Kentucky Hydropower jobs: 154 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Kentucky employs 154 people in the hydropower sector — about 0.3% of the U.S. total. That makes Kentucky the 37th-largest state for hydropower jobs nationwide.
Hydropower Jobs in Kentucky (2024)
National share: 0.27% of all U.S. hydropower jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Kentucky ranks 37th out of 51 U.S. states in hydropower employment. At 154 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked New Jersey’s tally by 167 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 10,479 hydropower workers.
1.1 Kentucky’s position vs. the top 10 and median states
1.2 Share of U.S. total
The hydropower sector nationwide employs roughly 58,089 workers; Kentucky accounts for 154 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 hydropower-related sub-category reported for Kentucky in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Kentucky
Kentucky contributes 0.27% of the nation’s hydropower workforce. Within Kentucky’s own clean-energy economy, hydropower accounts for 0.5% of total clean-energy jobs (154 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 hydropower roles in Kentucky is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Kentucky-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrologic / Civil Engineer | $95,890 | $85,630 | 4 |
| Water Treatment Plant Operator (Hydro) | $54,460 | $48,633 | 3 |
See all 2 hydropower 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.