Nuclear · Louisiana

Louisiana Nuclear jobs: 1,316 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Louisiana employs 1,316 people in the nuclear sector — about 2.3% of the U.S. total. That makes Louisiana the 16th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.

Nuclear Jobs in Louisiana (2024)

1,316 Rank #16 of 51

National share: 2.27% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.

Typical Median Wage

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

1. Employment Landscape

Louisiana ranks 16th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 1,316 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 338 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 2,990 nuclear workers.

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

1st · South Carolina
4,306
16. Louisiana
1,316
25th · Arkansas
978
51st · Wyoming
5

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The nuclear sector nationwide employs roughly 57,942 workers; Louisiana accounts for 1,316 of them.

1.3 Where Louisiana sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 23,118 #29
Solar 4,016 #27
Nuclear 1,316 #16
Storage & Grid 1,034 #27
Electric Vehicles 611 #35
Wind 476 #40
Hydropower 286 #29
Clean Fuels 189 #29

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Louisiana

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

Nuclear electricity
1,316
Nuclear fuels
196

2. Pay & Career Roles in Louisiana

Louisiana contributes 2.27% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Louisiana’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 4.2% of total clean-energy jobs (1,316 of 31,046 workers).

Cost-of-living in Louisiana is roughly 9.0% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Louisiana is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianLouisiana-adjustedJob Zone
Nuclear Engineer $122,480 $111,457 4
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator $120,350 $109,519 3

See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Louisiana employers rate 25.0% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.4% as “somewhat difficult”) — tighter than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 51.4% of Louisiana’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
43.0%
Somewhat difficult hiring
26.4%
Very difficult hiring
25.0%
Not at all difficult hiring
5.6%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Construction 55,919
Mining and Extraction 28,215
Manufacturing 25,620
Other Services 13,835
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 10,553
Professional Services 9,433
Trade 9,342
Utilities 7,440
Agriculture and Forestry 773

Frequently Asked Questions

How many nuclear jobs are there in Louisiana?
As of 2024, Louisiana has approximately 1,316 nuclear jobs — ranked 16th 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 Louisiana a good place to take one of these jobs?
Louisiana is currently tight (employers here struggle to fill roles). Cost-of-living runs 9.0% 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.