Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers

Detailed Occupation

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2023 Workforce

48.6k

Average Age

Average Salary

$112,958

Average Male Salary

$114,713

Average Female Salary

$90,343

About

Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers are most often employed by the Electric power generation, transmission & distribution industry. The average yearly wage for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers was $112,958 in 2023.

The locations that employ the most Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers are Southeast Utah & Uintah Basin Region PUMA, UT, Subsistence Alaska PUMA, AK, and Central Savannah River Area Regional Commission (East Central)--Columbia County PUMA, GA. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers are Subsistence Alaska PUMA, AK, Raleigh, Fayette Counties PUMA, WV, and Southeast Utah & Uintah Basin Region PUMA, UT.

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Production Occupations Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workforce. Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workforce in 2023 was 48,559 people, of which 7.2% were women and 92.8% were men. Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers are paid most in Dutchess County (Southwest)--Fishkill & Wappinger town PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Subsistence Alaska PUMA, AK.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

45,063

Male Workforce

± 5.21k

3,496

Female Workforce

± 1.45k

The Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workforce in 2023 was 48,559 people (7.2% women and 92.8% men). This implies an average annual growth of 2.88% between 2014 (47,200) and 2023 (48,559).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers.

During 2023, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were New Jersey ($144,372), California ($141,078), and New York ($140,503).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$112,958

AVERAGE WAGE

#49 in the ranking (2023)

$67,727

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2023, Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers earned an average of $112,958, $45,231 more than the average national salary of $67,727

The graph shows the ranking of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2023.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.287

WAGE GINI

In 2023, Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.287, which is lower than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers and on wages for those in the field. Electric power generation, transmission & distribution is the industry that employs the most Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers, by average wage, is Electric & gas, and other combinations ($127,442).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

48.6k

2023 Workforce

± 5,409

−1.65%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 16%

This graphic shows the share of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers employed by various industries. Electric power generation, transmission & distribution employs the largest share of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers at 87.8%, followed by uninformed with 4.5% and Natural gas distribution with 4.22%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers in the US. The workforce of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers in 2023 was 48,559 people, with 7.2% woman, and 92.8% men. The average age of male Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers in the workforce is 43 and of female Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers is 42.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers in 2023 was 48,559 people, with 7.2% woman, and 92.8% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 35 to 39 years (6,809 people), 30 to 34 years (6,668 people), and 40 to 44 years (6,514 people). Among them they concentrated 41.5% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2023, 9.61% of Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workers were Hispanic and 90.4% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (70%), Puerto Rican (12.8)%, and Cuban (5.91)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2023, 80% of the Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workforce were White, of which 6.68% were women and 93.3% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (7.38%) and Two or More Races (6.74%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers is Engineering but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2023 were Science Technologies.

Among the necessary skills for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers, Operations Monitoring stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers need more than the average amount of Repairing.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers in 2023 (counting all academic degrees) were Engineering (2,801 people), Business (1,942 people), and Engineering Technologies (1,011 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workers were Some college (14,295 people), High School or Equivalent (13,688 people), and Associates Degree (9,414 people).

The graphic shows the Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers need many skills, but most especially Operations Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Operation and Control.