This interactive map shows every nuclear power station in the United States, drawn from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) dataset. Each marker represents an active nuclear generating facility. Click any plant to see its name, operator, location, and generating capacity in megawatts. Use the state filter to zoom in on a specific state, or use the distance tool to find out how far you are from the nearest reactor.
US Nuclear Power Stations Map
How to Use This Map
Exploring Plants
The map loads all US nuclear power stations at once. Each yellow circle marker represents a single plant site. Larger circles indicate higher nuclear generating capacity. Click any marker to open a popup showing the plant name, operating company, city and county, nuclear capacity (MW), and total site capacity (MW).
Filtering by State
Use the Filter by state dropdown to narrow the map to a single state. The map automatically recenters and zooms to fit the filtered results. Select All states to return to the full national view.
Measuring Distance to the Nearest Reactor
Click Measure distance to reactor to enter measure mode — the button turns blue and your cursor changes to a crosshair. Click anywhere on the map and the tool will calculate your straight-line distance to the nearest visible nuclear plant, draw a dashed line to it, and display the result in miles and kilometers. Click Clear to remove the measurement. The tool uses only the reactors currently visible (respecting any active state filter).
Sharing a View
The map URL updates automatically as you pan, zoom, and filter. Copy the address bar link to share your current view, including any active state selection.
Nuclear Power in the United States
The United States operates the largest fleet of nuclear power reactors in the world. As of the most recent EIA data, approximately 90 operating reactors across around 55 plant sites generate roughly 20 percent of total US electricity. Nuclear power is the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the country, making these facilities central to discussions about grid decarbonization.
Plants are concentrated in the eastern half of the country, particularly in the South and Midwest, where large baseload capacity is needed to meet regional demand. Illinois hosts more nuclear capacity than any other state. The newest US reactor, Vogtle Unit 4 in Georgia, entered commercial operation in 2024.
Data Sources and Limitations
Plant locations and capacity figures are sourced from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) via the ArcGIS Power Plants in the US feature service maintained by Esri. The dataset covers utility-scale generating facilities and may not reflect plants that have been decommissioned or newly commissioned after the last data update. Capacity figures represent net summer capacity in megawatts (MW).
Distances calculated by the measure tool are straight-line (geodesic) distances and do not account for roads or terrain.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many nuclear power plants are there in the US?
There are approximately 55 commercial nuclear power plant sites in operation across the United States, housing around 90 individual reactor units. The exact count changes as plants are retired or new units come online.
Which US state has the most nuclear power plants?
Illinois has the most nuclear generating capacity of any US state, with multiple multi-unit sites including Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, Quad Cities, and Zion. Use the state filter on the map to see all Illinois plants.
What does the nuclear capacity (MW) figure mean?
The nuclear capacity figure shown in each popup is the net summer capacity in megawatts — the maximum sustained output the nuclear units at that site can deliver under summer peak conditions. Larger plants typically exceed 2,000 MW.
Are all US nuclear plants shown on this map?
The map displays all nuclear plant sites present in the EIA dataset. