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COVID-19 & Health Nearly one out of every 715 people in the US died from coronavirus in 2021. That's 464,000 people. In 2021, 34 million Americans tested positive for COVID-19, up 70% from 20 million in 2020. As of January 31, 2022, 75% of the population had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine. Twenty-seven percent had received a booster shot. Personal healthcare spending was $3.4 trillion in 2020, a 4.5% increase from 2019. Twenty-eight million Americans (8.6% of the population) did not have health insurance in 2020, up from 8% in 2019. Preliminary data shows that 3.4 million people died in 2021, 13% more than in 2019. The top three causes — heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19 — accounted for 50% of deaths. The federal government spent $141 billion on public health in 2021 — a 21% decrease from 2020, but more than double its 2019 public health spending.
Economy US GDP grew 5.7% in 2021 after decreasing 3.4% in 2020. The economy added 6.7 million jobs in 2021, rebounding from 9.3 million lost jobs in 2020. 2021's average annual unemployment rate was 5.4%, about 2.7 percentage points lower than in 2020 but 1.7 points higher than 2019. The labor force participation rate remains 1.2 percentage points below February 2020. About 12,000 more businesses closed than opened in 2020. Before adjusting for inflation, average hourly earnings grew from $28.56 in February 2020 to $31.40 in December 2021, increasing by 10%. Consumer prices were 7.5% higher in January 2022 than January 2021, the largest 12-month change in 40 years. Last year, the US imported $861.4 billion more in goods and services than it exported, leading to a 21.6% increase in the trade deficit from 2020.
Standard of Living Before the pandemic, middle-class families received an average market income of $52,200 from wages, investments, retirement, and more. Middle-class families receive an average $20,700 in government assistance from programs like Medicare, Social Security, and food stamps. Middle-class wealth has increased 82.1% since 1990. However, middle-class families went from owning 12.2% of wealth in 1990 to 7.2% in 2021. The nonfarm employee quits rate hit a 20-year high in September and November 2021 when 3.0% of employees quit their jobs. The poverty rate decreased from 15.1% in 2010 to 11.4% in 2020. From December 2020 to December 2021, the number of households nationwide reporting difficulty paying for expenses decreased 7 percentage points to 30.5%. About 6.4% of US adults faced housing insecurity in December 2021.
Population Six states gained congressional seats after the 2020 census. Seven states lost a seat. In 2021, 331.9 million people lived in the United States. The population grew by 392,665 from 2020 to 2021, or 0.1%, the lowest annual growth rate since the nation's founding. The country is growing more diverse. According to preliminary data, the 2021 death rate continued to surpass historical standards at 9.7 deaths per 1,000 people. The population is getting older. More people are living alone.
Budget The federal government collected $4.1 trillion in revenue in fiscal year 2021 (FY2021) — or $12,294 per person. The federal government spent $6.8 trillion in FY2021 — or $20,634 per person. Increased personal and corporate income tax receipts drove federal revenue up by 15% in FY2021. Federal spending grew 1% in FY2021, remaining relatively flat after increasing 45% in FY2020. Aside from unemployment insurance, major cash and non-cash programs to aid the disadvantaged increased in FY2021. The federal government spent 68% more than it collected in FY2021, resulting in a $2.8 trillion deficit.
Education At the end of the 2020-21 school year, 62% of K-12 public schools offered full-time, in-person instruction. By the start of the 2021-22 year, 98% of them did. Spending per public school student increased 21% to $13,118 between the 2000-2001 and 2017-2018 school years. Two-thirds of eighth graders are not proficient in math and reading. Eighty-six percent of students graduate from high school, with 65% enrolling in college within a year of graduating. In 2019, more than a third of the US adult population had a bachelor’s degree or higher, but only 26% of Black Americans and 18% of Hispanic Americans did. The average college tuition was $25,281 in 2020, more than double the cost in 1990. Wages for people with a bachelor’s degree have increased 2.5% since 2000.
Crime & Justice More than 5.6 million Americans were in prison, jail or under probation or parole when counted in 2020, a 13.3% decrease from 2019. The total prison population decreased 25% between its 2009 peak and 2020. Half of the prison population decline between 2009 and 2019 was due to fewer prisoners whose most serious offense was a drug crime. Arrests per 100,000 people in 2020 had their largest yearly decline in at least 35 years. Violent crime rose 5.6% between 2019 and 2020, while property crime decreased 7.8%. The number of police officers per capita fell 5.9% between its 2009 peak and 2020. Firearm deaths increased 43% from 2010 to 2020, accounting for 1.3% of all deaths in 2020.
Environment & Energy While 2021 was cooler than 2016 — the hottest year on record — it was warmer than any recorded year prior to 2015. Most Americans are experiencing climate that's unusual by 20th-century standards. Wildfires burned fewer acres in 2021 than in recent years but still more than double the yearly 1990s average. The US experienced 20 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events in 2021. The US produced more energy last year than in any previous year except 2019, according to preliminary 2021 data. Last year's per-person energy consumption was 4.7% higher than in 2020, but was the second-lowest since 1966. Fossil fuels account for 94% of energy used by the transportation sector and 80% of energy used by the industrial sector. Preliminary 2021 EIA data shows that carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption rose after dropping in 2020.
Infrastructure In 2021, about 41% of federal transportation and infrastructure spending was on highway transportation and 32% was on air travel. The remainder was for rail and mass transit (19%) and water (8%). Most transportation and infrastructure spending comes directly from state and local governments, which spent $191.1 billion on projects in 2019, excluding federal transfers. Air travel rebounded in 2021 but is below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, with the number of scheduled flights down 20% in the first eleven months of the year. Public rail transit ridership in October 2021 was 67% higher than October 2020 levels. There are 618,456 bridges in the US and their condition is improving. Conditions of urban interstates, mid-sized, and minor roads have improved since 2000. Train infrastructure is degrading.
Immigration The US is again increasingly a nation of immigrants. 2020 had the largest drop in non-tourist visas and new arrival green cards granted in 25 years. Excluding tourism and unauthorized arrivals, most people arriving on visas or green cards are temporary workers, students, or coming to be with their families. In 2018, the federal government estimated there were 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants in the country. The number of people apprehended or turned away by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) more than tripled from 2020 to 2021. Over 20,000 unaccompanied children were at Health and Human Services border facilities in April 2021, a monthly peak 4.6 times over the 2020 monthly high. Immigration officials removed 360,000 people from the US in 2019.
Defense Defense spending decreased in 2021 and was 12% lower than its 2010 peak. In 2021, there were 1.3 million people in the military, 38% fewer than in 1987 — its recent peak. The US has fewer troops abroad than in recent years, particularly in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The US spent $51.1 billion on foreign aid in 2020, a 4.7% increase following four consecutive years of decline. Veterans have lower unemployment levels than the national rate.
Federal Government Actions There were 52 government actions on health. There were 69 government actions on the economy and jobs. There were 69 government actions on the standard of living. There was one government action on population. There were 23 government actions on the budget. There were 12 government actions on education. There were 15 government actions on crime and justice. There were 81 government actions on land, energy, and environment. There were 13 government actions on infrastructure. There were 26 government actions on immigration. There were 77 government actions on defense. There were 47 other government actions.
Home / Reports / 2022 State of the Union / Environment & Energy

