Arizona Nuclear jobs: 2,586 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Arizona employs 2,586 people in the nuclear sector — about 4.5% of the U.S. total. That makes Arizona the 9th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Arizona (2024)
National share: 4.46% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Arizona ranks 9th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 2,586 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 1,608 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 1,719 nuclear workers.
1.1 Arizona’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; Arizona accounts for 2,586 of them.
1.3 Where Arizona sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 46,313 | #18 |
| Solar | 10,253 | #6 |
| Nuclear | 2,586 | #9 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,706 | #17 |
| Wind | 1,489 | #26 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,288 | #24 |
| Hydropower | 443 | #21 |
| Clean Fuels | 318 | #18 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Arizona
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Arizona in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Arizona
Arizona contributes 4.46% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Arizona’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 4.0% of total clean-energy jobs (2,586 of 64,396 workers).
Cost-of-living in Arizona is roughly 2.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Arizona is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Arizona-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $124,930 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $122,757 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Arizona employers rate 21.9% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 35.2% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 57.1% of Arizona’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 | 46,142 |
| Other Services | 24,295 |
| Professional Services | 22,286 |
| Utilities | 19,593 |
| Manufacturing | 12,141 |
| Trade | 9,841 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 4,012 |
| Mining and Extraction | 573 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 124 |
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.