Gas Plant Operators · SOC 51-8092

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Gas Plant Operatorss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for gas plant operators. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 51 metro areas

Gas Plant Operators: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$125,550	210	0.0
2	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$124,480	90	0.1
3	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$118,870	270	0.0
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$118,640	50	0.0
5	Baton Rouge, LA	$113,570	100	0.2
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$108,650	290	0.2
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$104,770	210	0.1
8	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$104,440	40	0.1
9	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$102,810	340	0.1
10	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$102,390	50	0.1
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$100,500	290	0.2
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$99,880	180	0.1
13	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$98,900	120	0.1
14	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$98,640	360	0.2
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$97,080	50	0.0
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$95,430	50	0.0
17	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$95,260	100	0.3
18	York-Hanover, PA	$94,170	40	0.2
19	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$92,970	40	0.2
20	Omaha, NE-IA	$91,320	130	0.3
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$89,430	190	0.1
22	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$89,140	120	0.1
23	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$88,460	30	0.1
24	Cleveland, OH	$86,290	40	0.0
25	Charleston, WV	$85,790	100	1.0

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Gas Plant Operators overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.