Nuclear · Idaho

Idaho Nuclear jobs: 8 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Idaho employs 8 people in the nuclear sector — about 0% of the U.S. total. That makes Idaho the 45th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.

Nuclear Jobs in Idaho (2024)

8 Rank #45 of 51

National share: 0.01% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.

Typical Median Wage

$121,415
Sector-wide BLS OES median across 2 tracked occupations.

1. Employment Landscape

Idaho ranks 45th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 8 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 971 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 4,298 nuclear workers.

1.1 Idaho’s position vs. the top 10 and median states

1st · South Carolina
4,306
25th · Arkansas
978
45. Idaho
8
51st · Wyoming
5

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The nuclear sector nationwide employs roughly 57,942 workers; Idaho accounts for 8 of them.

1.3 Where Idaho sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 10,224 #42
Solar 1,231 #42
Wind 1,061 #33
Storage & Grid 1,014 #28
Electric Vehicles 379 #37
Hydropower 248 #32
Clean Fuels 229 #26
Nuclear 8 #45

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Idaho

Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Idaho in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.

Nuclear electricity
8
Nuclear fuels
11

2. Pay & Career Roles in Idaho

Idaho contributes 0.01% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Idaho’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 0.1% of total clean-energy jobs (8 of 14,393 workers).

Cost-of-living in Idaho is roughly 6.0% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Idaho is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianIdaho-adjustedJob Zone
Nuclear Engineer $122,480 $115,131 4
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator $120,350 $113,129 3

See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Idaho employers rate 20.9% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 29.9% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 50.8% of Idaho’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
45.3%
Somewhat difficult hiring
29.9%
Very difficult hiring
20.9%
Not at all difficult hiring
3.9%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Construction 9,750
Other Services 7,735
Professional Services 6,584
Manufacturing 4,050
Trade 3,420
Utilities 2,850
Agriculture and Forestry 745
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 675
Mining and Extraction 131

Frequently Asked Questions

How many nuclear jobs are there in Idaho?
As of 2024, Idaho has approximately 8 nuclear jobs — ranked 45th nationally.
What do these jobs pay?
Median wages across the tracked nuclear occupations range from $120,350 to $122,480 according to BLS OES.
Is Idaho a good place to take one of these jobs?
Idaho is currently in line with national norms. Cost-of-living runs 6.0% below the U.S. average, which raises or lowers real take-home on a BLS national median by a similar amount.

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.