How much carbon dioxide does your state produce?

They say everything’s bigger in Texas. Well, so is its carbon footprint, according to a ChooseEnergy.com® analysis of the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas produces about 12.7 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide, according to the numbers.

The Lone Star State’s 653.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide produced in 2016 was more than 80 percent higher than was generated in California, the second-largest producer.

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

State	2016	State	2016
Texas	653.8	Georgia	136.2
California	361.4	Kentucky	123.9
Florida	230.1	North Carolina	120.6
Pennsylvania	217.4	Missouri	117.7
Louisiana	209.1	Alabama	115.1
Ohio	206.3	New Jersey	110.8
Illinois	204.1	Virginia	104.2
Indiana	181.9	Tennessee	103.1
New York	163.7	Oklahoma	96.9
Michigan	151.8	Wisconsin	95.6

Following are the states that produced the least CO₂:

State	2016	State	2016
Vermont	6.0	Alaska	34.9
Rhode Island	9.7	Nevada	36.7
Delaware	13.3	Oregon	38.0
New Hampshire	13.8	New Mexico	48.4
South Dakota	15.0	Nebraska	48.6
Maine	16.5	North Dakota	54.3
Idaho	18.4	Maryland	57.6
Hawaii	18.4	Utah	58.8
Montana	30.5	Kansas	62.1
Connecticut	34.3	Arkansas	62.4

Following is a state-by-state look at the amount of carbon dioxide produced during 2016 and the previous year, as well as the percentage increase or decrease from the year 2000 and the percentage increase or decrease from 2015:

State	2016	2015	% change from 2000	% change from 2015
Alabama	115.1	119.8	-19.1	-3.9
Alaska	34.9	36.2	-21.2	-3.4
Arizona	87.0	90.9	1.1	-4.3
Arkansas	62.4	59.1	-2.0	5.5
California	361.4	363.6	-5.5	-0.6
Colorado	89.0	90.3	5.2	-1.4
Connecticut	34.3	36.5	-20.2	-5.9
Delaware	13.3	13.4	-20.1	-0.8
Florida	230.1	231.4	-4.0	-0.6
Georgia	136.2	137.1	-19.5	-0.6
Hawaii	18.4	18.6	-1.7	-0.8
Idaho	18.4	17.8	17.2	3.3
Illinois	204.1	219.2	-12.7	-6.9
Indiana	181.9	188.1	-23.7	-3.3
Iowa	73.1	75.8	-5.9	-3.5
Kansas	62.1	63.1	-18.6	-1.7
Kentucky	123.9	130.2	-15.1	-4.8
Louisiana	209.1	218.2	-9.5	-4.2
Maine	16.5	16.8	-26.4	-2.0
Maryland	57.6	59.5	-25.7	-3.2
Massachusetts	64.2	65.6	-22.2	-2.1
Michigan	151.8	162.6	-21.7	-6.7
Minnesota	89.3	87.7	-8.9	1.8
Mississippi	68.9	65.1	12.0	5.9
Missouri	117.7	123.3	-6.6	-4.5
Montana	30.5	32.2	-3.0	-5.4
Nebraska	48.6	50.6	16.7	-4.1
Nevada	36.7	35.2	-19.2	4.2
New Hampshire	13.8	15.1	-21.3	-9.0
New Jersey	110.8	111.9	-10.6	-0.9
New Mexico	48.4	50.2	-16.8	-3.6
New York	163.7	168.3	-23.0	-2.8
North Carolina	120.6	120.4	-19.2	0.1
North Dakota	54.3	57.1	6.8	-5.0
Ohio	206.3	214.5	-22.5	-3.8
Oklahoma	96.9	101.4	-3.3	-4.4
Oregon	38.0	38.1	-8.3	-0.2
Pennsylvania	217.4	233.2	-21.7	-6.8
Rhode Island	9.7	10.9	-17.0	-10.6
South Carolina	71.7	73.4	-12.2	-2.3
South Dakota	15.0	14.2	5.7	6.0
Tennessee	103.1	99.8	-19.5	3.3
Texas	653.8	625.8	-0.6	4.5
Utah	58.8	63.2	-9.8	-7.0
Vermont	6.0	6.1	-11.8	-2.7
Virginia	104.2	103.0	-15.3	1.2
Washington	78.9	75.7	-5.2	4.2
West Virginia	94.6	92.0	-17.7	2.8
Wisconsin	95.6	99.6	-11.5	-4.0
Wyoming	60.7	64.8	-3.9	-6.4
District of Columbia	2.8	3.0	-34.9	-6.7
U.S.	5,161.0	5,249.3	-11.8	-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	8.3	Vermont	9.6
California	9.2	Maryland	9.6
Rhode Island	9.2	Connecticut	9.6
Oregon	9.3	New Hampshire	10.3
Massachusetts	9.4	Washington	10.8

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

State	Percapita carbon	State	Percapita carbon
Wyoming	103.7	Montana	29.3
North Dakota	71.8	Kentucky	27.9
West Virginia	51.7	Indiana	27.4
Alaska	47.1	Nebraska	25.5
Louisiana	44.6	Oklahoma	24.7

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

Nationally, carbon dioxide emissions have fallen nearly 12 percent compared with 2000 levels. Emissions have fallen 2.6 percent across the country since 2015.

