Hydropower · Mississippi

Mississippi Hydropower jobs: 124 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Mississippi employs 124 people in the hydropower sector — about 0.2% of the U.S. total. That makes Mississippi the 41st-largest state for hydropower jobs nationwide.

Hydropower Jobs in Mississippi (2024)

124 Rank #41 of 51

National share: 0.21% of all U.S. hydropower jobs.

Typical Median Wage

$75,175
Sector-wide BLS OES median across 2 tracked occupations.

1. Employment Landscape

Mississippi ranks 41st out of 51 U.S. states in hydropower employment. At 124 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked New Jersey’s tally by 198 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 10,510 hydropower workers.

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

1st · California
10,633
25th · New Jersey
321
41. Mississippi
124
51st · Hawaii
37

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The hydropower sector nationwide employs roughly 58,089 workers; Mississippi accounts for 124 of them.

1.3 Where Mississippi sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 15,607 #34
Solar 1,451 #38
Electric Vehicles 984 #30
Nuclear 629 #26
Storage & Grid 512 #35
Wind 306 #45
Clean Fuels 153 #32
Hydropower 124 #41

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Mississippi

Every hydropower-related sub-category reported for Mississippi in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.

Traditional hydropower
124
Low impact hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetics
76

2. Pay & Career Roles in Mississippi

Mississippi contributes 0.21% of the nation’s hydropower workforce. Within Mississippi’s own clean-energy economy, hydropower accounts for 0.6% of total clean-energy jobs (124 of 19,766 workers).

Cost-of-living in Mississippi is roughly 13.2% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for hydropower roles in Mississippi is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianMississippi-adjustedJob Zone
Hydrologic / Civil Engineer $95,890 $83,233 4
Water Treatment Plant Operator (Hydro) $54,460 $47,271 3

See all 2 hydropower occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Mississippi employers rate 22.6% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 27.2% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 49.8% of Mississippi’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
45.8%
Somewhat difficult hiring
27.2%
Very difficult hiring
22.6%
Not at all difficult hiring
4.5%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Manufacturing 22,314
Construction 19,208
Other Services 8,422
Utilities 7,611
Trade 5,491
Professional Services 4,284
Mining and Extraction 2,762
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 2,677
Agriculture and Forestry 1,232

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hydropower jobs are there in Mississippi?
As of 2024, Mississippi has approximately 124 hydropower jobs — ranked 41st nationally.
What do these jobs pay?
Median wages across the tracked hydropower occupations range from $54,460 to $95,890 according to BLS OES.
Is Mississippi a good place to take one of these jobs?
Mississippi is currently in line with national norms. Cost-of-living runs 13.2% below 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.