Minnesota Nuclear jobs: 1,761 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Minnesota employs 1,761 people in the nuclear sector — about 3% of the U.S. total. That makes Minnesota the 14th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Minnesota (2024)
National share: 3.04% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Minnesota ranks 14th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 1,761 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 783 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 2,545 nuclear workers.
1.1 Minnesota’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; Minnesota accounts for 1,761 of them.
1.3 Where Minnesota sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 46,177 | #19 |
| Solar | 5,390 | #22 |
| Wind | 2,870 | #12 |
| Storage & Grid | 2,210 | #12 |
| Nuclear | 1,761 | #14 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,341 | #23 |
| Hydropower | 1,063 | #10 |
| Clean Fuels | 377 | #15 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Minnesota
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Minnesota in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Minnesota
Minnesota contributes 3.04% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Minnesota’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 2.9% of total clean-energy jobs (1,761 of 61,189 workers).
Cost-of-living in Minnesota is roughly 2.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Minnesota is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Minnesota-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $119,663 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $117,582 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Minnesota employers rate 15.4% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 34.3% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 49.8% of Minnesota’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 | 43,201 |
| Trade | 18,589 |
| Other Services | 18,110 |
| Manufacturing | 16,970 |
| Professional Services | 15,203 |
| Utilities | 13,997 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 3,043 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 1,707 |
| Mining and Extraction | 205 |
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.