Washington Nuclear jobs: 608 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Washington employs 608 people in the nuclear sector — about 1% of the U.S. total. That makes Washington the 28th-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Washington (2024)
National share: 1.05% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Washington ranks 28th out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 608 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 370 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 3,698 nuclear workers.
1.1 Washington’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; Washington accounts for 608 of them.
1.3 Where Washington sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 61,884 | #13 |
| Solar | 5,845 | #18 |
| Wind | 3,485 | #10 |
| Storage & Grid | 2,790 | #7 |
| Hydropower | 2,676 | #7 |
| Clean Fuels | 1,444 | #2 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,346 | #22 |
| Nuclear | 608 | #28 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Washington
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Washington in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Washington
Washington contributes 1.05% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Washington’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 0.8% of total clean-energy jobs (608 of 80,078 workers).
Cost-of-living in Washington is roughly 8.1% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Washington is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Washington-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $132,401 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $130,098 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Washington employers rate 21.6% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 21.4% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 43.0% of Washington’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 | 52,600 |
| Professional Services | 27,791 |
| Other Services | 21,844 |
| Trade | 15,877 |
| Utilities | 14,773 |
| Manufacturing | 14,722 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 3,231 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 428 |
| Mining and Extraction | 99 |
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.