Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
17-2161 Nuclear Engineers
Conduct research on nuclear engineering projects or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and use of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal.
National estimates for Nuclear Engineers
Industry profile for Nuclear Engineers
Geographic profile for Nuclear Engineers
National estimates for Nuclear Engineers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Nuclear Engineers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 12,670 |
5.1 % |
$ 58.54 |
$ 121,760 |
2.3 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Nuclear Engineers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 36.28 |
$ 45.12 |
$ 57.87 |
$ 65.50 |
$ 81.25 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 75,460 |
$ 93,840 |
$ 120,380 |
$ 136,240 |
$ 169,000 |
Industry profile for Nuclear Engineers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Nuclear Engineers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Nuclear Engineers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Nuclear Engineers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution |
4,550 |
1.21 |
$ 54.36 |
$ 113,070 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
2,760 |
0.13 |
$ 49.30 |
$ 102,540 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services |
1,810 |
0.23 |
$ 76.88 |
$ 159,910 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
1,070 |
0.07 |
$ 61.36 |
$ 127,620 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
270 |
0.01 |
$ 61.45 |
$ 127,810 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Nuclear Engineers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution |
4,550 |
1.21 |
$ 54.36 |
$ 113,070 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services |
1,810 |
0.23 |
$ 76.88 |
$ 159,910 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
2,760 |
0.13 |
$ 49.30 |
$ 102,540 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
1,070 |
0.07 |
$ 61.36 |
$ 127,620 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
270 |
0.01 |
$ 61.45 |
$ 127,810 |
Top paying industries for Nuclear Engineers:
Geographic profile for Nuclear Engineers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Nuclear Engineers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Nuclear Engineers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Nuclear Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Virginia |
1,330 |
0.35 |
3.94 |
$ 50.52 |
$ 105,080 |
| New Mexico |
890 |
1.15 |
12.79 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Tennessee |
840 |
0.28 |
3.12 |
$ 60.61 |
$ 126,080 |
| South Carolina |
820 |
0.40 |
4.40 |
$ 49.49 |
$ 102,930 |
| Idaho |
690 |
0.91 |
10.16 |
$ 70.47 |
$ 146,580 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Nuclear Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New Mexico |
890 |
1.15 |
12.79 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Idaho |
690 |
0.91 |
10.16 |
$ 70.47 |
$ 146,580 |
| South Carolina |
820 |
0.40 |
4.40 |
$ 49.49 |
$ 102,930 |
| Virginia |
1,330 |
0.35 |
3.94 |
$ 50.52 |
$ 105,080 |
| Tennessee |
840 |
0.28 |
3.12 |
$ 60.61 |
$ 126,080 |
Top paying states for Nuclear Engineers:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Nuclear Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
750 |
1.05 |
11.72 |
$ 43.98 |
$ 91,470 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
650 |
9.04 |
100.55 |
$ 68.99 |
$ 143,500 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
530 |
0.18 |
2.02 |
$ 62.84 |
$ 130,700 |
| Knoxville, TN |
500 |
1.32 |
14.63 |
$ 60.41 |
$ 125,660 |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
390 |
4.42 |
49.13 |
$ 48.39 |
$ 100,640 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
260 |
0.10 |
1.09 |
$ 61.47 |
$ 127,850 |
| Pittsburgh, PA |
220 |
0.21 |
2.31 |
$ 51.81 |
$ 107,770 |
| Monroe, MI |
190 |
5.27 |
58.55 |
$ 48.78 |
$ 101,460 |
| Baton Rouge, LA |
150 |
0.41 |
4.52 |
$ 42.70 |
$ 88,810 |
| Lynchburg, VA |
120 |
1.29 |
14.39 |
$ 49.88 |
$ 103,740 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Nuclear Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
650 |
9.04 |
100.55 |
$ 68.99 |
$ 143,500 |
| Monroe, MI |
190 |
5.27 |
58.55 |
$ 48.78 |
$ 101,460 |
| Portsmouth, NH-ME |
390 |
4.42 |
49.13 |
$ 48.39 |
$ 100,640 |
| Knoxville, TN |
500 |
1.32 |
14.63 |
$ 60.41 |
$ 125,660 |
| Lynchburg, VA |
120 |
1.29 |
14.39 |
$ 49.88 |
$ 103,740 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor, MI |
70 |
1.29 |
14.39 |
$ 67.83 |
$ 141,090 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
750 |
1.05 |
11.72 |
$ 43.98 |
$ 91,470 |
| College Station-Bryan, TX |
80 |
0.67 |
7.50 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Baton Rouge, LA |
150 |
0.41 |
4.52 |
$ 42.70 |
$ 88,810 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC |
90 |
0.41 |
4.51 |
$ 59.82 |
$ 124,420 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Nuclear Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 73.94 |
$ 153,790 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
650 |
9.04 |
100.55 |
$ 68.99 |
$ 143,500 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor, MI |
70 |
1.29 |
14.39 |
$ 67.83 |
$ 141,090 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 64.68 |
$ 134,530 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
530 |
0.18 |
2.02 |
$ 62.84 |
$ 130,700 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
260 |
0.10 |
1.09 |
$ 61.47 |
$ 127,850 |
| Knoxville, TN |
500 |
1.32 |
14.63 |
$ 60.41 |
$ 125,660 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC |
90 |
0.41 |
4.51 |
$ 59.82 |
$ 124,420 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
110 |
0.03 |
0.28 |
$ 59.40 |
$ 123,550 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
60 |
0.01 |
0.12 |
$ 58.96 |
$ 122,640 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Nuclear Engineers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Nuclear Engineers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Nuclear Engineers:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
