A new analysis from Promoleaf revealed that jobs that relate to the environment, sustainability, renewable energy, conservation, and recycling employ as many as 875,000 workers across the United States.
Green jobs are set to grow at a rate of 8.6% over the next decade, with a predicted 114,300 new jobs to be added to the green workforce in that time.
That overall growth rate for green jobs is higher than for the overall workforce (+7.7%), and some green occupations are among the fastest-growing in the country — plus they tend to pay 31% more than the national median salary.

A new analysis from Promoleaf revealed that the “green economy” is booming: jobs that relate to the environment, sustainability, renewable energy, conservation, and recycling employ as many as 875,000 workers across the United States.

This number accounts for about 0.6% of the American workforce, which indicates that not only are green jobs common, but they are needed.

The report also revealed a number of optimistic and useful findings regarding the green jobs sector — based on an analysis of figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET, green jobs are set to grow at a rate of 8.6% over the next decade, with a predicted 114,300 new jobs to be added to the green workforce in that time.

The overall growth rate for green jobs is higher than for the overall workforce (+7.7%), and some green occupations are among the fastest-growing in the country.

According to database O*NET, the median annual pay for a someone working a green job is $76,530, which is about 31% higher than a national median salary of $58,260.

The number of available jobs on both the higher and lower end of the job scale could make this career path an option for both people looking for a career change and workers who are just starting out.

These are the top ten green occupations employing the most workers in America in 2022:

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Environmental Scientists and Specialists
Natural Sciences Managers
Environmental Engineers
Biologists
Environmental Science Technicians
Forest and Conservation Technicians
Geoscientists
Conservation Scientists

These are the top ten green jobs with the highest salaries:

Natural Sciences Managers: $137,900
Biofuels/Bio Diesel Technology Managers: $125,470
Chief Sustainability Officers: $111,080
Wind Energy Engineers: $107,800
Environmental Economists: $105,630
Geothermal Production Managers: $103,150
Hydroelectric Production Managers: $103,150
Solar Energy Systems Engineers: $100,640
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists: $97,630
Wind Energy Operations Managers: $97,630

These are the states that are leading the way in green jobs

Alaska, Colorado, and Washington are all states where green jobs make up nearly 1% of the workforce (40% higher than expected based on the national average of green jobs per state).

On the lowest side of the spectrum are states such as Arizona and South Carolina, where green jobs account for 0.4% and 0.3% of the labor force, which is the lowest concentration compared to the national average of 0.6%.

These are the green occupations with the largest number of job openings as of May 2022

Among the green jobs with the highest number of postings as of May 2022 are occupations in Environmental Science, Occupational Health & Safety, and Recycling.

Natural Sciences Managers — 52,000 job postings
Environmental Engineers — 50,000 job postings
Sustainability Specialists — 21,000 job postings

The green economy will affect the future of work

The increase in green jobs is being driven by consumers wanting to support companies that take action in addressing social and environmental disparities.

As the International Labour Organization put it, “The world of work needs environmental sustainability.”

As the world moves towards a greener economy, a Greening with Jobs report estimates that 6 million jobs will be lost, including in the areas of petroleum extraction and refinery, coal mining and production of electricity from coal.

However, if humanity fails to transition to a greener economy, the same report estimates that 72 million full-time jobs will be lost by 2030.

This is based on projected temperature increases and environmental degradation, which impacts jobs and working conditions to the point where heat stress and temperature increases will lead to shorter available work hours (particularly in agriculture).

Provided that the right policies for a greener economy are put in place, it’s possible that 24 million new jobs could be created globally by 2030.