California Nuclear jobs: 4,106 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, California employs 4,106 people in the nuclear sector — about 7.1% of the U.S. total. That makes California the 4th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in California (2024)
National share: 7.09% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
California ranks 4th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 4,106 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 3,128 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 200 nuclear workers.
1.1 California’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; California accounts for 4,106 of them.
1.3 Where California sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 312,090 | #1 |
| Solar | 116,380 | #1 |
| Electric Vehicles | 48,965 | #1 |
| Storage & Grid | 19,309 | #1 |
| Hydropower | 10,633 | #1 |
| Wind | 8,384 | #3 |
| Clean Fuels | 4,373 | #1 |
| Nuclear | 4,106 | #4 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in California
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for California in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in California
California contributes 7.09% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within California’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 0.8% of total clean-energy jobs (4,106 of 524,239 workers).
Cost-of-living in California is roughly 14.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in California is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | California-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $139,627 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $137,199 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
California employers rate 19.0% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 31.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 50.7% of California’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 | 261,790 |
| Professional Services | 179,480 |
| Other Services | 140,473 |
| Manufacturing | 135,925 |
| Trade | 114,418 |
| Utilities | 78,614 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 18,372 |
| Mining and Extraction | 11,089 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 1,334 |
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.