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

State	% decrease	State	% decrease
Maine	-26.4	Connecticut	-20.2
Maryland	-25.7	Delaware	-20.1
Indiana	-23.7	Tennessee	-19.5
New York	-23.0	Georgia	-19.5
Ohio	-22.5	Nevada	-19.2
Massachusetts	-22.2	North Carolina	-19.2
Michigan	-21.7	Alabama	-19.1
Pennsylvania	-21.7	Kansas	-18.6
New Hampshire	-21.3	West Virginia	-17.7
Alaska	-21.2	Rhode Island	-17.0

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	17.2	South Dakota	5.7
Nebraska	16.7	Colorado	5.2
Mississippi	12.0	Arizona	1.1
North Dakota	6.8

Only one state, Rhode Island, had a double-digit percentage decrease in carbon dioxide emissions since 2015. Following are the leaders in cutting emissions percentage-wise during that period:

State	% decrease	State	% decrease
Rhode Island	-10.6	Kentucky	-4.8
New Hampshire	-9.0	Missouri	-4.5
Utah	-7.0	Oklahoma	-4.4
Illinois	-6.9	Arizona	-4.3
Pennsylvania	-6.8	Louisiana	-4.2
Michigan	-6.7	Nebraska	-4.1
Wyoming	-6.4	Wisconsin	-4.0
Connecticut	-5.9	Alabama	-3.9
Montana	-5.4	Ohio	-3.8
North Dakota	-5.0	New Mexico	-3.6

Twelve states, led by South Dakota, showed increases during the period:

State	% increase	State	% increase
South Dakota	6.0	Tennessee	3.3
Mississippi	5.9	Idaho	3.3
Arkansas	5.5	West Virginia	2.8
Texas	4.5	Minnesota	1.8
Washington	4.2	Virginia	1.2
Nevada	4.2	North Carolina	0.1

Where does the carbon dioxide originate?

Nationally, transportation is responsible for the largest chunk of carbon dioxide emissions, 36.7 percent. But generation of electricity is the second-largest offender, with 34.8 percent.

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

State	Commercial	Electric power	Residential	Industrial	Transportation
Alabama	1.9%	48.0%	1.6%	18.3%	30.1%
Alaska	5.8%	7.9%	4.3%	48.1%	34.0%
Arizona	3.3%	50.9%	2.5%	5.3%	38.0%
Arkansas	4.7%	48.4%	2.7%	13.2%	31.1%
California	5.2%	10.1%	6.7%	19.1%	58.9%
Colorado	4.4%	39.6%	8.4%	16.0%	31.6%
Connecticut	11.4%	20.4%	18.3%	5.4%	44.6%
Delaware	7.0%	26.9%	6.3%	25.2%	34.6%
Florida	3.2%	46.0%	0.5%	5.2%	45.0%
Georgia	3.4%	42.2%	5.0%	9.8%	39.7%
Hawaii	1.8%	35.7%	0.2%	7.2%	55.1%
Idaho	7.4%	6.8%	8.9%	18.3%	58.5%
Illinois	6.5%	32.5%	10.8%	16.6%	33.5%
Indiana	2.9%	46.0%	4.2%	23.1%	23.8%
Iowa	4.8%	33.8%	5.6%	26.6%	29.2%
Kansas	3.9%	40.0%	5.4%	20.6%	30.1%
Kentucky	2.2%	58.6%	2.3%	10.9%	26.0%
Louisiana	1.0%	17.3%	0.9%	58.2%	22.6%
Maine	9.8%	9.1%	17.8%	9.1%	54.2%
Maryland	9.0%	29.8%	9.5%	3.8%	47.9%
Massachusetts	10.9%	16.7%	17.7%	5.3%	49.4%
Michigan	6.7%	36.3%	12.3%	11.6%	33.0%
Minnesota	7.1%	29.6%	9.0%	19.1%	35.1%
Mississippi	2.3%	37.6%	2.1%	14.8%	43.3%
Missouri	3.6%	52.5%	4.8%	6.9%	32.3%
Montana	4.5%	52.4%	4.8%	12.5%	25.8%
Nebraska	3.8%	43.6%	4.5%	19.7%	28.5%
Nevada	6.2%	37.9%	6.3%	8.7%	40.9%
New Hampshire	10.1%	17.2%	18.3%	5.5%	48.9%
New Jersey	9.1%	17.7%	12.2%	8.6%	52.4%
New Mexico	3.5%	47.6%	4.3%	15.3%	29.3%
New York	13.2%	17.0%	18.7%	5.1%	46.1%
North Carolina	4.4%	42.1%	4.2%	8.6%	40.7%
North Dakota	1.8%	53.2%	1.7%	27.9%	15.3%
Ohio	5.3%	39.1%	7.8%	17.2%	30.5%
Oklahoma	3.1%	36.5%	3.3%	23.5%	33.6%
Oregon	5.6%	20.5%	6.6%	13.5%	53.8%
Pennsylvania	4.9%	37.7%	8.5%	21.0%	27.9%
Rhode Island	8.8%	26.4%	18.6%	6.5%	39.7%
South Carolina	3.0%	38.4%	2.5%	10.6%	45.5%
South Dakota	4.9%	17.4%	6.3%	25.9%	45.5%
Tennessee	3.6%	34.8%	3.5%	15.7%	42.4%
Texas	1.9%	31.7%	1.7%	30.3%	34.4%
Utah	4.5%	46.7%	6.2%	12.5%	30.1%
Vermont	14.3%	0.1%	21.9%	7.1%	56.6%
Virginia	5.5%	32.2%	5.5%	11.2%	45.6%
Washington	5.5%	12.1%	6.4%	13.9%	62.0%
West Virginia	1.8%	72.8%	1.7%	10.8%	12.9%
Wisconsin	6.2%	40.3%	9.1%	13.6%	30.8%
Wyoming	1.8%	66.4%	1.4%	17.6%	12.8%
DC	34.2%	0.0%	23.1%	1.1%	41.6%
US	4.5%	34.8%	5.8%	18.2%	36.7%

