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REPORT: Climate Change Is Costing Communities And Families Economically

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Last Updated: 5/19/26

Extreme heat, severe weather events, and other climate change impacts are driving up everyday costs for U.S. households. Climate change directly impacts the U.S. economy, home insurance costs, healthcare costs, job productivity, childcare costs, grocery prices, and utility costs. 

TOPLINES

Economic impacts of climate change by the numbers:

• $3.1T IN DISASTER COSTS: Extreme weather events driven by climate change have cost the U.S. trillions since 1980, and their frequency and costs are expected to rise. Between 2026 and 2030, extreme weather events are likely to cost U.S. taxpayers $1 trillion in damages. 
• $103B IN INSURED PROPERTY LOSSES:  Insurers are responding to increased losses due to climate change by reducing coverage, exiting high-risk markets, and dramatically raising premiums, leading to insurance plans covering less and costing more.
• 70% OF AMERICANS’ ELECTRICITY BILLS IMPACTED BY EXTREME HEAT: Extreme weather and heat limit energy supply and raise prices. Climate impacts can pose risks to power lines, interrupt electricity transmission, and strain the energy system due to increased cooling demand. 
• $55.4B IN WAGES LOST: Extreme heat will cause tens of millions of outdoor workers in the U.S. to risk losing a collective $55.4 billion in earnings each year by 2025, with communities of color especially impacted. 
• $1B IN HEALTHCARE COSTS EACH SUMMER: Extreme heat is increasing healthcare costs. During Trump’s first term, emergency department visits and hospital admissions due to heat-related or heat-adjacent illness cost $1 billion each summer. 
• 3.2% INCREASE IN GROCERY PRICES: Extreme heat and weather events are spiking the cost of groceries. By 2035, climate change could increase annual food price inflation by up to 3.2%. 
• 400M STUDENTS OUT OF SCHOOL: Extreme weather events are disrupting learning, creating additional childcare costs for families. Since 2022, more than 400 million students worldwide have missed school because of extreme weather linked to the climate crisis.
• $29K IN HOUSEHOLD WEALTH LOST: Latino communities and households face disproportionate risks from climate change, higher energy burdens, and hazards faced by outdoor workers. 
• $408 MORE SPENT ANNUALLY BY BLACK HOMEOWNERS ON ENERGY COMPARED TO WHITE HOMEOWNERS: Black communities and households, especially children and Southern communities, face higher energy costs, disproportionate risks from climate change, higher energy burdens, the urban heat island effect, and long-lasting impacts from redlining. 

CLIMATE CHANGE-FUELED EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS COST THE U.S. ECONOMY TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS 

Climate change-induced extreme weather events cost$2 trillion globally over the past decade, with the U.S. suffering the greatest economic losses at $935 billion. 

• Since 1980, the United States has experienced at least 481 billion-dollar extreme weather events, costing approximately $3.1 trillion. 
• The total cost of flooding events in the United States ranges from $179.8 billion to $496 billion annually.

Climate change is projected to increase losses across the U.S. due to increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events. Future impact estimates of projected climate hazards could cost the U.S. economy trillions of dollars. 

