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The top 5 states with the most ‘green’ jobs

Alaska and Colorado lead the way.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2017, photo, North America's tallest peak, Denali, is seen from a turnout in Denali State Park, Alaska. National park rangers in Alaska on Friday, May 6, 2022, resumed an aerial search for the year's first registered climber on North America's tallest peak after he didn't check in with a friend. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

Story at a glance

  • A new analysis of U.S. Department of Labor Statistics data found that Alaska has the most “green” jobs compared to the national average.  
  • The analysis, crafted by Promoleaf, compared state and national data to see how many “green” workers each state employed compared to the national average.  
  • Analysis crafters note that over 100,000 new “green” jobs are expected to be created over the next decade.

Alaska, Colorado and Washington are the top three states with the most “green” jobs in the country, according to data from sustainable promotional product company Promoleaf.  

Measuring what exactly is a green job can be tricky. But the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a green job as either a job in a business that produces goods or services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources or jobs that require workers to make production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.  

There are roughly 900,000 green jobs in the country, or 0.6 percent of the workforce, according to a data crunch by Promoleaf. And another 114,330 new green jobs are expected to be added to the national workforce by 2030, according to the analysis.  

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While green careers still do not make up a huge section of the job market they are growing with wind turbine service technician and solar PV installer being two careers projected to grow by 69 and 51 percent respectively over the next decade, according to BLS projections.  

Promoleaf compiled a list of the states with the most green jobs by comparing BLS data to see which states employ the most people in this growing field compared to the national average, according to a statement.  

In Alaska, Colorado and Washington, green jobs make up almost 1 percent of the workforce or about 40 percent more than the national average, according to the analysis.  

Here are the five states with the most green jobs:  

  1. Alaska 
  1. Colorado 
  1. Washington 
  1. California 
  1. Iowa 

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Published on Jul 12,2022

Environment