Alabama Nuclear jobs: 2,131 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Alabama employs 2,131 people in the nuclear sector — about 3.7% of the U.S. total. That makes Alabama the 12th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Alabama (2024)
National share: 3.68% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Alabama ranks 12th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 2,131 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 1,153 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 2,174 nuclear workers.
1.1 Alabama’s position vs. the top 10 and median states
1.2 Share of U.S. total
The nuclear sector nationwide employs roughly 57,942 workers; Alabama accounts for 2,131 of them.
1.3 Where Alabama sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 31,549 | #26 |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,827 | #13 |
| Nuclear | 2,131 | #12 |
| Wind | 1,545 | #25 |
| Solar | 1,237 | #41 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,051 | #26 |
| Hydropower | 471 | #18 |
| Clean Fuels | 211 | #28 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Alabama
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Alabama in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Alabama
Alabama contributes 3.68% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Alabama’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 5.2% of total clean-energy jobs (2,131 of 41,023 workers).
Cost-of-living in Alabama is roughly 12.1% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Alabama is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Alabama-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $107,660 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $105,788 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Alabama employers rate 21.4% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 27.2% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 48.5% of Alabama’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 | 69,498 |
| Construction | 30,014 |
| Utilities | 17,198 |
| Other Services | 14,927 |
| Professional Services | 12,138 |
| Trade | 9,946 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 5,910 |
| Mining and Extraction | 3,386 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 1,002 |
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.