Clean Fuels · Virginia

Virginia Clean Fuels jobs: 327 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Virginia employs 327 people in the clean fuels sector — about 1.6% of the U.S. total. That makes Virginia the 17th-largest state for clean fuels jobs nationwide.

Clean Fuels Jobs in Virginia (2024)

327 Rank #17 of 51

National share: 1.62% of all U.S. clean fuels jobs.

Typical Median Wage

$75,210
Sector-wide BLS OES median across 2 tracked occupations.

1. Employment Landscape

Virginia ranks 17th out of 51 U.S. states in clean fuels employment. At 327 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Idaho’s tally by 98 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 4,046 clean fuels workers.

1.1 Virginia’s position vs. the top 10 and median states

1st · California
4,373
17. Virginia
327
25th · Idaho
229
51st · District of Columbia
27

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The clean fuels sector nationwide employs roughly 20,220 workers; Virginia accounts for 327 of them.

1.3 Where Virginia sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 79,241 #9
Solar 6,005 #17
Wind 2,527 #14
Electric Vehicles 2,509 #16
Nuclear 2,426 #10
Storage & Grid 1,486 #20
Hydropower 823 #15
Clean Fuels 327 #17

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Virginia

Every clean fuels-related sub-category reported for Virginia in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.

Fuels total
14,526
Oil (petroleum and other fossil fuels)
5,891
Coal fuels
3,373
Natural gas fuels
2,047
Woody biomass
1,364
Other fuels
820
Other biofuels
327
Other ethanol and non-woody biomass
184
Corn ethanol
175

2. Pay & Career Roles in Virginia

Virginia contributes 1.62% of the nation’s clean fuels workforce. Within Virginia’s own clean-energy economy, clean fuels accounts for 0.3% of total clean-energy jobs (327 of 95,344 workers).

Cost-of-living in Virginia is roughly 3.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for clean fuels roles in Virginia is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianVirginia-adjustedJob Zone
Environmental Engineer (Clean Fuels) $100,090 $103,093 4
Biomass Plant Operator $50,330 $51,840 2

See all 2 clean fuels occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Virginia employers rate 19.4% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 46.1% of Virginia’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
47.0%
Somewhat difficult hiring
26.7%
Very difficult hiring
19.4%
Not at all difficult hiring
6.9%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Construction 66,425
Professional Services 39,112
Other Services 30,402
Manufacturing 21,369
Trade 17,717
Utilities 10,936
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 6,442
Mining and Extraction 3,026
Agriculture and Forestry 588

Frequently Asked Questions

How many clean fuels jobs are there in Virginia?
As of 2024, Virginia has approximately 327 clean fuels jobs — ranked 17th nationally.
What do these jobs pay?
Median wages across the tracked clean fuels occupations range from $50,330 to $100,090 according to BLS OES.
Is Virginia a good place to take one of these jobs?
Virginia is currently in line with national norms. Cost-of-living runs 3.0% above the U.S. average, which raises or lowers real take-home on a BLS national median by a similar amount.

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.