Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

108k

Average Age

Estimated Job Growth

−6.5%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$64,169

Average Male Salary

$64,597

Average Female Salary

$56,863

About

Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators are most often employed by the Water, steam, air-conditioning, & irrigation systems industry. The average yearly wage for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators was $64,169 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators are Subsistence Alaska PUMA, AK, Hampden County (West)--Westfield & Holyoke PUMA, MA, and Deep East Texas COG (West) & Walker County PUMA, TX. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators are Subsistence Alaska PUMA, AK, La Paz & Yuma Counties--Parker, Quartzsite, Wellton Somerton & San Luis Cities PUMA, AZ, and Ross, Hocking & Vinton Counties PUMA, OH.

Production Occupations Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workforce. Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workforce in 2024 was 107,941 people, of which 5.54% were women and 94.5% were men.

Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators are paid most in Rural Nevada PUMA, NV but are relatively concentrated in Subsistence Alaska PUMA, AK.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

101,960

Male Workforce

± 7.84k

5,981

Female Workforce

± 1.9k

The Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workforce in 2024 was 107,941 people (5.54% women and 94.5% men). This implies an average annual growth of 25.7% between 2014 (85,875) and 2024 (107,941).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were California ($86,397), Nevada ($85,976), and New York ($84,547).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$64,169

AVERAGE WAGE

#203 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators earned an average of $64,169, $5,709 less than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2014.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.265

WAGE GINI

In 2024, Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.265, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators and on wages for those in the field. Water, steam, air-conditioning, & irrigation systems is the industry that employs the most Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators, by average wage, is Natural gas distribution ($89,434).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

108k

2024 Workforce

± 8,063

2.03%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.4%

This graphic shows the share of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators employed by various industries. Water, steam, air-conditioning, & irrigation systems employs the largest share of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators at 51.9%, followed by Sewage treatment facilities with 42.4% and Executive offices & legislative bodies with 2.84%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators in the US. The workforce of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators in 2024 was 107,941 people, with 5.54% woman, and 94.5% men. The average age of male Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators in the workforce is 44.1 and of female Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators is 43.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators in 2024 was 107,941 people, with 5.54% woman, and 94.5% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 30 to 34 years (13,811 people), 35 to 39 years (13,035 people), and 55 to 59 years (12,419 people). Among them they concentrated 36.4% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 13.7% of Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workers were Hispanic and 86.3% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (68.9%), Puerto Rican (14.2)%, and All Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (4.07)%

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

Races

In 2024, 75.6% of the Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workforce were White, of which 5.21% were women and 94.8% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Two or More Races (10.5%) and Black (6.94%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators is Business but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Natural Resources & Conservation.

Among the necessary skills for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators, Operations Monitoring stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators need more than the average amount of Equipment Maintenance.

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 Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (2,290 people), Biology (2,170 people), and Natural Resources & Conservation (1,821 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 Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workers were High School or Equivalent (41,955 people), Some college (31,937 people), and Associates Degree (13,957 people).

The graphic shows the Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators need many skills, but most especially Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring.

Projections

Projections on job growth for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.07%, but Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators are expected to see a growth of −6.5% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators.

−6.5%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.07%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Water & wastewater treatment plant & system operators. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.07%, the average rate of national job growth.