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Mapped: U.S. Jobs Supported by Exports to China, by State
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A new Trump presidency brings one certainty: global trade is back in the spotlight.
The 47th president is targeting major trading partners—Canada, Mexico, China, and the EU—seeking to reshape trade in exchange for national security commitments.
The potential impact of new tariffs is unclear. Experts warn they could trigger retaliation or drive up prices as costs pass to consumers.
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff, and it’s my favorite word.” — President-elect Donald J. Trump, October 15th, 2024.
With new tariffs on China a likely outcome in coming months, this map shows the number of American jobs supported by U.S. exports to China by U.S. state that could be affected by any retaliatory tariffs put in place by Beijing.
Estimates are made for the year 2022 by the The US-China Business Council in a report published 2024.
Ranked: U.S. States by Jobs Supported Through Exports to China
California and Texas are the two states with the most number of jobs supported by U.S. exports to China.
In Texas, most of these are concentrated in oil and gas, while California’s export-oriented employment is both in goods (agriculture) and services (education).
Rank | State | State Code | Jobs Supported in 2022 |
1 | California | CA | 125,653 |
2 | Texas | TX | 89,531 |
3 | Illinois | IL | 53,722 |
4 | New York | NY | 42,585 |
5 | Massachusetts | MA | 30,744 |
6 | Ohio | OH | 28,600 |
7 | North Carolina | NC | 28,410 |
8 | Indiana | IN | 28,150 |
9 | Georgia | GA | 28,010 |
10 | Iowa | IA | 27,573 |
11 | Washington | WA | 27,229 |
12 | Oregon | OR | 26,710 |
13 | Minnesota | MN | 26,531 |
14 | Pennsylvania | PA | 24,020 |
15 | Michigan | MI | 21,322 |
16 | Tennessee | TN | 20,046 |
17 | New Jersey | NJ | 18,827 |
18 | Kansas | KS | 18,546 |
19 | Florida | FL | 18,091 |
20 | South Carolina | SC | 18,065 |
21 | Nebraska | NE | 17,934 |
22 | Missouri | MO | 16,857 |
23 | Virginia | VA | 16,443 |
24 | Kentucky | KY | 16,315 |
25 | Alabama | AL | 15,010 |
26 | Louisiana | LA | 14,856 |
27 | Wisconsin | WI | 14,622 |
28 | Arizona | AZ | 12,042 |
29 | Maryland | MD | 10,839 |
30 | Colorado | CO | 9,933 |
N/A | All others | XX | 84,012 |
N/A | Total | U.S. | 931,228 |
However it is jobs in the American heartland—Illinois, Iowa, Kansas—which are most exposed if or when the Trump administration goes ahead with proposed tariffs against China, which could trigger retaliation.
The reason being oilseeds and grains are the largest exports to China, a key part to many Midwestern economies.
In fact, agricultural products were the first exports targeted by China in retaliatory tariffs in 2018, leading to a decline in trade and a widening deficit.
Changing Chinese Demand Could Affect Key U.S. Sectors
Meanwhile, other shifts in global trade could lead to declining jobs in other states as well.
For example, nearly all of American semiconductor exports are from Oregon. And federal government controls are steadily limiting this industry’s exports to China due to national security concerns.
Rank | State | Goods Exports to China (2023) | YoY Growth |
1 | Texas | $25.7 billion | +16.4% |
2 | California | $16.4 billion | −7.0% |
3 | Louisiana | $6.5 billion | +52.7% |
4 | Indiana | $6.1 billion | +18.7% |
5 | Illinois | $5.9 billion | −10.6% |
6 | North Carolina | $5.9 billion | −9.5% |
7 | Washington | $4.1 billion | −1.8% |
8 | Oregon | $4.0 billion | −51.4% |
9 | Georgia | $4.0 billion | −4.1% |
10 | South Carolina | $3.9 billion | +3.8% |
Source: The US–China Business Council
As a result, between 2021 and 2022, Oregon’s semiconductor exports supported 14,000 fewer jobs, a trend that has continued. Its export value to China halved from $8 billion to $4 billion by 2023.
Meanwhile, a slowing Chinese economy further reduced demand for Texan oil and gas in 2024.
For context, China is America’s third-largest petroleum export market after Canada and Mexico. Recently it has also shifted to sourcing oil from Russia and Iran.
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Wondering which other countries feature on America’s export destinations? Check out America’s Most Important Trade Relationships for a breakdown.