Which state makes the most nuclear power?
🔎 Skip to the answer (ranking table)Guess
Which states make the most nuclear power in a year? Tap them most-to-least.
Tapping assigns 1→4 in order
I bet… California — or maybe New York!
Answer
The real order is…
Illinois makes about 1.32× as much nuclear power as #2 Pennsylvania — it runs one of the biggest fleets of reactors in the country.
📚 Background Not a coastal high-tech state — Illinois makes the most nuclear power, about 1.3× as much as #2 Pennsylvania. Illinois runs one of the country's biggest fleets of nuclear reactors, and nuclear makes a huge share of its electricity. Only about half the states make any nuclear power at all. (U.S. EIA, electricity data) (opens in a new tab)
🔍 Explore more: ⚡『The oil state that quietly went green』→ I bet… California — or maybe New York!
Compare
Nuclear power generated (billion kWh, by state, 2024)
Highest: Illinois (99.2 billion kWh); lowest shown here: Nebraska (6.1 billion kWh).
Note: net electricity from nuclear power plants, in billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) — 2024, U.S. EIA. Only about half the states have a nuclear plant; those are shown.
Geography is destiny!
Recap
🏅 Today's discovery
🏅 Illinois is the USA's #1!
🐕 States in Numbers
Quiz a friend!
📋 See the ranking table (top 28)
| Rank | State | Value |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Illinois | 99.2 billion kWh |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | 75.4 billion kWh |
| #3 | South Carolina | 53.8 billion kWh |
| #4 | Georgia | 48 billion kWh |
| #5 | Alabama | 44.5 billion kWh |
| #6 | North Carolina | 43.3 billion kWh |
| #7 | Texas | 38.6 billion kWh |
| #8 | Arizona | 32.4 billion kWh |
| #9 | Tennessee | 32.2 billion kWh |
| #10 | Florida | 29.1 billion kWh |
| #11 | Virginia | 28.9 billion kWh |
| #12 | New Jersey | 27.7 billion kWh |
| #13 | New York | 27.1 billion kWh |
| #14 | Michigan | 26.3 billion kWh |
| #15 | California | 18.4 billion kWh |
| #16 | Ohio | 17.9 billion kWh |
| #17 | Connecticut | 16.9 billion kWh |
| #18 | Arkansas | 14.8 billion kWh |
| #19 | Maryland | 14.7 billion kWh |
| #19 | Louisiana | 14.7 billion kWh |
| #21 | Minnesota | 11.8 billion kWh |
| #22 | Mississippi | 10.7 billion kWh |
| #23 | Missouri | 10.5 billion kWh |
| #24 | Wisconsin | 10.1 billion kWh |
| #25 | Washington | 10 billion kWh |
| #26 | New Hampshire | 9.7 billion kWh |
| #27 | Kansas | 9.2 billion kWh |
| #28 | Nebraska | 6.1 billion kWh |
Only about half the states have a nuclear plant; those are shown.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (2024)
Sources
Data as of: 2024
U.S. EIA: net generation from nuclear by state, 2024 (opens in a new tab) (2026-07-24) — Official published values (the committed raw file holds EIA's megawatt-hour value for every generating state; the display converts to billion kWh).
↳ On eia.gov/electricity/data/state, open 'Annual generation by state and energy source', filter YEAR 2024, TYPE OF PRODUCER 'Total Electric Power Industry', ENERGY SOURCE 'Nuclear'.