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Pay by state · 52 areas

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator Salary by State (2026)

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators earn the most in California at $81,770 a year and the least in Arkansas at $44,320 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $60,020. The table below covers all 50 states, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$81,770California
National median
$60,020BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$44,320Arkansas
Areas reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states. After cost of living, Nevada comes out ahead instead. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1California$81,770
  2. 2Nevada$81,440
  3. 3Washington$80,800
  4. 4Connecticut$78,820
  5. 5New Jersey$78,760

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Arkansas$44,320
  2. 2Kentucky$45,430
  3. 3Oklahoma$45,890
  4. 4Louisiana$46,210
  5. 5Mississippi$46,480

All states

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1CACalifornia
$81,770
$65,250$103,55011,630$73,853
2NVNevada
$81,440
$64,090$98,390N/A$81,457
3WAWashington
$80,800
$67,690$99,9402,030$75,505
4CTConnecticut
$78,820
$64,670$93,340980$76,074
5NJNew Jersey
$78,760
$62,280$93,5202,500$72,386
6MNMinnesota
$74,670
$62,850$79,5902,290$75,714
7COColorado
$74,200
$60,080$83,6202,620$72,002
8OROregon
$69,720
$60,670$80,5401,240$67,453
9MAMassachusetts
$68,550
$60,120$79,0502,510$64,818
10ILIllinois
$67,810
$55,260$83,1403,500$67,838
11HIHawaii
$65,560
$55,470$78,320610$59,627
12DEDelaware
$64,940
$54,960$76,240340$65,065
13NYNew York
$63,990
$53,700$79,6705,300$59,293
14VTVermont
$63,640
$57,240$76,580320$64,967
15WIWisconsin
$63,550
$54,860$72,6102,230$67,538
16PAPennsylvania
$63,310
$54,540$74,3004,660$64,885
17WYWyoming
$63,260
$52,320$83,820500$68,248
18NHNew Hampshire
$62,940
$54,630$72,610510$60,423
19MEMaine
$61,870
$57,920$72,480710$63,751
20MDMaryland
$61,870
$49,820$76,8501,770$58,947
21RIRhode Island
$61,820
$53,020$75,720420$60,442
22AZArizona
$61,340
$50,130$67,2003,950$60,928
23UTUtah
$61,290
$49,730$73,0901,900$61,994
24NENebraska
$61,220
$50,670$67,940740$67,944
25IAIowa
$60,990
$50,300$67,3902,370$69,495
26NDNorth Dakota
$60,470
$51,130$72,940550$67,975
27AKAlaska
$60,160
$46,800$83,700750$58,774
28VAVirginia
$59,420
$47,980$73,6003,460$58,771
29MIMichigan
$59,270
$49,790$64,5403,400$61,600
30OHOhio
$59,170
$48,980$65,6705,870$63,779
31FLFlorida
$59,030
$47,580$72,8307,440$57,081
32MTMontana
$58,040
$49,960$68,580690$61,324
33INIndiana
$53,540
$47,570$62,1203,140$57,367
34SDSouth Dakota
$53,370
$48,100$62,2301,060$60,247
35IDIdaho
$52,210
$45,940$61,6001,480$54,674
36SCSouth Carolina
$52,090
$45,810$63,3702,650$55,563
37ALAlabama
$51,870
$41,250$65,3602,770$58,397
38NCNorth Carolina
$51,680
$45,850$61,7403,620$54,789
39TNTennessee
$50,670
$43,250$61,9103,140$55,154
40MOMissouri
$49,940
$45,460$58,4003,000$54,990
41TXTexas
$49,460
$41,740$60,81010,520$50,960
42GAGeorgia
$48,930
$42,300$59,8703,310$50,814
43NMNew Mexico
$48,190
$38,270$62,1902,110$52,260
44VIU.S. Virgin Islands
$48,030
$45,130$72,84030N/A
45WVWest Virginia
$47,560
$41,110$57,9701,100$53,141
46KSKansas
$46,780
$40,830$56,2401,560$51,939
47MSMississippi
$46,480
$37,770$59,8501,150$53,454
48LALouisiana
$46,210
$37,120$55,9102,450$52,388
49OKOklahoma
$45,890
$38,130$52,0002,280$52,241
50KYKentucky
$45,430
$36,050$57,5102,540$50,389
51ARArkansas
$44,320
$37,150$52,6202,010$50,979
52PRPuerto Rico
$29,220
$22,150$33,1001,030N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, that changes the ranking: California leads on raw pay at $81,770, while Nevada leads once prices are taken into account at $81,457.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators the most?

California reports the highest median wage for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators at $81,770 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Nevada ($81,440) and Washington ($80,800).

Which state pays water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators the least?

Among the 50 states, Arkansas reports the lowest median for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators at $44,320 a year, $37,450 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $48,030 and Puerto Rico reports $29,220.

Is the highest-paying state the best for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators after cost of living?

Not on this data. California pays the most on paper ($81,770) but ranks 5th of 50 once each median is divided by the state's BEA Regional Price Parity ($73,853). Nevada leads after that adjustment at $81,457, from a raw median of $81,440. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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