Gas Plant Operators salary

SOC 51-8092 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$87,820

per year, nationally

Middle half

$76,870–$100,870

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

18,030

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-8.8%

1,300 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$61,350$115,520

10th: $61,350
25th: $76,870
Median: $87,820
75th: $100,870
90th: $115,520

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Long-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where gas plant operators earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	California	$130,220	110.7	800	0.38×
2	New Jersey	$110,900	108.8	190	0.38×
3	Oregon	$109,760	103.4	70	0.33×
4	Connecticut	$109,060	103.6	—	—
5	Louisiana	$108,350	88.2	800	3.54×
6	Arizona	$104,600	100.7	140	0.38×
7	Massachusetts	$103,830	105.8	340	0.82×
8	Maryland	$102,950	105.0	180	0.58×
9	South Dakota	$101,450	88.6	90	1.65×
10	Arkansas	$100,870	86.9	400	2.68×
11	Minnesota	$100,500	98.6	360	1.06×
12	Michigan	$100,500	96.2	540	1.07×
13	New York	$98,390	107.9	240	0.21×
14	Utah	$98,300	98.9	160	0.81×
15	Colorado	$98,080	103.1	570	1.70×
16	Illinois	$97,810	100.0	530	0.74×
17	New Mexico	$97,660	92.2	300	3.01×
18	North Dakota	$96,760	89.0	770	15.56×
19	Maine	$93,990	97.0	30	0.46×
20	Iowa	$92,970	87.8	480	2.65×
21	Missouri	$87,820	90.8	220	0.64×
22	Nebraska	$87,790	90.1	270	2.28×
23	Virginia	$86,500	101.1	400	0.84×
24	Indiana	$85,790	93.3	280	0.76×
25	Wisconsin	$85,080	94.1	150	0.43×
26	Washington	$83,650	107.0	120	0.29×
27	Montana	$83,630	94.6	70	1.26×
28	West Virginia	$82,600	89.5	420	5.22×
29	Ohio	$82,130	92.8	570	0.88×
30	Mississippi	$81,600	87.0	340	2.50×
31	Wyoming	$81,550	92.7	480	14.64×
32	North Carolina	$81,460	94.3	320	0.55×
33	Georgia	$81,220	96.3	110	0.20×
34	Pennsylvania	$80,810	97.6	1,370	1.95×
35	Kansas	$80,760	90.1	350	2.09×
36	Texas	$79,910	97.1	2,550	1.57×
37	Idaho	$79,280	95.5	50	0.49×
38	Oklahoma	$78,310	87.8	970	4.90×
39	Alabama	$77,120	88.8	—	—
40	South Carolina	$67,580	93.7	280	1.06×
41	Florida	$67,170	103.4	130	0.12×
42	Tennessee	$66,560	91.9	200	0.54×
43	Kentucky	$63,070	90.2	200	0.86×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where gas plant operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for gas plant operators

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$125,550	113.6	210	0.29×
2	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$124,480	106.4	90	0.43×
3	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$118,870	112.6	270	0.24×
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$118,640	105.4	50	0.34×
5	Baton Rouge, LA	$113,570	90.8	100	2.15×
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$108,650	100.3	290	1.29×
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$104,770	108.3	210	0.66×
8	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$104,440	95.5	40	0.54×
9	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$102,810	103.6	340	0.65×
10	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$102,390	100.9	50	0.57×
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$100,500	104.8	290	1.30×
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$99,880	108.9	180	0.51×
13	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$98,900	111.9	120	0.68×
14	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$98,640	105.8	360	1.92×
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$97,080	111.1	50	0.21×
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$95,430	100.1	50	0.14×
17	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$95,260	91.7	100	2.24×
18	York-Hanover, PA	$94,170	96.0	40	1.95×
19	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$92,970	89.1	40	1.98×
20	Omaha, NE-IA	$91,320	91.9	130	2.31×
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$89,430	102.6	190	0.58×
22	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$89,140	97.3	120	0.79×
23	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$88,460	91.4	30	1.04×
24	Cleveland, OH	$86,290	93.9	40	0.36×
25	Charleston, WV	$85,790	88.7	100	8.26×
26	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$85,530	98.6	1,510	3.95×
27	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$85,350	95.8	50	0.76×
28	Wheeling, WV-OH	$82,720	88.3	80	11.50×
29	Columbia, SC	$81,960	93.7	40	0.83×
30	Columbus, OH	$81,700	95.5	70	0.58×
31	Pittsburgh, PA	$81,600	94.7	440	3.44×
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$81,430	103.1	200	0.43×
33	Kansas City, MO-KS	$81,290	92.5	60	0.51×
34	Greeley, CO	$80,950	100.2	40	3.22×
35	Birmingham, AL	$80,280	91.6	140	2.31×
36	Jackson, MS	$80,270	89.0	60	1.80×
37	Mobile, AL	$80,230	88.1	60	3.22×
38	Midland, TX	$79,910	95.8	90	6.30×
39	College Station-Bryan, TX	$79,770	91.0	30	1.99×
40	Boise City, ID	$79,280	98.4	30	0.69×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where gas plant operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$60,020
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers$96,710
Power Plant Operators$102,040
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators$78,620
Chemical Plant and System Operators$78,120
Plant and System Operators, All Other$62,470
Power Distributors and Dispatchers$106,730
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators$122,890