Gas Plant Operators Salary: $121,763 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 15,910 gas plant operators nationally earn a mean of $121,763. Employment in the series shown fell about 16% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.9% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Gas Plant Operators: what the data shows
Common questions about gas plant operators careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a gas plant operators?
Gas Plant Operators is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 51-8092.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 15,910 workers.
What does a gas plant operators do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a gas plant operators make?
BLS national median annual wage: $83,400 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $121,763 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $82,201 |
| 25th percentile | $111,072 |
| Median (50th) | $128,226 |
| 75th percentile | $136,691 |
| 90th percentile | $139,666 |
What education do you need?
For Gas Plant Operators, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis, Judgment and Decision Making, and knowledge areas including Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, English Language, Computers and Electronics. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is gas plant operators in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.9% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -9.0%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -17.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 15,910.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do gas plant operatorss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 15,910 | 20.3% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 14,850 | 19.0% |
| Utilities | 6,680 | 8.5% |
| Utilities | 6,680 | 8.5% |
| Natural Gas Distribution | 5,840 | 7.5% |
| Pipeline Transportation | 4,930 | 6.3% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Gas Plant Operators in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Gas Plant Operators workforce.
Employment Over Time
15,910 Workforce in 2023
The Gas Plant Operators workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Gas Plant Operators.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$121,763 Average Wage
In 2023, Gas Plant Operators earned an average of $121,763.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Gas Plant Operators.
Salary distribution for Gas Plant Operators.
Employment Growth Projections
-1.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
1,746 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -9.0%
1,588 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -17.3%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Gas Plant Operators.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Gas Plant Operators and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Gas Plant Operators employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Gas Plant Operators.
Wage Trends by Industry
4.0% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 3.2% growth (Current: $124,483)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Gas Plant Operators.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Gas Plant Operators.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 1,590 employees, $82,470 avg wage
- LA: 1,120 employees, $91,430 avg wage
- OK: 980 employees, $75,520 avg wage
- IL: 810 employees, $90,150 avg wage
- PA: 780 employees, $75,180 avg wage
- WY: 690 employees, $86,190 avg wage
- OH: 660 employees, $72,380 avg wage
- CA: 630 employees, $118,680 avg wage
- MA: 480 employees, $98,350 avg wage
- CO: 480 employees, $92,310 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Gas Plant Operators.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 820 employees, $82,470 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 630 employees, $90,880 avg wage
- Lake Charles, LA: 530 employees, $101,400 avg wage
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 300 employees, $97,960 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 240 employees, $102,630 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 240 employees, $105,830 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 210 employees, $97,270 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 200 employees, $83,420 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 190 employees, $121,350 avg wage
- Oklahoma City, OK: 180 employees, $72,580 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Gas Plant Operators.
Diversity
Demographic information on Gas Plant Operators in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Gas Plant Operators in 2023 was 15,910 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Gas Plant Operators.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Gas Plant Operators.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Gas Plant Operators.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Gas Plant Operators in 2023 were Engineering, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Gas Plant Operators.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Gas Plant Operators workers.
Education level distribution for Gas Plant Operators.
Skills
Gas Plant Operators need many skills, but most especially Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis.
Required skills for Gas Plant Operators.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Gas Plant Operators.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Gas Plant Operators include Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, English Language, Computers and Electronics, Mathematics.
Knowledge areas required for Gas Plant Operators.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Gas Plant Operators include Perceptual Speed, Near Vision, Problem Sensitivity, Auditory Attention, Selective Attention.
Required abilities for Gas Plant Operators.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Gas Plant Operators.
Daily Activities
Gas Plant Operators spend their time on activities such as Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards.
Most important work activities for Gas Plant Operators.
About
Gas Plant Operators
The average yearly wage for Gas Plant Operators was $121,763 in 2023.
SOC Code
51-8092 - Gas Plant Operators
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Gas Plant Operators reports an average salary of $121,763, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 15,910 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -1.9%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.