District of Columbia Nuclear jobs: 119 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, District of Columbia employs 119 people in the nuclear sector — about 0.2% of the U.S. total. That makes District of Columbia the 34th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in District of Columbia (2024)
National share: 0.21% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
District of Columbia ranks 34th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 119 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 859 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 4,187 nuclear workers.
1.1 District of Columbia’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; District of Columbia accounts for 119 of them.
1.3 Where District of Columbia sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 12,625 | #37 |
| Solar | 1,677 | #36 |
| Wind | 349 | #43 |
| Electric Vehicles | 167 | #45 |
| Storage & Grid | 147 | #50 |
| Hydropower | 120 | #42 |
| Nuclear | 119 | #34 |
| Clean Fuels | 27 | #51 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in District of Columbia
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for District of Columbia in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in District of Columbia
District of Columbia contributes 0.21% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within District of Columbia’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 0.8% of total clean-energy jobs (119 of 15,231 workers).
Cost-of-living in District of Columbia is roughly 18.7% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in District of Columbia is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | District of Columbia-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $145,384 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $142,855 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
District of Columbia employers rate 16.6% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 35.2% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 51.8% of District of Columbia’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) |
|---|---|
| Professional Services | 10,078 |
| Construction | 5,954 |
| Other Services | 1,496 |
| Utilities | 1,307 |
| Trade | 1,223 |
| Manufacturing | 20 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 4 |
| Mining and Extraction | 1 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 0 |
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.