Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2004

17-2161 Nuclear Engineers

Conduct research on nuclear engineering problems or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and utilization of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal.

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)
17,180 8.8 % $42.67 $88,760 1.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $29.71 $35.26 $40.81 $48.18 $57.15
Annual Wage (2) $61,790 $73,340 $84,880 $100,220 $118,870

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 6,270 $40.14 $83,490
Scientific research and development services 2,910 $42.03 $87,430
Federal government (OES designation) 2,080 $40.50 $84,240
Architectural and engineering services 1,690 $41.86 $87,070
Waste treatment and disposal 690 $40.13 $83,460

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Management and technical consulting services 220 $49.16 $102,250
Other chemical product and preparation mfg. (7) $45.01 $93,620
Basic chemical manufacturing 100 $43.76 $91,020
Local government (OES designation) 150 $42.93 $89,300
Scientific research and development services 2,910 $42.03 $87,430

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
Idaho 500 $49.13 $102,200 0.087%
South Carolina 1,130 $40.88 $85,030 0.064%
Pennsylvania 2,850 $39.26 $81,650 0.052%
Washington 780 $36.78 $76,510 0.030%
Virginia 1,030 $36.03 $74,950 0.030%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Michigan 660 $74.84 $155,660 0.015%
Nevada 130 $54.60 $113,570 0.012%
Maryland 320 $51.93 $108,010 0.013%
Idaho 500 $49.13 $102,200 0.087%
Tennessee 440 $48.65 $101,180 0.017%

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
Benton Harbor, MI MSA 350 $79.03 $164,380 0.562%
Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA MSA 290 $42.62 $88,650 0.359%
Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC MSA 520 $42.75 $88,920 0.258%
Pittsburgh, PA MSA 1,440 $37.79 $78,610 0.133%
Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC MSA 470 $32.23 $67,050 0.065%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Benton Harbor, MI MSA 350 $79.03 $164,380 0.562%
Knoxville, TN MSA (7) $55.52 $115,470 (7)
Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA 130 $54.60 $113,570 0.015%
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA 460 $52.67 $109,560 0.017%
New York, NY PMSA (7) $45.66 $94,960 (7)

About May 2004 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 Architecture and Engineering Occupations

May 2004 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2004 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: June 02, 2005