Wisconsin Nuclear jobs: 945 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Wisconsin employs 945 people in the nuclear sector — about 1.6% of the U.S. total. That makes Wisconsin the 22nd-largest state for nuclear jobs nationwide.
Nuclear Jobs in Wisconsin (2024)
National share: 1.63% of all U.S. nuclear jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Wisconsin ranks 22nd out of 51 U.S. states in nuclear employment. At 945 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Arkansas’s tally by 33 jobs, and trails the national leader South Carolina by 3,361 nuclear workers.
1.1 Wisconsin’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; Wisconsin accounts for 945 of them.
1.3 Where Wisconsin sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 58,160 | #15 |
| Solar | 4,429 | #23 |
| Wind | 2,002 | #17 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,925 | #19 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,526 | #19 |
| Nuclear | 945 | #22 |
| Clean Fuels | 308 | #20 |
| Hydropower | 305 | #27 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Wisconsin
Every nuclear-related sub-category reported for Wisconsin in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Wisconsin
Wisconsin contributes 1.63% of the nation’s nuclear workforce. Within Wisconsin’s own clean-energy economy, nuclear accounts for 1.4% of total clean-energy jobs (945 of 69,599 workers).
Cost-of-living in Wisconsin is roughly 6.9% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for nuclear roles in Wisconsin is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Wisconsin-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Engineer | $122,480 | $114,029 | 4 |
| Nuclear Power Reactor Operator | $120,350 | $112,046 | 3 |
See all 2 nuclear occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Wisconsin employers rate 20.1% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 24.9% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 45.0% of Wisconsin’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 | 46,604 |
| Construction | 38,757 |
| Trade | 19,019 |
| Other Services | 18,866 |
| Professional Services | 10,962 |
| Utilities | 8,479 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 4,864 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 898 |
| Mining and Extraction | 50 |
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.