Note: GDP in real 2023 U.S. dollars. Emissions are energy-related CO2 emissions.
Data Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. Census Bureau.
Analysis by CEC Economics
Highlights
- In 2023 (the latest year for which nationally comparable data is available), $1,000 of economic activity10 in California resulted in 0.084 MTCO2e produced. In comparison, the same $1,000 of economic activity in the U.S. (excluding California) resulted in 0.187 MTCO2e produced—more than double that of California. From 2013 to 2023, California’s energy intensity decreased by 32.8%, ahead of all other most populous states: Texas (-26.5%), Pennsylvania (-29.0%), New York (-18.0%), Florida (-31.0%), Massachusetts (-32.3%) and Michigan (-26.6%). Among the 50 states (excluding the District of Columbia), just 11 states had higher percentage reductions than California from 2013 to 2023, but these states all had higher energy intensity than California.
- California has one of the lowest energy-related GHG emissions per capita, with 8.3 MTCO2e per person in 2023, representing a 8.8% decline from 9.1 MTCO2e per person in 2013. California’s low per capita emissions edge out every other big state including New York (8.4 MTCO2e per person), which historically had slightly lower per capita emissions than California. Among the 50 states, only Maryland (7.8 MTCO2e per person) and Massachusetts (8.0 MTCO2e per person) had lower per capita emissions than California in 2023. Comparatively, the U.S. (excluding California) per capita emission was 15.0 MTCO2e in 2023, representing a 16.8% decrease from 18.0 MTCO2e per person in 2013.
10 Inflation-adjusted in 2022 dollars.
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