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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

51-8011 Nuclear Power Reactor Operators

Operate or control nuclear reactors. Move control rods, start and stop equipment, monitor and adjust controls, and record data in logs. Implement emergency procedures when needed. May respond to abnormalities, determine cause, and recommend corrective action.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
5,050 5.9 % $48.55 $100,990 1.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $35.83 $41.95 $48.33 $56.19 $61.93
Annual Wage (2) $74,520 $87,250 $100,530 $116,880 $128,810


Industry profile for this occupation:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 4,300 1.12 $48.97 $101,850
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 390 0.02 $46.56 $96,850
Scientific Research and Development Services 160 0.02 $48.51 $100,900
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 100 0.00 $47.31 $98,400

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 4,300 1.12 $48.97 $101,850
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 390 0.02 $46.56 $96,850
Scientific Research and Development Services 160 0.02 $48.51 $100,900
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 100 0.00 $47.31 $98,400

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 4,300 1.12 $48.97 $101,850
Scientific Research and Development Services 160 0.02 $48.51 $100,900
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 100 (7) $47.31 $98,400
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 390 0.02 $46.56 $96,850
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (8) (8) $32.90 $68,430


Geographic profile for this occupation:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 380 0.04 1.17 $54.57 $113,500
North Carolina 360 0.08 2.35 $48.35 $100,560
Pennsylvania 330 0.06 1.63 (8) (8)
Michigan 280 0.07 1.91 (8) (8)
Illinois 270 0.05 1.31 $47.63 $99,080




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Louisiana 180 0.09 2.74 $48.11 $100,080
Tennessee 240 0.08 2.29 $45.90 $95,460
North Carolina 360 0.08 2.35 $48.35 $100,560
Michigan 280 0.07 1.91 (8) (8)
Pennsylvania 330 0.06 1.63 (8) (8)




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 380 0.04 1.17 $54.57 $113,500
North Carolina 360 0.08 2.35 $48.35 $100,560
Louisiana 180 0.09 2.74 $48.11 $100,080
Illinois 270 0.05 1.31 $47.63 $99,080
Tennessee 240 0.08 2.29 $45.90 $95,460





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 110 0.06 1.60 $47.83 $99,490
Columbia, SC 60 0.16 4.64 $43.19 $89,840
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 30 0.01 0.34 $45.84 $95,350




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Columbia, SC 60 0.16 4.64 $43.19 $89,840
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 110 0.06 1.60 $47.83 $99,490
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 30 0.01 0.34 $45.84 $95,350




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 110 0.06 1.60 $47.83 $99,490
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 30 0.01 0.34 $45.84 $95,350
Columbia, SC 60 0.16 4.64 $43.19 $89,840

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area 120 0.92 26.66 (8) (8)

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area 120 0.92 26.66 (8) (8)


About May 2019 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020