Fact Sheet U.S. Climate Jobs

In 2024, the United States had more than 4,085,300 climate jobs, with clean energy job creation outpacing fossil fuel job creation. Energy efficiency was the largest sector, supporting nearly 2.4 million jobs, while renewable energy supported 596,100 jobs, dominated by solar and wind. Clean energy storage and grid modernization supported 160,300 jobs. Clean vehicle employment fell by 3% between 2023 and 2024, though renewable fuels remained steady. The adaptation and resilience industry grew by 18% to $4.8 billion in 2024, despite a lack of formal tracking by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal legislation including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) significantly drove investment, although some incentives were weakened or eliminated in 2025.

• Total climate employment in the U.S. exceeded 4,085,300 jobs in 2024. Clean energy job creation grew at a rate of 2.8%, which was more than three times the overall U.S. job growth rate and exceeded the creation of fossil fuel jobs for that year.
• Energy efficiency was the largest climate job sector in 2024, supporting almost 2.4 million jobs. California had the highest number of these jobs (812,090), while the highest growth rates were seen in New Mexico (+7.7%), Idaho (+7.3%), Nevada (+7.3%), and Oklahoma (+7.2%).
• Renewable energy supported 596,100 jobs in 2024, with solar (370,600) and wind (133,000) making up over 84% of the sector. Solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service technicians have been the two fastest-growing occupations in the U.S. for three consecutive years.
• Clean transportation employment showed mixed results: clean vehicle jobs fell by 3% from 2023 to 2024, with hybrid electric vehicles losing nearly 6,000 jobs. Conversely, renewable fuels supported 111,800 jobs and remained steady, although woody biomass jobs decreased by more than 2%.
• The adaptation and resilience industry grew by 18% to $4.8 billion in 2024, outperforming the overall climate industry growth of 9%. However, these jobs are not comprehensively tracked because the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lacks a specific category for them.
• Federal policies including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) drove job creation between 2021 and 2024. The IRA alone was projected to create over 303,500 construction jobs and 100,000 permanent jobs annually, though some incentives were weakened or removed by the Trump Administration and Congress in 2025.

APA

Pouy, N. (n.d.). Fact Sheet U.S. Climate Jobs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2026.pdf

Chicago

Pouy, Nicole. Fact Sheet U.S. Climate Jobs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, n.d. https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pouy |first1=Nicole |title=Fact Sheet U.S. Climate Jobs |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2026.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pouyndfact, author = {Pouy, Nicole}, title = {{Fact Sheet U.S. Climate Jobs}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }