Pennsylvania Hydropower jobs: 567 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Pennsylvania employs 567 people in the hydropower sector — about 1% of the U.S. total. That makes Pennsylvania the 17th-largest state for hydropower jobs nationwide.
Hydropower Jobs in Pennsylvania (2024)
National share: 0.98% of all U.S. hydropower jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Pennsylvania ranks 17th out of 51 U.S. states in hydropower employment. At 567 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked New Jersey’s tally by 246 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 10,066 hydropower workers.
1.1 Pennsylvania’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; Pennsylvania accounts for 567 of them.
1.3 Where Pennsylvania sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 76,289 | #11 |
| Solar | 6,914 | #16 |
| Nuclear | 4,107 | #3 |
| Wind | 3,314 | #11 |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,871 | #12 |
| Storage & Grid | 2,312 | #10 |
| Clean Fuels | 659 | #6 |
| Hydropower | 567 | #17 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Pennsylvania
Every hydropower-related sub-category reported for Pennsylvania in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania contributes 0.98% of the nation’s hydropower workforce. Within Pennsylvania’s own clean-energy economy, hydropower accounts for 0.6% of total clean-energy jobs (567 of 97,033 workers).
Cost-of-living in Pennsylvania is roughly 2.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for hydropower roles in Pennsylvania is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Pennsylvania-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrologic / Civil Engineer | $95,890 | $93,685 | 4 |
| Water Treatment Plant Operator (Hydro) | $54,460 | $53,207 | 3 |
See all 2 hydropower occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Pennsylvania employers rate 27.5% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 27.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — tighter than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 55.2% of Pennsylvania’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) |
|---|---|
| Construction | 68,379 |
| Manufacturing | 60,115 |
| Other Services | 42,556 |
| Trade | 41,939 |
| Utilities | 21,411 |
| Professional Services | 20,736 |
| Mining and Extraction | 16,880 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 10,083 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 596 |
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.