• Climate change could cost the U.S. budget $2 trillion a year and reduce GDP by the end of the century.
  • The federal government could face additional annual costs of $25 billion to $128 billion for efforts such as coastal disaster relief, flood and crop insurance, and wildfire suppression.
  • Intensifying wildfires could increase federal fire suppression costs by $1.55 billion to $9.60 billion each year by 2100, and more frequent hurricanes could drive up annual spending on coastal disaster response to $22 billion to $94 billion by 2100.
  • 12,000 federal buildings could be flooded by 10 feet of sea level rise, with total replacement costs exceeding $43.7 billion.
• Inaction on climate change could cost the U.S. economy $14.5 trillion by 2070, equivalent to nearly 4% of GDP, or $1.5 trillion alone in 2070. Over the next 50 years, nearly 900,000 jobs could be lost each year due to climate change. 
• U.S. households experience sizable costs from climate change, ranging from $220 to $570 each year. 10% of counties have annual household costs from climate change exceeding $880. 
• Changes in moisture levels are estimated to decrease agricultural yields by up to 20% by 2050 and up to 48% by 2100. Changes in precipitation levels are estimated to decrease agricultural yields by up to 63% by 2070 and up to 82% by 2099. 
• By 2050, hurricanes are estimated to increase annual federal disaster response expenditures by up to $36 billion. 
• By 2050, annual losses from flooding events are estimated to increase by 61%. National flood insurance programs are estimated to incur up to $3.9 billion in annual losses by 2050 and up to $5.1 billion by 2100.  
• A 3-foot sea level rise is estimated to decrease property tax revenue in the U.S. by 1.4%.
  • With optimal adaptation efforts, coastal damages from sea level rise are estimated to cost $550 billion. Without adaptation efforts, sea level rise could cause up to $2.6 trillion in damage in the U.S. 
• The annual cost of flooding across the U.S. will hit $40 billion annually by 2050, with Black communities at the most risk.
• The U.S. is projected to lose 19% of its income per capita by 2049 due to climate change. 
• Warming temperatures could cause up to $73 billion in damages from railroad network delays. The U.S. rail network was estimated to incur additional delay costs of $25 billion to $45 billion by 2100 due to climate change-induced extreme heat. 
• Changes in precipitation levels and temperature are estimated to cause $116 billion in damages from road degradation and $29 billion in urban drainage degradation costs. 

Some businesses and economic sectors are expected to incur losses in the billions to trillions due to climate change. Climate change could costbusinesses $1.5 trillion in productivity losses by 2050. 

• On average, climate impacts in the U.S. cost roughly 0.7% of the country’s GDP for every one degree Fahrenheit in temperature change. 
• Construction will see the greatest economic impact from climate change, particularly due to lost productivity and supply chain disruptions. It’s projected that the cost of worker availability losses caused by select climate change-driven health risks will amount to at least $570 billion from 2025 to 2050. 
• From 2050 to 2100, $4.6 billion in annual welfare losses from recreation activities, including fishing, hunting, skating, ice skating, and snowboarding, are expected. 
• Disease outbreaks and climate-related health emergencies reduce workforce availability, limiting material production and delivery.
• Supply chain disruptions from the impacts of climate change cause delays and cost increases, especially in import-reliant regions like the US and Europe.

Extreme heat and severe weather events threaten the health, safety, and productivity of outdoor workers.  

• Heat causes at least 170,000 work-related injuries and as many as 2,000 fatalities annually. 
• Outdoor workers are 35 times more likely to die of heat-related illness than the general population.
• Farmworkers face widespread exposure to wildfire smoke and pesticides, inadequate safety training, and limited access to clean drinking water.
• Extreme heat will cause tens of millions of outdoor workers in the U.S. to risk losing a collective $55.4 billion in earnings each year by 2025, with communities of color especially impacted. 

States have experienced unprecedented costs from billion-dollar extreme weather events driven by climate change. 

• From 1980 through April 2026, the states that have experienced the highest costs from billion-dollar extreme weather disasters have been Texas (over $300 billion), Florida (over $300 billion), Louisiana (over $300 billion), and California ($100-200 billion). 
• Unusual ocean warming conditions that fueled Hurricane Helene were made 200 to 500 times more likely due to climate change. Helene caused approximately $53 billion in damages to North Carolina. 
• Communities along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts, as well as inland in Appalachia and northern New England, carry an outsized burden of current and future flooding.
  • The states with the highest annual average flood losses are Florida ($4.3 billion), Pennsylvania ($2.8 billion), California ($1.7 billion), and West Virginia ($1.7 billion). 
  • The states with the highest projected annual average flood losses in 2050 are Florida ($7.4 billion), Pennsylvania ($3 billion), Louisiana ($2.5 billion), and Texas ($2.2 billion). 
• U.S. households in the Gulf Coast, Pacific, Mountain, and West North Central regions experience higher costs due to climate change. 

INCREASING LOSSES FROM CLIMATE CHANGE ARE INCREASING INSURANCE COSTS AND ELIMINATING VITAL COVERAGE

Increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events fueled by climate change are driving up insurance costs. 

• Insurers are responding to increased losses from climate change by reducing coverage, exiting high-risk markets, and dramatically raising premiums, leading to insurance plans that cover less and cost more.
• The average cost of home insurance in the U.S. has increased by 21% nationwide since 2015. Some states, including those on the front lines of climate-driven disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes, have seen premiums rise even more dramatically.
• In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are also increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.
• 51% of American homeowners worry that extreme weather from climate change will harm their homes and wallets. 
• In 2025, insurance property losses from extreme weather events totaled $103 billion. From 2016 through 2025, annual insurance property losses from extreme weather events have more than doubled. 
• Many insurers have responded to climate-related financial risks by withdrawing their services from highly exposed markets, raising premiums, and gutting coverage. 
• After disasters, uninsured consumers face greater financial distress. Public-sector insurance programs, such as crop insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program, see increasing demand when private insurance markets contract. 
• After climate disasters, evictions and gentrification increase as real estate speculators buy up deeply discounted properties for development.
• From 2020 to 2023, U.S. insurers disbursed $295.8 billion in natural disaster claims. 
• Extreme weather events in the first six months of 2023 in the U.S. caused $40 billion in insured losses, the third costliest first-half on record.
• From 2017 to 2022, homeowners’ insurance premiums rose 40% faster than inflation. 
• More than 44.8% of American homes face at least one kind of “severe or extreme climate risk” from either flood, wind, wildfire, heat, or air quality. The total value of those homes was nearly $22 trillion.  

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, insurance premiums are expected to rise. 

• As weather events become more frequent and intense, direct impacts and resulting premium increases could reach $5.36 billion by 2035. As insurance becomes more expensive and less accessible, households with limited savings are forced to absorb more climate risk.
• An estimated 35.6 million properties, about a quarter of all U.S. real estate, are facing higher insurance costs and lower coverage due to climate change. 

Flooding, sea level rise, severe storms, and wildfires are driving up insurance costs across the country, especially in California, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and the Southeast. 

• Impacts on insurance from climate change, which were previously concentrated in states like Florida, California, and Louisiana, have recently spread to the Midwest and Northeast states.
  • In 2023, insurers lost money on homeowners coverage in 18 states. In 2018, it was 12 states, and in 2013, it was only eight states. 
• In the aftermath of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, State Farm, the largest insurance company in California, asked regulators to raise property insurance rates by an average of 22%.
  • The company cited previous years’ losses from natural disasters as reasoning for the request, claiming that without additional capital, more than 2.8 million policyholders in California would be at risk. 
• In Texas and Colorado, the average cost of home insurance has risen about 40% since 2015.
• In Florida, the statewide average is 57% higher than it was seven years ago. And in some of the hardest-hit areas, premiums have doubled or even tripled in the wake of major storms and fires.
• Across the Southeastern states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, about 5% of residences have flood insurance, mainly along the coast.
• Less than 1% of households in North Carolina’s hardest-hit inland counties are protected by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). As of May 2024, the average annual premium for a home with a dwelling coverage amount of $300,000 in North Carolina was $2,535, above the national average of $2,151.
  • Property and economic losses from Hurricane Helene could reach $250 billion, but the insurance industry said as little as $5 billion of that is covered.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS DRIVING UP UTILITY COSTS AND STRAINING THE ENERGY SYSTEM

Climate change impacts energy supply by causing extreme weather and climate trends that pose risks to power lines, interrupt electricity transmission, and strain the energy grid from increased cooling demand. Seven in ten Americans say extreme heat has affectedtheir electricity bills, and four in ten say it had a major impact on their bills over the last year. 

• Extreme weather events are driving up utility bills as damaged water and sewage systems are forcing costs onto customers. Average water and sewage rates increased 5.1% between 2024 and 2025, twice the pace of inflation.
  • In 2024, Hurricane Helene caused approximately $3.7 billion in damage to western North Carolina’s water systems. In Asheville, Helene washed away 3,000 feet of pipes and cut off water access to more than 100,000 people. 
• Climate change-fueled extreme weather events that damage infrastructure, cause supply shocks, and increase energy demand have led to higher residential electricity prices: since 2010, residential electricity prices have increased by 66%. 
• Higher global temperatures fuel extreme weather, increasing energy consumption and maintenance costs. Between 2019 and 2025, the price of electricity in the U.S. increased by 29%. 
• Seven in ten American adults say extreme heat has impacted their electricity bill, and four in ten adults say extreme heat has had a major impact on their electricity bills over the last year.
• As climate change drives more extreme weather events, weather-related power outages are on the rise. From 2000 to 2023, 80% of power outages in the U.S. were due to weather.
  • Electricity outages from temperature and precipitation changes could create up to $6.8 trillion in consumer costs. 
  • Additional costs from power interruptions could range from $4.7 to $8.3 billion per year by 2090. 
• Extreme weather events put stress on aging energy infrastructure, which wasn’t built to withstand our present-day climate. Energy production and distribution are vulnerable to flooding, hurricanes, drought, wildfires, and permafrost thaw. 
• Local climate risks, such as drought and extreme weather events, are contributing to rising water and sewer bills. The combined water and sewer bill for a typical U.S. household has increased by 4.6% from 2023 to 2024. 

California, Texas, and other states are at risk of energy emergencies and power outages due to wildfires and other extreme weather events. 

• More than 9,200 miles of power lines across the U.S. were exposed to large fires from 2000 to 2019. 
• Across the U.S. from 2000 to 2019, California, Texas, and Idaho had the most miles of power lines exposed to and threatened by wildfires.  
• Texas, California, the Southwest, New England, and much of the Midwest are among the states and regions most at risk of energy emergencies during extreme conditions. 

Utilities across the country have raised energy prices after extreme weather events to recover from damage. Since 2020, 36 utilities have introduced at least one specific disaster-related charge across at least 18 states. 

• In Texas, Winter Storm Uri disrupted energy supply and demand, resulting in higher electricity prices in 2021. Prices for industrial and commercial customers more than doubled compared to the year prior. In February 2021, residential prices reached their highest price since July 2008. 
• In Florida, Duke Energy implemented a $32 per month increase for one year starting in March 2025 to recover costs incurred from hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. 
• In Florida, Tampa Electric customers were subject to an 18-month payment plan to cover $464 million in restoration costs from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, an approximately $22 increase in the average customer’s monthly bill. 
• In Florida, FPL Northwest Florida raised the cost of its “Storm Protection Plan Cost Recovery” charge by 2,589% since 2021 to support its $385 million storm protection plan to harden its grid. 
• In Kentucky, Kentucky Power Co. increased customers’ bills by roughly 6% beginning in 2025 to help cover $78.8 million in “deferred storm costs” related to major storms that hit the state every year. 
• In Oklahoma, Oklahoma Gas & Electric’s storm cost recovery rider, a triggered temporary raise in utility costs to help recover costs caused by storm damage, has increased by 460% since 2020. 
• In California, Southern California Edison increased rates by approximately $17 per month in October 2025, in part to mitigate wildfire risk, after earlier raising rates to cover payments from a previous wildfire.
• In Washington, Puget Sound Energy added a surcharge of about $14 per year to electricity customers to recover the costs from its Wildfire Mitigation and Response Plan. 

CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER ARE INCREASING HEALTHCARE COSTS AND HINDERING ACCESS TO LIFESAVING CARE

Extreme weather events and intensified heat are costingthe U.S. billions of dollars each year in healthcare costs. 

• From 2016 through 2020, emergency department visits and hospital admissions due to heat-related or heat-adjacent illness cost $1 billion in healthcare costs each summer. 
• A 2024 survey found that 37% of HR and risk managers are concerned that employer-sponsored and government-provided benefits are insufficient in covering climate-related health conditions. 
• Workers in jobs that are the most exposed to the impacts of climate change, low-wage and high-risk occupations, are typically the same workers who may lack access to healthcare. 
• Between 2026 and 2050, climate change is projected to cause 4.1 to 5.2 billion cases of climate-sensitive diseases globally. The cumulative number of deaths linked to the health impacts of climate change is projected to be 14.5 to 15.6 million.

Medicaid and Medicare recipients face higher utilization rates for climate-related health impacts. 

• For every 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries, extreme temperatures result in an additional 156 emergency department visits and $388,000 in average daily spending.
  • These higher utilization rates also drive increases in Medicaid transfer payments from the federal government to help states cover rising costs.
• For every 10 additional days of extreme heat above 90°F, annual Medicaid transfer payments increase by nearly 1%, equivalent to an $11.78 increase per capita.

Extreme weather events are limiting access to healthcare, especially in rural communities. 

• A 2025 survey found that 18% of employees who reported being impacted by climate change or extreme weather events said they or their family had experienced an inability to access needed healthcare due to these impacts.
  • 26% of surveyed employees said they or their family have experienced worsened physical health conditions due to climate events or extreme weather. 
• Climate change threatens the transportation services that many Americans rely on to access their healthcare. More than one in five adults with limited public transit access forgo healthcare due to transportation barriers.
  • Extreme heat causes roads to buckle, coastal flooding shuts down major roads, storms and sea level rise flood underground subway systems, and wildfires burn transportation infrastructure. 

CLIMATE CHANGE IS DRIVING UP GROCERY COSTS 

Global climate change impacts are harming crop yields and shifting grocery cost burdens to consumers. 

• Projected warming by 2035 could drive food price inflation in North America up by 1.4 to 1.8 percentage points per year on average.
• Warming temperature trends across the U.S. accounted for 19% of national crop insurance losses from 1991 to 2017.
• The price of vegetables rose by 80% in California and Arizona in November 2022, compared with the previous November, as the western U.S. states suffered extreme heat and water shortages over the summer of 2022.
• The impacts from Helene and Milton are expected to reduce feed and fertilizer supplies and increase production costs, which could drive up prices for things like chicken and fruit in the months and years to come.
• In 2024, the global price of olive oil hit an all-time high due to extreme heat in Europe during the summer of 2023. 
• The risk of simultaneous crop failures in major corn-growing regions could increase from a 6% chance per year to 40% if the world warms to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7°F) above pre-industrial temperatures. 

Increasingly frequent and severe climate change impacts are projected to drive up food prices. 

• For every 1 degree Celsius (1.8°F) increase in temperature in a given month, food price inflation is expected to increase by 0.2% over the following year.
• By 2035, climate change could increase annual food price inflation by as much as 3.2%. 

States are facing a diverse array of climate-related agricultural impacts that are impacting prices for consumers. 

• In Florida, residents have reported that the cost of some foods have as much as tripled at restaurants due to climate change-induced increases in the cost of many ingredients. 
• Intense drought in California and Arizona in 2022 contributed to an 80% increase in the U.S. producer price of vegetables in November 2022 compared to a year prior.
• In Florida, orange yields fell dramatically during the 2022-2023 harvest, partly due to Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in September 2022 and devastated the state’s orange crop with heavy wind and rain. 

CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS ARE DISRUPTING SCHOOLING, LEADING TO INCREASING CHILDCARE NEEDS

Today’s children are experiencing more frequent and severe impacts due to climate change compared to previous generations. 

• On average, millennials also saw twice as many days of extreme heat during their childhood because of carbon pollution on average compared to Gen X kids.
• In 128 cities, Gen Z kids experienced at least 180 more days of climate change-fueled extreme heat than Gen X kids experienced during childhood.

Severe weather and extreme heat disrupt schooling, which puts the economic burden of last-minute childcare on families. 

• From 2022 to 2024, more than 400 million students worldwide missed school because of extreme weather linked to the climate crisis.
  • After Hurricane Helene, tens of thousands of children in the Southeast missed weeks of school. 
• In 2024, at least 242 million students in 85 countries had their schooling disrupted by extreme climate conditions, including heatwaves, tropical cyclones, storms, floods, and droughts.  
• Full-time college attendance rates drop 2.6% among students who experienced large disasters. Without a college degree, each of those children is likely to earn at least $630,000 less over the course of their lives. 
• Over the last 10 years, back-to-school cooling demand in schools has increased by about 34% due to human-caused climate change. When extreme heat-induced cooling demand spikes overwhelm the grid, schools can be left without functioning air conditioning systems or electricity. 
• Natural disasters can cause significant emotional trauma to students due to stressors, including extended housing instability, food insecurity, parental job loss, and social disconnection. 
• Extreme weather events can reduce test scores by up to 2%, an impact similar to a student losing 10% of the reading skills they would typically gain over a school year.
  • Very large disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, caused test scores to drop almost four times as much as a smaller disaster, such as a localized tornado. 

LATINO FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS FACE DISPROPORTIONATE CLIMATE-RELATED RISING COSTS 

Extreme weather events driven by climate change disproportionately impact the safety and well-being of Latino communities.  

• States with the highest costs from billion-dollar disasters also have the highest percentages of Hispanic residents compared to the rest of the country. Since 1980, California (40.2% Hispanic) has experienced up to $300 billion in costs from billion-dollar disasters, Texas (39.7% Hispanic) has experienced $300 billion in costs, and Florida (27.4% Hispanic) has experienced over $300 billion in costs. 
• 32% of Latinos live in counties with high flood risk, and one in four of all Latinos in the U.S. live in a county that experienced a federal disaster declaration for flooding in 2023.

Climate change is driving up insurance and energy costs, which disproportionately burden Latino households. 

• As climate change drives extreme weather, families nationwide may have to forgo necessary home heating and cooling due to high energy burdens. Nationally, Latino households have a median energy burden 20% greater than white households.
• Latino Americans are three times as likely as white Americans to lack health insurance, leaving them especially vulnerable to health impacts from air pollution and natural disasters.
• Latinos are less likely to have homeowners’ insurance, making them more vulnerable to their entire wealth being drained by a natural disaster.

Latino Americans are disproportionately at risk from the impacts of extreme heat. 

• Extreme heat has killed hundreds of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Latinos are 21% more likely than whites to experience the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon where cities experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas due to a lack of vegetation and excessive heat storage from the use of asphalt and concrete. 
• More than two million U.S. farmworkers, many of whom are Latino, are at risk of succumbing to heat-related illness. Outdoor workers are 35 times more likely to die of heat-related illness than the general population.
  • More than 90% of farmworkers in California are Hispanic/Latino. 

BLACK FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS FACE DISPROPORTIONATE CLIMATE-RELATED RISING COSTS 

Climate change-driven extreme weather events are driving up insurance and energy costs, which disproportionately burden Black households. 

• As climate change drives extreme weather, families nationwide may have to forgo necessary home heating and cooling due to high energy burdens. Nationally, Black households have a median energy burden 43% greater than white households. 
• Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to lack health insurance, leaving them especially vulnerable to health impacts from air pollution and natural disasters.
• Black Americans are less likely to have homeowners’ insurance, making them more vulnerable to their entire wealth being drained by a natural disaster.

Black people, especially Black children, are at risk of health issues due to warming temperatures and extreme heat. 

• As climate change causes warmer temperatures earlier in the year, the growing season is lengthening and worsening allergies, especially for children. The U.S. could see an up to 200% increase in pollen production by 2100.
  • Black children are 3 times more likely to have asthma than white children, and are therefore more at risk for allergic asthma. 
• Black people are 40% more likely to live in areas with the largest projected increase in heat-related deaths if the planet reaches 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures.
• Climate change is increasing the number of extremely hot days associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. The preterm birth rate for Black mothers is 14.7%, compared to 9.5% for white mothers in the U.S.
  • The average first-year medical costs for a preterm birth are approximately four times those of a term birth. Premature or low birth weight newborns incur significantly higher out-of-pocket medical expenses than medically uncomplicated newborns. 

Black Americans are disproportionately at risk from the urban heat island effect. 

• Warmer temperatures from heat islands in cities result in higher energy costs, increased air pollution, and more heat-related illnesses. 
• Black neighborhoods are the most impacted by extreme heat, including the effects of the urban heat island and increasing temperatures due to climate change.
• Formerly redlined neighborhoods in most U.S. cities are hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods by almost 5 degrees on average.
  • Across the United States’ largest cities, Black homeowners are nearly five times more likely than white families to own homes in these historically redlined communities.

Black Americans in the South are disproportionately at risk from the impacts of climate change. 

• Black or African American workers make up 14% of the outdoor workforce. Black outdoor workers in the U.S. are concentrated in the Southeast, where the climate crisis is worsening. 
• Coastal communities in the South, where African Americans make up a large percentage of local populations, are areas at the highest risk of sea-level rise.
• Flood risk in the United States will increase by about 25% in the next three decades, and Black communities in the South will face disproportionate harm.