Hydropower · Missouri

Missouri Hydropower jobs: 462 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Missouri employs 462 people in the hydropower sector — about 0.8% of the U.S. total. That makes Missouri the 19th-largest state for hydropower jobs nationwide.

Hydropower Jobs in Missouri (2024)

462 Rank #19 of 51

National share: 0.80% of all U.S. hydropower jobs.

Typical Median Wage

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

1. Employment Landscape

Missouri ranks 19th out of 51 U.S. states in hydropower employment. At 462 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked New Jersey’s tally by 141 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 10,171 hydropower workers.

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

1st · California
10,633
19. Missouri
462
25th · New Jersey
321
51st · Hawaii
37

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The hydropower sector nationwide employs roughly 58,089 workers; Missouri accounts for 462 of them.

1.3 Where Missouri sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 42,296 #20
Solar 3,807 #28
Electric Vehicles 2,661 #15
Wind 1,597 #24
Storage & Grid 1,065 #25
Nuclear 890 #24
Hydropower 462 #19
Clean Fuels 238 #24

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Missouri

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

Traditional hydropower
462
Low impact hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetics
230

2. Pay & Career Roles in Missouri

Missouri contributes 0.80% of the nation’s hydropower workforce. Within Missouri’s own clean-energy economy, hydropower accounts for 0.9% of total clean-energy jobs (462 of 53,016 workers).

Cost-of-living in Missouri is roughly 8.2% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for hydropower roles in Missouri is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianMissouri-adjustedJob Zone
Hydrologic / Civil Engineer $95,890 $88,027 4
Water Treatment Plant Operator (Hydro) $54,460 $49,994 3

See all 2 hydropower occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Missouri employers rate 15.3% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 28.4% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 43.6% of Missouri’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
51.8%
Somewhat difficult hiring
28.4%
Very difficult hiring
15.3%
Not at all difficult hiring
4.6%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Manufacturing 41,465
Construction 39,205
Other Services 22,641
Trade 19,813
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 15,761
Utilities 12,472
Professional Services 11,896
Agriculture and Forestry 586
Mining and Extraction 253

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hydropower jobs are there in Missouri?
As of 2024, Missouri has approximately 462 hydropower jobs — ranked 19th 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 Missouri a good place to take one of these jobs?
Missouri is currently relatively loose. Cost-of-living runs 8.2% 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.