Tennessee Nuclear jobs: 94 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Tennessee employs 94 people in the nuclear sector — about 0.2% of the U.S. total. That makes Tennessee the 37th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Tennessee (2024)
National share: 0.16% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Tennessee ranks 37th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 94 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 884 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 4,212 nuclear workers.
1.1 Tennessee’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; Tennessee accounts for 94 of them.
1.3 Where Tennessee sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 53,319 | #17 |
| Hydropower | 5,802 | #3 |
| Solar | 5,590 | #21 |
| Electric Vehicles | 5,332 | #7 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,137 | #21 |
| Wind | 849 | #35 |
| Clean Fuels | 253 | #22 |
| Nuclear | 94 | #37 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Tennessee
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Tennessee in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Tennessee
Tennessee contributes 0.16% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Tennessee’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 0.1% of total clean-energy jobs (94 of 72,376 workers).
Cost-of-living in Tennessee is roughly 7.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Tennessee is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Tennessee-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $113,539 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $111,564 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Tennessee employers rate 18.2% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.6% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 44.8% of Tennessee’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) |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 86,997 |
| Construction | 44,586 |
| Trade | 22,813 |
| Other Services | 22,441 |
| Utilities | 19,794 |
| Professional Services | 15,934 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 6,701 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 390 |
| Mining and Extraction | 379 |
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.