Cooking energy spans everyday appliance use, household fire safety, fuel access, health exposure and the transition to cleaner technologies. The figures below separate U.S. household and fire data from worldwide clean-cooking estimates and scenario projections.
Key Cooking Energy Statistics
The most quotable figures in this overview are:
- In 2020, 79% of U.S. households prepared at least one hot meal at home each day.
- In 2020, 89% of U.S. households had a range combining a cooktop and oven.
- In 2020, U.S. cooktops in households with a range were used an average of 8 times per week.
- In 2020, about 38% of U.S. households used natural gas for cooking.
- In 2020, 56% of U.S. households used an electric coffee maker daily.
- In 2023, 167,800 residential building cooking fires were estimated in the United States.
- In 2023, U.S. residential cooking fires caused an estimated 125 deaths.
- In 2023, U.S. residential cooking fires caused an estimated 2,500 injuries.
- In 2023, U.S. residential cooking-fire losses were estimated at $572.7 million in constant 2023 dollars.
- In 2023, more than 2 billion people worldwide lacked access to clean cooking facilities.
- In 2022, about 1.1 billion people in developing Asia lacked clean cooking solutions.
- In 2023, about 960 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lacked clean cooking access.
- From 1990 to 2022, the global share mainly using polluting cooking fuels fell from more than 50% to 26%.
- In 2021, 49% of the global rural population relied on polluting cooking fuels and technologies.
- In a 2023 IEA estimate, households without clean cooking spent an average of 5 hours per day collecting fuel and cooking.
- In an IEA scenario for 2030, universal clean cooking access could avoid 2.5 million premature deaths.
- In an IEA scenario for 2030, universal clean cooking access could save up to 1.5 gigatons of CO2-equivalent.
- Under the IEA Stated Policies Scenario, 1.7 billion people would still lack clean cooking access in 2030.
- In the IEA universal-access pathway, annual clean-cooking investment would need to reach about $8 billion.
- In the IEA pathway, fuelwood and charcoal use falls by 70% in emerging and developing economies by 2030.
Contents
- U.S. household cooking energy use
- U.S. cooking-fire statistics and losses
- Cooking-fire deaths and injuries
- Global clean-cooking access and fuel trends
- Health, time and environmental outcomes
- Clean-cooking forecasts, technology and investment
U.S. Cooking Energy Statistics: Household Use and Appliance Frequency
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), based on 18,496 responding households, measures cooking activity and appliance use rather than total energy consumed. The survey is self-reported, and its cooking-fuel measures exclude outdoor grilling.
| Measure | 2020 result | Population or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Households preparing at least one hot meal daily | 79% | U.S. households |
| Households with a cooktop-and-oven range | 89% | U.S. households |
| Cooktop use | 8 times per week | U.S. households with a range |
| Oven use | 3 times per week | U.S. households with a range |
| Natural gas used for cooking | About 38% | U.S. households |
State-level natural-gas use was higher than the national estimate in the same 2020 survey. Natural gas was used for cooking by 70% of California households and 69% of New Jersey households; these are state survey estimates and also exclude outdoor grilling.
Small appliances were part of the RECS cooking-use picture:
- 75% of U.S. households used an electric coffee maker at least occasionally in 2020, although “occasionally” has no minimum frequency.
- 56% of U.S. households used an electric coffee maker daily in 2020.
- 16% of U.S. households used an Instant Pot at least once a week in 2020.
- 13% of U.S. households used rice cookers in 2020; the survey did not specify a frequency for this measure.
These figures describe reported ownership or use patterns, not comparable watt-hours or fuel volumes. They also should not be combined with global clean-cooking access measures as though they were one population or time series.
U.S. Cooking Fire Statistics and Residential Losses
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) reports national estimates for residential building cooking fires. Its series is based on incidents reported by local response agencies and the agency’s National Estimates Methodology, so the values are estimates rather than a complete incident census.
| Year | Estimated residential cooking fires | Estimated loss |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 189,800 | $703.2 million in constant 2023 dollars |
| 2017 | 191,800 | Not supplied |
| 2018 | 192,700 | Not supplied |
| 2019 | 178,100 | Not supplied |
| 2020 | 192,600 | Not supplied |
| 2021 | 170,000 | Not supplied |
| 2022 | 178,600 | Not supplied |
| 2023 | 167,800 | $572.7 million in constant 2023 dollars |
Source: U.S. Fire Administration, “Residential Building Cooking Fire Trends (2014-2023)”.
The USFA adjusted the reported dollar losses for inflation to constant 2023 dollars, making the two supplied loss figures comparable on that basis. The agency cautions that cooking-fire figures may not be directly comparable with older releases if definitions or methods change.
The 2023 estimate of 167,800 residential cooking fires is the latest year in the supplied USFA series. The data describe residential building incidents in the United States, not commercial kitchens, outdoor cooking or worldwide cooking-related fires.
Cooking-Fire Deaths and Injuries: U.S. Trends Through 2023
Cooking-fire outcomes show a separate dimension of household energy use: the human consequences of residential cooking incidents. USFA estimates cover residential buildings in the United States.
| Year | Estimated deaths | Estimated injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 250 | 4,125 |
| 2017 | 170 | Not supplied |
| 2019 | 150 | Not supplied |
| 2020 | 140 | Not supplied |
| 2021 | 135 | Not supplied |
| 2022 | 100 | Not supplied |
| 2023 | 125 | 2,500 |
Source: U.S. Fire Administration, “Residential Building Cooking Fire Trends (2014-2023)”.
