/beat-the-heat-extreme-heat-risk-perceptions-air-conditioning-ownership-in-california/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }