Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

51-8013 Power Plant Operators

Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Include auxiliary equipment operators. Exclude "Nuclear Power Reactor Operators" (51-8011).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
33,770 3.0 % $24.60 $51,170 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $16.16 $20.21 $24.78 $29.35 $33.68
Annual Wage (2) $33,610 $42,030 $51,540 $61,040 $70,060

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Power generation and supply 21,570 $25.45 $52,940
Local government (OES designation) 4,980 $22.87 $47,560
Natural gas distribution 1,170 $27.07 $56,310
State government (OES designation) 780 $20.94 $43,550
Colleges and universities 750 $17.83 $37,080

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Management and technical consulting services (7) $32.84 $68,310
Commercial machinery repair and maintenance (7) $29.78 $61,940
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing (7) $29.09 $60,510
Office administrative services (7) $27.90 $58,040
Natural gas distribution 1,170 $27.07 $56,310

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Alaska 410 $25.67 $53,380 0.141%
Wyoming 230 $24.64 $51,250 0.096%
West Virginia 630 $23.62 $49,120 0.093%
Louisiana 1,330 $23.73 $49,360 0.072%
Idaho 290 $30.32 $63,070 0.051%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Idaho 290 $30.32 $63,070 0.051%
Hawaii 240 $29.19 $60,710 0.043%
New York 2,040 $28.30 $58,870 0.025%
Washington 530 $28.02 $58,290 0.021%
California 3,810 $26.85 $55,850 0.026%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Wheeling, WV-OH MSA 190 $21.49 $44,690 0.307%
Pine Bluff, AR MSA 50 $26.83 $55,820 0.147%
Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY MSA 210 $24.88 $51,740 0.138%
Merced, CA MSA 60 $23.30 $48,470 0.102%
Manchester, NH PMSA 90 $26.49 $55,100 0.084%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Ann Arbor, MI PMSA (7) $39.77 $82,720 (7)
Springfield, MA MSA 50 $30.82 $64,100 0.020%
New York, NY PMSA 630 $30.48 $63,400 0.016%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY MSA 290 $30.33 $63,090 0.055%
Lowell, MA-NH PMSA 40 $29.05 $60,430 0.033%

About November 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 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 mean 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) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

November 2003 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download November 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2005