The supplied series records an estimated 250 deaths in 2014 and 125 in 2023, while estimated injuries were 4,125 in 2014 and 2,500 in 2023. These are USFA estimates, and the missing years in the supplied data should not be filled by interpolation.
The 2023 estimate of 125 deaths was higher than the 2022 estimate of 100, even though the estimated number of fires was 167,800 in 2023 compared with 178,600 in 2022. That comparison describes the supplied annual estimates; it does not establish a causal relationship between fire counts and outcomes.
Global Clean Cooking Energy Access and Fuel-Use Trends
Global clean-cooking statistics use a different definition from appliance-use surveys. WHO- and SDG7-aligned measures generally concern primary reliance on fuels and technologies, not total cooking energy consumption or occasional use.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that more than 2 billion people worldwide lacked access to clean cooking facilities in 2023. In 2022, about 1.1 billion people in developing Asia lacked clean cooking solutions, representing around 50% of the global population without access.
| Geography or comparison | Period | Supplied estimate |
|---|---|---|
| India clean-cooking access | 2022 | Approximately 70% |
| China clean-cooking access | 2022 | Approximately 90% |
| Indonesia clean-cooking access | 2022 | Approximately 90% |
| Sub-Saharan Africa without clean access | 2023 | About 960 million people |
Source: IEA, “Access to clean cooking – SDG7: Data and Projections”.
The IEA figures for India, China and Indonesia are rounded country estimates. The regional figure for sub-Saharan Africa is also rounded, and the IEA notes that its historical data use WHO information through 2019 while estimates and projections are modelled from 2020 onward.
WHO reported that the global share of people mainly using polluting cooking fuels declined from more than 50% in 1990 to 26% in 2022. This is a primary-reliance measure, so it does not mean that every household outside the 26% never uses a polluting fuel.
Cooking Energy, Health, Time and Environmental Outcomes
Cooking fuel choices are connected with exposure and household labor, especially where cooking takes place with solid fuels, kerosene or inefficient stoves. WHO’s latest estimate on its fact sheet says about 2.1 billion people worldwide cook with solid fuels or kerosene in open fires or inefficient stoves.
In 2021, 14% of the global urban population and 49% of the global rural population relied on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking. WHO also reports that indoor smoke in poorly ventilated dwellings can reach fine-particle levels 100 times higher than acceptable, a contextual exposure comparison rather than a universal household average.
Source: WHO, “Household air pollution”.
The health burden is expressed in population terms rather than as cooking-device incidents. A 2024 analysis cited by the IEA linked household air pollution from cooking to around 3.7 million premature deaths per year worldwide.
Time is another measured outcome. The IEA reported that households without clean cooking spend an average of 5 hours per day collecting fuel and cooking, combining those two activities in one estimate.
Source: IEA, “Executive summary – A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All”.
The same IEA Access for All scenario estimates that universal clean-cooking access could reduce premature deaths by 2.5 million by 2030 and save the average household gaining access nearly 1.5 hours per day. These are scenario results, not observed outcomes, and the time saving applies to households switching to clean cooking rather than to every household worldwide.
The IEA also models up to 1.5 gigatons of CO2-equivalent in global savings by 2030 under universal access. In the supplied scenario, sub-Saharan Africa could account for 900 million tonnes of those savings; both figures are modelled forecasts and include assumptions about avoided biomass and charcoal emissions.
Clean Cooking Energy Forecasts, Technology Shares and Investment
The IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario projects that 1.7 billion people would still lack clean cooking access in 2030. For developing Asia, the projected clean-cooking access rate is 82%, while about 760 million people would still lack access.
| Projection or pathway measure | Period | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| India population without clean access | 2023 to 2030 | 430 million to 285 million |
| Sub-Saharan Africa without clean access | 2030 | About 940 million |
| People needing access each year for universal access | Through 2030 | Nearly 300 million |
| Annual investment needed | 2020s through 2030 | About $8 billion |
Source: IEA, “Access to clean cooking – SDG7: Data and Projections” and IEA, “Executive summary – A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All”.
The IEA describes these as projections or pathway requirements, not realized results. Its investment estimate says clean-cooking investment would need to rise from around $2.5 billion today, with up to $4 billion of the decade’s total need in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the IEA Access for All scenario, the technologies supplying new clean-cooking access from 2022 to 2030 are approximately:
- LPG: 45% of people gaining access.
- Improved biomass stoves: 32%.
- Electricity: 12%.
- Biogas or ethanol: 10%.
The shares are rounded and may not sum exactly to 100% because of rounding. They describe people gaining access in the scenario, not the entire installed base of cooking technologies.
The pathway also models several system-level effects by 2030:
- Universal clean cooking access adds less than 3% to modern energy demand today in the IEA pathway.
- Fuelwood and charcoal use falls by 70% in emerging and developing economies.
- Electric cooking increases electricity demand by 10% in the pathway.
- The transition could employ nearly 1.5 million people in stove production, sales, fuel delivery and campaigns; this is gross employment potential, not net job creation.
- Expanded LPG access produces 0.1 gigatons of additional emissions in the model, while avoided incomplete combustion of biomass, coal and kerosene reduces emissions by 0.9 gigatons.
- Reduced deforestation contributes 0.7 gigatons of emissions savings in 2030.
These final figures are IEA scenario estimates, not measured changes. The report notes that modelled results depend on assumptions such as the biomass methane factor, and its LPG emissions figure excludes black carbon.