Nuclear Power

The market size of the U.S. nuclear power industry was $37.2 billion in 2024, according to IBISWorld. The analytics firm reports that industry revenue declined at a compound annual rate of 1.3 percent from 2019–2024. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) foresees a decline in overall generation from nuclear facilities during through 2050. "This decline in net generation is due to nuclear plants being decommissioned and no new facilities being built," according to the EIA. Few U.S. baseload (nuclear or coal) power plants have been built since 1980. This is in part because many companies have restricted construction to peaking plants, small facilities, usually natural gas- or oil-fired, that are quick to turn on and off according to swings in demand.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the United States will need 27 percent more electricity by 2050, a fact that industry leaders believe reinforces the importance of nuclear reactors in the energy mix. As of 2024, there are no new nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S., but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing applications for new reactor designs. Popular support for nuclear energy remains strong in the United States. A 2024 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 56 percent of Americans supported expanding nuclear power in the country. This was down 1 percent from 2023, but an increase of 13 percent since 2020. Support for nuclear energy suggests a strong outlook for the future.

Since accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986, and Fukushima in 2011, the public remains concerned over the safety of nuclear reactors and the safe storage of radioactive waste. The nuclear industry and the federal government are developing standardized designs for nuclear power plants to make them safer, more efficient, and cost competitive with other electricity-generating plants. But, in recent years, more effort has been concentrated on the development of renewable resources for energy, such as solar and wind power.

The U.S. Department of Energy has conducted scientific studies of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the site for a proposed U.S. repository for high-level radioactive waste. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed a resolution that would eventually make Yucca Mountain a permanent repository. The Obama administration declared that Yucca Mountain should be withdrawn from use as a nuclear storage site in 2009 and another solution found, and federal funding for the site ended in April 2011. Lawsuits followed from states suing to continue use of the facility as part of their clean-up and waste management efforts. In the late 2010s, the U.S. House of Representatives attempted to revive the site, but the plan was rejected by the U.S. Senate. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy disclosed that it had shipped a large amount of weapons-grade plutonium to the site, but public outcry halted further shipments. The status of the site remained up in the air as Donald Trump began his second term as U.S. president.

Overall employment in the nuclear electric power generation sector is expected to decrease by 5.9 percent from 2023 through 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

Employment for power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers will decline by 8 percent through 2033. The DOL says that "efficiency gains are expected to impact nuclear power reactor operators’ employment. Nuclear power faces steep competition from renewable energy sources, making new, traditional reactors less attractive as many of the existing reactors reach the end of their lifecycles."

Job opportunities for nuclear engineers are expected to decline by 1 percent from 2023 through 2033. Employment for nuclear technicians is expected to decreased by 6 percent during this same time period. Employment for nuclear engineers who work for management, scientific, and technical consulting services firms will be much better—increasing much faster than the average for all careers. Likewise, job opportunities for nuclear technicians at scientific research and development services firms will be strong. Engineers and technicians with relevant work experience and strong technical and mechanical skills will have improved chances of finding work.

The average salary for those who were employed in the nuclear electric power generation sector was $119,400 in May 2023, according to the DOL. This is much higher than the national average ($63,098) for all private sector workers. Engineers had the following average earnings by specialty: mechanical, $133,440; nuclear, $125,010; chemical, $121,440; and civil, $114,420. Nuclear technicians received average salaries of $105,780, while nuclear power reactor operators earned $123,010. Overall, average salaries ranged from $56,410 (bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks) to $223,740 (top executives).