Environment & Energy

What environmental challenges does the US face?​ What types of energy does the US produce and consume?

Environment & Energy

While 2021 was cooler than 2016 — the hottest year on record — it was warmer than any recorded year prior to 2015.

Last year, the average global temperature was 0.84 °C (1.51 °F) above the 20th-century average.

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Environment & Energy

Most Americans are experiencing climate that's unusual by 20th-century standards.

In 2021, 90% of Americans lived in counties that had at least one month with extremely high temperatures compared to the 20th-century average. Forty-seven percent lived in counties with at least one month of extremely wet weather.

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Environment & Energy

Wildfires burned fewer acres in 2021 than in recent years but still more than double the yearly 1990s average.

Wildfires burned 7.1 million acres in 2021, down 29.6% from 2020 and 4.1% above the 2010s annual average. ​

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Environment & Energy

The US experienced 20 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events in 2021.

That's two fewer than 2020 but more than any other previous year. These disasters cost a total of $145 billion, the third-highest amount of any year with available data.

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Environment & Energy

The US produced more energy last year than in any previous year except 2019, according to preliminary 2021 data.

Renewable energy production grew 99.0% from 2000, faster than fossil fuel (up 33.7%) and nuclear energy (up 3.0%). Nuclear and renewables are now 20.9% of US energy production. These trends are based on preliminary 2021 data; the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release updated 2021 data later this year.

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Environment & Energy

Last year's per-person energy consumption was 4.7% higher than in 2020, but was the second-lowest since 1966.

This follows an 8.3% drop in per-person energy consumption in 2020. Energy consumption per person has fallen an average of 0.8% annually since 2000. (These trends are based on preliminary 2021 data; the EIA will release updated 2021 data later this year.)

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Environment & Energy

Fossil fuels account for 94% of energy used by the transportation sector and 80% of energy used by the industrial sector.

Together, these sectors account for 60% of all US energy consumption and 66% of fossil fuel consumption. The nation's share of energy consumption from petroleum and coal dropped in 2020 but grew by 1.1 and 1.4 percentage points, respectively, in 2021. (These trends are based on preliminary 2021 data; the EIA will release updated 2021 data later this year.)

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Environment & Energy

Preliminary 2021 EIA data shows that carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption rose after dropping in 2020.

Carbon dioxide emissions increased by 7.2% compared to emissions for the same period in 2020 after an 11.0% drop in 2020. Forty-five percent of carbon dioxide emissions were from petroleum, 33.0% from natural gas, and 21.3% from coal. (These trends are based on preliminary 2021 data; the EIA will release updated 2021 data later this year.) In 2019, the US discharged 14.1% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, more than India and Russia, the following two highest-emitting countries, combined. Only China (10.8 billion metric tons) emitted more than the US (5.1 billion metric tons).

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Continue exploring the State of the Union (2022)

Crime & Justice

Is the criminal justice system working? Is the country getting safer?

Infrastructure

What does America spend on transportation and infrastructure? Is transportation infrastructure improving?​

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