After narrowly passing through a Democratically controlled Congress along party lines, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Aug. 16, 2022. The law allocates $500 billion in new spending. While it may marginally reduce inflation over the long term, its largest impact will likely be on the U.S. energy grid, as most of the money in it is slated for clean energy initiatives.
Through a range of federal subsidies, including rebates, loans, and tax credits, the IRA provides incentives to households, businesses, and state and local governments to invest in clean energy while moving away from fossil fuels. With nearly $370 billion in clean energy funding, the act marks the most significant action the U.S. has ever taken toward addressing climate change.
Not only could the IRA result in a 40% to 50% reduction in America’s greenhouse gas emissions, as Democrats in Washington have argued, but it could also be a boon for the job market — particularly in hard-hit sectors, like manufacturing. According to the independent, nonprofit clean energy advocacy group, Rocky Mountain Institute, the IRA could create over 1.3 million new jobs in 2030 alone.
Based on data from the Rocky Mountain Institute, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act could create as many as 5,587 jobs in West Virginia in 2030 — or one job for every 319 people, the fewest among the 48 contiguous states.
As of 2022, 30,662 West Virginia residents were unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on these most recent annual unemployment figures, the number of potential new jobs the IRA could bring in 2030 would reduce joblessness by 18.2% in the state.
All data on the number of potential new jobs created by the IRA in 2030 is from the Rocky Mountain Institute’s report, The Economic Tides Just Turned for States. Alaska and Hawaii were not included in this analysis.
RankStateNum. of state residents per job created by the IRA in 2030Potential new jobs created by the IRA in 2030New jobs in 2030 as pct. of 2022 unemployed pop. (%)1Utah251.313,42333.22Idaho253.97,45729.53Texas257.5116,28020.44North Dakota257.73,10635.65Nevada260.012,25114.66Colorado260.422,74223.47Washington261.030,27318.08Florida261.184,59227.09Arizona268.427,20919.710South Carolina271.919,18724.911Oregon272.115,87317.512Georgia272.240,11225.213Delaware273.13,69216.514Montana275.14,01126.815North Carolina275.438,56820.516South Dakota277.13,25233.117Tennessee277.125,34822.318Virginia280.231,25524.619Minnesota281.120,58824.920Nebraska281.77,06028.421Massachusetts281.825,29018.022Maryland282.922,11721.523California285.7140,00517.324New Jersey287.232,68918.625Oklahoma287.613,91424.426Alabama288.917,55729.627Iowa290.211,09223.628Indiana290.523,56823.129New Hampshire290.54,78424.730Rhode Island291.83,79220.831New York291.869,79017.032Kentucky293.215,48219.433Wisconsin293.920,19622.434Arkansas295.110,27122.635Kansas296.19,97824.936New Mexico296.67,17918.837Missouri296.820,84827.138Vermont296.82,17824.139Louisiana296.915,77120.740Maine297.64,60123.141Pennsylvania298.243,80115.542Wyoming298.31,94318.743Ohio298.539,70217.244Michigan299.633,76116.645Connecticut303.411,90414.846Illinois307.241,69414.147Mississippi307.49,62819.648West Virginia318.95,58718.2
