Where the United States gets its coal
In 2021, about 577 million short tons of coal were produced in 21 U.S. states. Surface mines were the source of 62% of total U.S. coal production and accounted for 65% of the total number of producing mines. About 0.6 million short tons, or less than 0.1% of total coal production, was refuse recovery coal. Five states accounted for 74% of total U.S. coal production in 2021.
- The top five coal producing states and their percentage shares of total U.S. coal production in 2021 were:
- Wyoming41%
- West Virginia14%
- Pennsylvania7%
- Illinois6%
- Montana5%
Coal is mainly found in three regions: the Appalachian coal region, the Interior coal region, and the Western coal region (includes the Powder River Basin).
Facts and data for each coal-producing region for 2021
Appalachian coal region
- The Appalachian coal region includes Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
- About 27% of the coal produced in the United States came from the Appalachian coal region.
- West Virginia is the largest coal-producing state in the region and the second-largest coal-producing state in the United States.
- Underground mines supplied 82% of the coal produced in the Appalachian region.
- Underground mines in the Appalachian region accounted for 57% of U.S. total underground coal mine production.
Interior coal region
- The Interior coal region includes Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Western Kentucky.
- About 16% of total U.S. coal was mined in the Interior coal region.
- Illinois was the largest coal producer in the Interior coal region, accounting for 39% of the region's coal production and about 6% of total U.S. coal production.
- Underground mines supplied 67% of the region's coal production, and surface mines supplied 33%.
Western coal region
- The Western coal region includes Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
- About 57% of total U.S. coal production was mined in the Western coal region.
- Wyoming, the largest coal-producing state in the United States, produced 41% of total U.S. coal production and 73% of the coal mined in the Western coal region.
- Seven of the top ten largest U.S. coal-producing mines were in Wyoming, and all of those mines are surface mines.
- Surface mines produced 91% of the coal in the Western coal region.
Last updated: October 19, 2022 with most recent data available at the time of update.