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Average Nuclear Engineers Salary in Kennewick-Richland, WA

Nuclear Engineers in Kennewick-Richland, WA earn a median annual salary of $156,460, which is +16.8% compared to the national median. There are 230 workers employed locally in this occupation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates for Kennewick-Richland, WA (metro area).

$156,460
Kennewick-Richland, WA median annual wage
$75/hour median
+16.8%
Difference vs national median
National median is $133,970
230
Local employment
1.8 jobs per 1,000 workers
18.02
Location quotient
Above 1.00 means the occupation is more concentrated here than nationally
Pay distribution

Local wage range

10th
$105,530
25th
$127,270
Median
$156,460
75th
$173,320
90th
$211,590

All values are percentiles of annual wages.

This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in Kennewick-Richland, WA, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.

Regional price parity

Cost-of-living context

All-items regional price parity
100.1%
Exact metro RPP match
Median wage adjusted to the national price level
$156,336
Goods: 105.0%
Services: 93.6%
Rents: 94.8%
Comparison links

Comparable metros for this occupation

Metro Median annual wage Compare Employment
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $180,360 Compare 840
Knoxville, TN $179,660 Compare 240
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $161,050 Compare 330
Chattanooga, TN-GA $146,850 Compare 100
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH $144,830 Compare 220
Syracuse, NY $141,200 Compare 110

The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.

Area context

Top occupations in Kennewick-Richland, WA

Occupation Median annual wage LQ
Physicians, All Other $304,090 0.79
Chief Executives $287,180 0.42
Natural Sciences Managers $215,860 1.24
Dentists, General $203,250 1.01
Architectural And Engineering Managers $199,380 1.78
Computer And Information Systems Managers $175,970 0.27
Purchasing Managers $169,520 0.85
Financial Managers $168,000 0.44

Kennewick-Richland, WA has salary data for 341 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Physicians, All Other.

Historical series

Trend for Nuclear Engineers in Kennewick-Richland, WA

Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.

Interpretation

Outlook and page notes

Nationally, Nuclear Engineers are projected to change by -1.1% from 2024 to 2034, with 800 annual openings.

Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.

For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.