Power Plant Operators in Nevada
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$101,078
after federal, FICA and Nevada tax
Tax takes
$30,322
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$104,226
Nevada costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nevada — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$131,400
Kept after tax
$101,078
Worth in national money
$104,226
State rank
2
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nevada is one of the better-paying states for power plant operators. The middle earner takes $131,400, which ranks 2 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 28.77% above the national middle.
- Within Nevada this is well-paid work. Of 485 occupations with published figures in the state, power plant operators ranks 18 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Nevada does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $131,400 you keep $101,078, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $104,226 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $115,780, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Nevada ranks 2 of 49 states publishing a median for power plant operators, at $131,400 — about 28.77% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation Nevada publishes a median for, power plant operators sits 18 of 485 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Nevada income tax, retained pay for power plant operators on $131,400 is $101,078. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $104,226 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $115,780 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Power Plant Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $71,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $131,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $141,600 |
| This salary | $131,400 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Nevada | $101,078 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,078 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$209 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $131,400 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$297 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of power plant operators in Nevada earn under $131,400 and half over. The published range runs $71,760 at the tenth percentile to $141,600 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Nevada's $101,078, worked from $131,400. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 18 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nevada, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $104,226, the adjusted value of that $131,400 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 18 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for power plant operators in Nevada, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $71,760 to $141,600; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Nevada take-home of $101,078, on $131,400 for work ranking 18 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 18 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nevada, so $104,226 — the adjusted value of that $131,400 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 18 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $115,780, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $71,760 at the tenth percentile, $141,600 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $104,226.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $101,078 survives, because Nevada levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Nevada is $115,780. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($71,760 to $141,600) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nevada rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nevada's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $104,226 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Nevada levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $101,078 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.