States Where the Most People Vote on Climate Change Issues

By Sam Stebbins  •  August 6, 2025
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Environmental policies in the United States, particularly those related to climate change, have been a part of the American political discourse for decades. But in recent years, climate policy has been fading in importance with the electorate. According to polling conducted by the Pew Research Center, only 37% of registered voters said climate change was a very important issue to them in the 2024 general election, down from 42% in 2020.

But while the share of Americans nationwide who consider climate issues when voting is diminishing, in certain states, climate issues are far more likely to be top of mind for a typical voter.

Using data from the report Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2024, published by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Climate Crisis 247 identified the states where the most people vote on climate change issues. States are ranked by the share of the 18 and older population who say that a candidate’s views on global warming are an important factor in how they decide to vote. Only states where over 60% of the adult population consider candidates’ views on global warming were considered. States are ranked by percentage from lowest to highest. All supplemental data is also from the YPCCC, and the YPCCC bears no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations of the data presented here.

Among the states on this list, the share of the voting age population who vote for candidates – at least in part – for their views on global warming, ranges from 60.1% to 65.1%.

Importantly, a candidate’s views on climate change can influence the vote in more than one way. Some portion of voters may support a candidate who denies climate change, while others may support those campaigning on actively addressing the issue. Notably, however, the latter group likely accounts for the vast majority of voters influenced by climate policy, as many of the states on this list are also among those where residents are most likely to believe that climate change is being driven by human activities. Similarly, these states are also home to large shares of Americans who believe the U.S. Congress should do more to combat global warming, according to the YPCCC.

7. New Jersey

Photo by Matt Donders on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 60.1%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 65.3% (2nd highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 67.0% (3rd highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 7,235,695
 

6. Oregon

Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 60.6%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 61.7% (11th highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 64.5% (9th highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 3,382,421
 

5. Washington

Photo by Zac Gudakov on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 60.6%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 63.1% (9th highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 64.3% (11th highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 6,065,088
 

4. Hawaii

Photo by Peter Thomas on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 60.8%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 64.4% (5th highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 65.5% (7th highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 1,144,164
 

3. California

Photo by Tommaso Teloni on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 61.3%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 64.7% (4th highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 64.9% (8th highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 30,513,773
 

2. Massachusetts

Photo by Michael Baccin on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 62.8%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 66.2% (the highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 68.2% (the highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 5,623,987
 

1. New York

Photo by Thomas Habr on Unsplash

  • Share of adults who say candidates’ views on global warming influences how they vote: 65.1%
  • Share of adults who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities: 64.2% (6th highest of 50 states)
  • Share of adults who think congress should do more to address global warming: 66.8% (4th highest of 50 states)
  • Adult population in state: 15,763,043
 

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