Nuclear Energy Generation by State

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Nuclear energy remains a major power source in the U.S. Nuclear power accounts for 18.3% of the total electricity generated in the country, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Choose Energy’s nuclear generation report analyzes the latest available EIA data (January 2026) to determine which states produce the most nuclear power. The tables on this page highlight how nuclear generation has changed nationally and at the state level. You can use this information to compare nuclear energy by state.

(The following states did not generate a significant amount of nuclear energy in January, so they will not be included in the findings below: Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.)

In January, Illinois generated the most nuclear energy, according to the EIA’s most recent data. Illinois produced 8,777 thousand megawatt-hours, followed by Pennsylvania – 6,962 and South Carolina –5,034

Nationally, nuclear energy generation increased approximately 1% from December 2025 to January 2026. The U.S. produced a total of 73,251 thousand megawatt-hours of nuclear power in January. Texas’ nuclear power generation increased by 0.5%. Virginia experienced the highest increase in nuclear energy production at 29.5%, while production in Georgia decreased by 9%.

Following is a list of the states with significant nuclear energy generation, the amounts (in thousand megawatt-hours) produced in January 2026, and how the percentage generation changed from the previous month.

Nuclear energy production increased 2.1% in the U.S. from January 2025 to January 2026. Tennessee’s nuclear generation rose the most over the course of the year, up 58.2%. Nuclear power in Texas increased by 5.7% since this time last year.

Following are the states that experienced the highest increase in nuclear energy generation compared to last year.

While nuclear energy rose nationally over the course of the year, several states experienced a decrease in production. Mississippi’s nuclear generation dropped the most, falling 10.1% since last year.

The following table shows the states that experienced the sharpest decrease in nuclear generation year over year.

Nuclear energy currently makes up 18.3% of all electricity generated in the U.S. In January, New Jersey produced the highest percentage of electricity from nuclear power. A whopping 54.5% of the state’s electricity came from nuclear sources.

The following table shows which states produced the highest percentage of their electricity from nuclear energy.

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