U.S. Coal Production & Federal Lands

Summary

U.S. Coal Production & Federal Lands

Almost half of coal production in the United States today occurs on federal lands. The Western coal region contains some of the top coal-producing states in the country. Although coal generates hundreds of millions of dollars in federal revenue annually, in 2023 oil and gas generated about 30 times as much federal revenue as coal.

Map

Federal estate

Coal-producing areas as designated by EIA

Dotted lines roughly indicate region boundaries.

Onshore surface acres administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service. Excludes lands administered by other federal agencies.

Hawaii does not produce coal.

2023 Total U.S. Coal Production 580,757

Production on Nonfederal Lands 311,534 (53%)

Production on Federal Lands 269,223 (47%)

Federal Revenue from Coal $474.5M

2003-2023

Coal production on federal lands and Federal revenue from coal

Coal production excludes "refuse recovery." Coal production and revenues from Native American lands are excluded. Coal revenue totals may not add up due to rounding. † Coal revenues may be paid on nonproducing leases or may reflect production in prior years.

Sources: Federal production, total production, and revenues from the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR). Nonfederal production from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and ONRR. Map geography based on data from EIA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and ESRI.

Information as of April 25, 2025. Prepared by Lexie Ryan, Analyst in Energy Policy; Molly Cox, Geospatial Information Systems Analyst; and Amber Wilhelm, Visual Information Specialist.