Figure A
Without heat standards, Southern states will bear greatest costs: Projected annual lost earnings per worker from extreme heat impacts on productivity (2024$)
| State | Annual earnings at risk |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $3,344 |
| Alaska | |
| Arizona | $2,119 |
| Arkansas | $3,890 |
| California | $888 |
| Colorado | $74 |
| Connecticut | $638 |
| Washington D.C. | $2,020 |
| Delaware | $1,709 |
| Florida | $4,490 |
| Georgia | $2,990 |
| Hawaii | |
| Idaho | $72 |
| Illinois | $2,720 |
| Indiana | $1,854 |
| Iowa | $1,632 |
| Kansas | $2,431 |
| Kentucky | $2,211 |
| Louisiana | $5,648 |
| Maine | $132 |
| Maryland | $1,998 |
| Massachusetts | $476 |
| Michigan | $483 |
| Minnesota | $753 |
| Mississippi | $4,041 |
| Missouri | $2,802 |
| Montana | $122 |
| Nebraska | $1,187 |
| Nevada | $186 |
| New Hampshire | $300 |
| New Jersey | $1,307 |
| New Mexico | $215 |
| New York | $451 |
| North Carolina | $1,866 |
| North Dakota | $440 |
| Ohio | $1,004 |
| Oklahoma | $4,196 |
| Oregon | $85 |
| Pennsylvania | $589 |
| Rhode Island | $566 |
| South Carolina | $2,801 |
| South Dakota | $795 |
| Tennessee | $2,480 |
| Texas | $4,188 |
| Utah | $86 |
| Vermont | $152 |
| Virginia | $1,773 |
| Washington | $102 |
| West Virginia | $915 |
| Wisconsin | $738 |
| Wyoming | $35 |
Note: Earnings loss is calculated for a worker with a normal schedule and moderate work, based on seven occupational categories with high heat exposure. Data reflect average values at a midcentury (2036–2065) time period, assuming no action is taken to reduce global heat-trapping emissions and combat climate change. For a full methodology, see the source. Data are inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars.
Source: Table adapted from state data from Kristina Dahl and Rachel Licker, Too Hot to Work, Union of Concerned Scientists, August 2021.
This chart appears in:
Next chart: A family of four in NYC needs at least $134,000 a year to make ends meet: FBC living cost data across five boroughs in NYC »