Illinois Clean Fuels jobs: 464 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Illinois employs 464 people in the clean fuels sector — about 2.3% of the U.S. total. That makes Illinois the 11th-largest state for clean fuels jobs nationwide.
Clean Fuels Jobs in Illinois (2024)
National share: 2.30% of all U.S. clean fuels jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Illinois ranks 11th out of 51 U.S. states in clean fuels employment. At 464 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Idaho’s tally by 235 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 3,908 clean fuels workers.
1.1 Illinois’s position vs. the top 10 and median states
1.2 Share of U.S. total
The clean fuels sector nationwide employs roughly 20,220 workers; Illinois accounts for 464 of them.
1.3 Where Illinois sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 89,878 | #5 |
| Wind | 9,216 | #2 |
| Solar | 7,158 | #15 |
| Electric Vehicles | 4,525 | #8 |
| Nuclear | 4,209 | #2 |
| Storage & Grid | 2,789 | #8 |
| Hydropower | 979 | #12 |
| Clean Fuels | 464 | #11 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Illinois
Every clean fuels-related sub-category reported for Illinois in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Illinois
Illinois contributes 2.30% of the nation’s clean fuels workforce. Within Illinois’s own clean-energy economy, clean fuels accounts for 0.4% of total clean-energy jobs (464 of 119,217 workers).
Cost-of-living in Illinois is roughly 0.9% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for clean fuels roles in Illinois is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Illinois-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Engineer (Clean Fuels) | $100,090 | $100,991 | 4 |
| Biomass Plant Operator | $50,330 | $50,783 | 2 |
See all 2 clean fuels occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Illinois employers rate 17.2% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 28.0% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 45.2% of Illinois’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.
4.1 Employer hiring difficulty
4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group
| Industry (NAICS group) | Jobs (2024) |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 79,577 |
| Construction | 64,186 |
| Professional Services | 47,035 |
| Other Services | 45,006 |
| Trade | 32,565 |
| Utilities | 22,832 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 12,286 |
| Mining and Extraction | 3,986 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 2,939 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Data source: U.S. Department of Energy — 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (reflecting 2024 employment); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics; O*NET Occupation Database 29.1.
Last updated: April 2026.