Power Plant Operators Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $89K, rent takes 20.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,147/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new power plant operators typically earn — is $56K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,361/month. At HUD’s $1,147/month FMR, rent would take 34% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 12% below the national median — $89K here vs. $102K nationally. Cost of living is 11% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway pays $89K median vs. the U.S. average of $102K — that’s -12%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 89.36), the purchasing-power equivalent is $100K — below the national median.

The median is $89,460 a year, that works out to about $43 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $56,020, and experienced power plant operators can clear $107,380. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,667/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,147/month, which eats 20.2% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway has a Regional Price Parity of 89.36 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median power plant operators salary is worth about $100,112 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.