Best Cities for Nuclear Power Reactor Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where nuclear power reactor operatorss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	AlabamaState	1.11	$119,000	$136,625	10%
2	South CarolinaState	1.05	$118,620	$128,935	13%
3	IllinoisState	1.04	$123,980	$127,290	13%
4	NebraskaState	0.97	$108,650	$118,743	12%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$112,860	$117,808	16%
6	New YorkState	0.94	$129,580	$115,182	17%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).