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 sees that to the extreme because of its reliance on coal. Louisiana generates most 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	14.3%	Minnesota	7.1%
New York	13.2%	Delaware	7.0%
Connecticut	11.4%	Michigan	6.7%
Massachusetts	10.9%	Illinois	6.5%
New Hampshire	10.1%	Nevada	6.2%
Maine	9.8%	Wisconsin	6.2%
New Jersey	9.1%	Alaska	5.8%
Maryland	9.0%	Oregon	5.6%
Rhode Island	8.8%	Washington	5.5%
Idaho	7.4%	Virginia	5.5%

Generating electricity

State	Electric Power	State	Electric Power
West Virginia	72.8%	Utah	46.7%
Wyoming	66.4%	Florida	46.0%
Kentucky	58.6%	Indiana	46.0%
North Dakota	53.2%	Nebraska	43.6%
Missouri	52.5%	Georgia	42.2%
Montana	52.4%	North Carolina	42.1%
Arizona	50.9%	Wisconsin	40.3%
Arkansas	48.4%	Kansas	40.0%
Alabama	48.0%	Colorado	39.6%
New Mexico	47.6%	Ohio	39.1%

Residential uses

State	Residential	State	Residential
Vermont	21.9%	Maryland	9.5%
New York	18.7%	Wisconsin	9.1%
Rhode Island	18.6%	Minnesota	9.0%
New Hampshire	18.3%	Idaho	8.9%
Connecticut	18.3%	Pennsylvania	8.5%
Maine	17.8%	Colorado	8.4%
Massachusetts	17.7%	Ohio	7.8%
Michigan	12.3%	California	6.7%
New Jersey	12.2%	Oregon	6.6%
Illinois	10.8%	Washington	6.4%

Industrial uses

State	Industrial	State	Industrial
Louisiana	58.2%	Kansas	20.6%
Alaska	48.1%	Nebraska	19.7%
Texas	30.3%	Minnesota	19.1%
North Dakota	27.9%	California	19.1%
Iowa	26.6%	Idaho	18.3%
South Dakota	25.9%	Alabama	18.3%
Delaware	25.2%	Wyoming	17.6%
Oklahoma	23.5%	Ohio	17.2%
Indiana	23.1%	Illinois	16.6%
Pennsylvania	21.0%	Colorado	16.0%

Transportation

State	Transportation	State	Transportation
Washington	62.0%	Maryland	47.9%
California	58.9%	New York	46.1%
Idaho	58.5%	Virginia	45.6%
Vermont	56.6%	South Carolina	45.5%
Hawaii	55.1%	South Dakota	45.5%
Maine	54.2%	Florida	45.0%
Oregon	53.8%	Connecticut	44.6%
New Jersey	52.4%	Mississippi	43.3%
Massachusetts	49.4%	Tennessee	42.4%
New Hampshire	48.9%	Nevada	40.9%

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(Last updated April 11, 2019)