Clean Jobs Midwest is a report based on survey data on clean energy employment in 12 Midwestern states.

These states include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In 2021, the region employed more than 714,000 people in sectors including renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, advanced transportation, grid and storage, and clean fuels. 

Evergreen Climate Innovations, formerly Clean Energy Trust, partners with Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) to publish this comprehensive report of clean energy jobs throughout the Midwest.

The Clean Jobs Midwest report includes people employed in the following sectors:

• Energy efficiency
• Renewable energy generation
• Advanced transportation
• Grid and storage
• Clean fuels

Learn more about the jobs in these sectors here.

Unless otherwise stated, the data and analyses presented in this report by Evergreen Climate Innovations and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) are based on data collected for the 2021 U.S. Energy Employment Report (2021 USEER), produced by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership (BWRP). For more information on the survey methodology, please visit cleanjobsmidwest.com/about.

The 2021 USEER methodology relies on the most recently available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages  (QCEW, second quarter 2020), the BLS Unemployment Situation Table B-1 monthly reports, together with a detailed supplemental survey of business establishments across the United States designed and conducted by BW Research Partnership on behalf of NASEO and EFI. During a time of rapid change in energy technology and business employment structure, supplemental surveys are an important tool to capture developing trends. Taken together, the BLS and survey data provide the most comprehensive calculation of energy-related employment available as of 2020.

No, this survey serves as a point-in-time count of employees directly employed in the clean energy industry; it does not attempt to estimate or model indirect or induced jobs, nor does it make predictions of economic impact.

All data in the USEER rely on the BLS QCEW data for the end of the third quarter of 2021 and the BLS Unemployment Situation Table B-1 monthly reports through December 2021. The USEER survey was administered between January 13, 2022 and April 18, 2022 and averaged 16 minutes in length.

No; while this survey doesn’t collect wage data, there is evidence from the market that many of the jobs in this industry are well paying jobs being added to communities across the region and country. For example, as of 2019, wind turbine technician was the fastest growing job in the country and had an average salary above $50,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has additional information on wage data for certain sub-sectors as well, in particular wind and solar energy generation.

The 2020 Census kicked off a process for state and federal redistricting that was not finalized until early 2022. The 2021 USEER data was collected before districts were finalized. Next year’s USEER report will include state and federal district data.

The Solar Foundation (TSF) solar census numbers are also developed from the 2021 U.S. Energy Employment Report (2021 USEER); however, TSF uses a different threshold for what counts as a job as a way to focus specifically on one subsector. While Clean Jobs Midwest counts anyone who does work in a field, TSF only counts someone who spends at least 50% of their time in a field. As an example, an employee of an engineering, procurement, and construction firm who spends 45% of their time on solar rooftop projects, 40% on building efficiency projects, and 15% on other work would count as a clean energy worker in the Clean Jobs Midwest study, but would be excluded from the TSF study.

The methodology for the Clean Jobs Midwest and Clean Jobs America reports are identical.