Occupational Characteristics Are Missing from Heat Vulnerability Indices: A study in New York and New Jersey

Background Heat vulnerability indices and maps are widely used by government agencies to guide heat-prevention strategies and prioritize resources for at-risk communities. However, these tools typically exclude the occupational characteristics of the population, a salient source of heat exposure. Methods To examine how occupation might enrich these tools, we developed a method to generate Census tract-level estimates of occupational heat exposure risk for employed residents using publicly available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Information Network (O*NET) and the U.S. Census American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (2018–2022) and applied it to New York State (NYS) and New Jersey (NJ). We calculated the proportion of residents in occupations with elevated indoor or outdoor heat exposure. We then examined correlations and spatial alignment between occupational heat risk and social, health, and environmental vulnerability indicators. Results Approximately 1.3 million residents in NYS (13.6% of total employment) and 698,000 in NJ (15.1%) were employed in occupations with elevated indoor or outdoor heat exposure risk. Occupational heat exposure correlated most strongly with health vulnerability, followed by social vulnerability, while environmental vulnerability showed weak or negative correlations. Geographic overlap of tracts in the highest quintiles of occupational risk and other vulnerability domains was modest overall: occupational and health vulnerabilities aligned in less urban areas, whereas occupational, social, and environmental vulnerabilities clustered in and around urban centers. Conclusions Integrating occupation into climate and social vulnerability indices is important, because it is an essential human activity, a social determinant of health, and a salient source of heat exposure that is not fully captured by existing social, health, and environmental data. These findings provide a replicable method for mapping occupational heat exposure, highlighting populations at elevated risk, informing future research, and supporting targeted interventions in community and workplace settings, especially where enforceable workplace protections against extreme heat are limited.