Power Plant Operators · SOC 51-8013

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Power Plant Operatorss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for power plant operators. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (3 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 113 metro areas

Power Plant Operators: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA	$145,510	70	1.4
2	Fresno, CA	$138,930	130	0.3
3	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$137,030	Not published	Not published
4	Boise City, ID	$134,050	70	0.2
5	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$133,380	210	0.2
6	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$133,140	130	0.1
7	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$132,600	300	0.1
8	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$132,030	120	0.1
9	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$131,770	1,090	0.1
10	Reno, NV	$129,020	60	0.2
11	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$126,190	100	0.1
12	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$124,950	90	0.0
13	New Haven, CT	$123,840	50	0.2
14	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$123,540	640	0.1
15	Urban Honolulu, HI	$122,020	170	0.4
16	Jacksonville, FL	$119,550	90	0.1
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$119,380	260	0.1
18	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$119,080	120	0.2
19	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$117,850	50	0.2
20	Chattanooga, TN-GA	$115,920	60	0.2
21	Decatur, AL	$115,920	30	0.5
22	Knoxville, TN	$115,920	90	0.2
23	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	$113,540	90	0.4
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$111,260	230	0.2
25	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$110,950	220	0.2

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Power 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.