Kentucky Clean Fuels jobs: 142 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Kentucky employs 142 people in the clean fuels sector — about 0.7% of the U.S. total. That makes Kentucky the 34th-largest state for clean fuels jobs nationwide.
Clean Fuels Jobs in Kentucky (2024)
National share: 0.70% of all U.S. clean fuels jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Kentucky ranks 34th out of 51 U.S. states in clean fuels employment. At 142 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Idaho’s tally by 87 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 4,230 clean fuels workers.
1.1 Kentucky’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; Kentucky accounts for 142 of them.
1.3 Where Kentucky sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 25,562 | #28 |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,954 | #11 |
| Solar | 2,268 | #31 |
| Storage & Grid | 822 | #31 |
| Wind | 298 | #47 |
| Hydropower | 154 | #37 |
| Clean Fuels | 142 | #34 |
| Nuclear | 122 | #33 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Kentucky
Every clean fuels-related sub-category reported for Kentucky in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Kentucky
Kentucky contributes 0.70% of the nation’s clean fuels workforce. Within Kentucky’s own clean-energy economy, clean fuels accounts for 0.4% of total clean-energy jobs (142 of 32,322 workers).
Cost-of-living in Kentucky is roughly 10.7% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for clean fuels roles in Kentucky is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Kentucky-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Engineer (Clean Fuels) | $100,090 | $89,380 | 4 |
| Biomass Plant Operator | $50,330 | $44,945 | 2 |
See all 2 clean fuels occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Kentucky employers rate 20.9% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.6% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 47.5% of Kentucky’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 | 78,131 |
| Construction | 20,948 |
| Other Services | 13,174 |
| Trade | 11,333 |
| Professional Services | 9,708 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 8,485 |
| Utilities | 7,670 |
| Mining and Extraction | 6,045 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 558 |
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.