Coal use in the South has dropped sharply—around 60% since 2010, according to EIA data—falling from 20 million short tons to just 8 million short tons in 2022. That’s a massive shift that’s hitting the Appalachian region especially hard. States like West Virginia, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia each lost an estimated 1.7 million short tons of coal use on average over this period.
Coal use in the South has collapsed — down 60% since 2010, and Appalachian communities are bearing the brunt.
Some states saw even steeper drops. States including Florida and West Virginia reportedly saw coal use fall by more than 90% in some cases. It’s not just one industry driving this change — it’s happening across the board. The South now accounts for the largest share of national non-electric coal decline.
Manufacturing has played a big role in this shift. Paper mills, chemical plants, primary metals producers, and coking plants have all cut back on coal. Iron and steel mills in the South reduced coal use significantly. Coking plants in Alabama and West Virginia shut down entirely. In their place, natural gas consumption jumped between 16% and 200% across four key industries. Some manufacturing operations left the region altogether, making the coal drop even steeper.
Appalachian coal production has also taken a hard hit. Output fell from 397 million short tons in 2005 to just 130 million short tons in 2020 — a 65% decline, worse than the 54% national average. Central Appalachia was hit hardest, seeing drops of around 80%. Southern Appalachia fell roughly 56%, while Northern Appalachia dropped approximately 47%. This regional collapse mirrors the broader national trend, as U.S. natural gas production surged around 40% from 2007 to 2017, accelerating the displacement of coal across industries.
The human cost is significant. Appalachia lost roughly 150,000 coal jobs — about 85% of its coal workforce — between 1980 and 2017. Coal-dependent counties lost hundreds of thousands of residents over the same period. The share of young residents declined notably more — by about 50% more — in coal counties than elsewhere. Earnings dropped and government assistance increased in areas hit by recent coal shocks. Research has found that coal decline caused broad-based negative impacts on household credit outcomes, including falling credit scores and rising bankruptcy rates, even among residents not directly employed in mining.
Experts don’t expect a rebound. Forecasts suggest Appalachian output may fall to 200 million short tons or below by mid-century. Adding to long-term concerns, several counties across the basin are already nearly depleted of economically viable coal deposits. The region’s coal mines are still operating, but the long-term trend is pointing down.
References
- https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70022445
- https://www.nber.org/papers/w31072
- https://www.arc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Coal-and-the-Economy-in-Appalachia_Q4_2020-Update.pdf
- https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67644
- https://appvoices.org/coal-impacts/mapping-the-decline-of-coal/
- https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/persistent-consequences-energy-transition-appalachias-coal-country
- http://www.cpreview.org/articles/2025/5/king-coals-last-reign-how-corporate-greed-keeps-appalachia-underdeveloped
