Community Climate Economic Impact Calculator
Estimate a municipality's population-allocated GDP, late-century climate-related economic impact, and three complementary carbon-economic indicators.
1. Select your community
Population data when available: Census ACS 5-year estimates via the paleBLUEdot Worker, configured vintage (2024), for consistent county and incorporated-place coverage. This is not the Census Population Estimates Program (PEP). Places may cross county boundaries; see the geographic allocation note below.
2. County GDP (BEA)
The calculator can retrieve the latest available annual real GDP through a BEA API connection. The public website requires a secure API relay to avoid exposing the BEA key. If not connected, enter GDP manually using the BEA source.
3. Climate and SCC assumptions
Hsiang et al. (2017): median annual net economic impact averaged over 2080–2099 under RCP8.5, relative to a no-additional-climate-change counterfactual. Positive county values mean damage; negative values mean net modeled benefit. SCC default is illustrative: EPA 2023 estimate for 2026 emissions at 2% near-term discount rate, in 2020 dollars.
4. Calculated local economic indicators
This calculator illustrates the potential economic costs of climate change for a community using published research and government data. Local climate impacts are estimated using county-level projections adjusted for the municipality's share of the county population. The Annual Globalized Social Cost of Community Emissions estimates the worldwide economic costs associated with the community's annual greenhouse gas emissions, while the Localized Social Cost of Carbon provides a locally focused illustration of potential climate-related economic costs per metric ton of emissions. These measures use different approaches and should not be added together. Some communities may show projected economic benefits rather than losses, and estimates for municipalities spanning multiple counties may be less accurate because the calculations rely on county-level data.
Definitions
The estimated annual economic losses a community could experience late in the 21st century due to climate change, including impacts on property, infrastructure, public health, and economic activity, under a specified climate scenario. Here this is represented by the Hsiang et al. 2080–2099 average annual net economic impact.
The estimated global economic damages associated with one year of greenhouse gas emissions from a community, calculated by multiplying annual emissions by an established Social Cost of Carbon value.
This measure provides a community-specific illustration of the economic cost of carbon by comparing the annual economic impacts a community could experience from climate change near the end of this century with its current annual greenhouse gas emissions. Expressed in dollars per metric ton of emissions ($/MTCO₂e), it helps illustrate the potential local economic costs of climate change in relation to the community's carbon footprint. Unlike traditional Social Cost of Carbon estimates, which calculate the economic impacts of additional emissions, this measure offers a locally focused comparison based on projected climate damages and current emissions.
Sources
Hsiang et al. (2017), Science 356:1362–1369; county values embedded from the supplied “County damages by sector” workbook. Climate Impact Lab data. Population: Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, B01003_001E; municipality selection: Census county-linked place lookup via the paleBLUEdot Cloudflare Worker. BEA Regional GDP API, table CAGDP1, LineCode 1. EPA SCC methodology.