Virginia Nuclear jobs: 2,426 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Virginia employs 2,426 people in the nuclear sector — about 4.2% of the U.S. total. That makes Virginia the 10th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Virginia (2024)
National share: 4.19% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Virginia ranks 10th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 2,426 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 1,448 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 1,879 nuclear workers.
1.1 Virginia’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; Virginia accounts for 2,426 of them.
1.3 Where Virginia sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 79,241 | #9 |
| Solar | 6,005 | #17 |
| Wind | 2,527 | #14 |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,509 | #16 |
| Nuclear | 2,426 | #10 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,486 | #20 |
| Hydropower | 823 | #15 |
| Clean Fuels | 327 | #17 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Virginia
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Virginia in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Virginia
Virginia contributes 4.19% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Virginia’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 2.5% of total clean-energy jobs (2,426 of 95,344 workers).
Cost-of-living in Virginia is roughly 3.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Virginia is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Virginia-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $126,154 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $123,961 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Virginia employers rate 19.4% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 46.1% of Virginia’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 | 66,425 |
| Professional Services | 39,112 |
| Other Services | 30,402 |
| Manufacturing | 21,369 |
| Trade | 17,717 |
| Utilities | 10,936 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 6,442 |
| Mining and Extraction | 3,026 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 588 |
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.