Nuclear · Kansas

Kansas Nuclear jobs: 1,082 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Kansas employs 1,082 people in the nuclear sector — about 1.9% of the U.S. total. That makes Kansas the 20th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.

Nuclear Jobs in Kansas (2024)

1,082 Rank #20 of 51

National share: 1.87% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.

Typical Median Wage

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

1. Employment Landscape

Kansas ranks 20th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 1,082 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 104 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 3,224 nuclear workers.

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

1st · South Carolina
4,306
20. Kansas
1,082
25th · Arkansas
978
51st · Wyoming
5

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The nuclear sector nationwide employs roughly 57,942 workers; Kansas accounts for 1,082 of them.

1.3 Where Kansas sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 18,476 #31
Wind 2,098 #15
Solar 1,435 #39
Nuclear 1,082 #20
Electric Vehicles 824 #31
Storage & Grid 706 #33
Hydropower 201 #35
Clean Fuels 160 #31

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Kansas

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

Nuclear electricity
1,082
Nuclear fuels
156

2. Pay & Career Roles in Kansas

Kansas contributes 1.87% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Kansas’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 4.3% of total clean-energy jobs (1,082 of 24,982 workers).

Cost-of-living in Kansas is roughly 9.8% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Kansas is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianKansas-adjustedJob Zone
Nuclear Engineer $122,480 $110,477 4
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator $120,350 $108,556 3

See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Kansas employers rate 19.5% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.5% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 46.0% of Kansas’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
49.8%
Somewhat difficult hiring
26.5%
Very difficult hiring
19.5%
Not at all difficult hiring
4.1%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Professional Services 25,847
Construction 12,251
Manufacturing 11,416
Other Services 9,366
Trade 7,338
Utilities 6,522
Mining and Extraction 5,521
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 2,852
Agriculture and Forestry 679

Frequently Asked Questions

How many nuclear jobs are there in Kansas?
As of 2024, Kansas has approximately 1,082 nuclear jobs — ranked 20th 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 Kansas a good place to take one of these jobs?
Kansas is currently in line with national norms. Cost-of-living runs 9.8% 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.