Per capita methane emissions in United States
United States: Per capita methane emissions was 2.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
30th
of 199 countries
All-time high
4.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1969
All-time low
2.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2016
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita methane emissions in United States, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
Analysis
United States recorded 2.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person for per capita methane emissions in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita methane emissions in United States peaked at 4.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1969 and was at its lowest, 2.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 2016.
That places United States 30th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 3.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 2.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.98 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 2.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 2.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.69 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 2.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 2.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 3.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 3.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 2.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 3.31 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.98 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 3.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.84 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 27 Argentina 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 28 Central African Republic 2.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 29 Congo 2.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 31 Bolivia 2.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 32 Palau 2.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 33 Belarus 2.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for United States
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Population, total 341.79 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Urban population 80.2% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 434.87 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita methane emissions in United States?
- Per capita methane emissions in United States was 2.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest per capita methane emissions recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 4.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1969.
- What is the lowest per capita methane emissions recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2016.
- How does United States rank for per capita methane emissions?
- United States ranks 30th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita methane emissions rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Per capita methane emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.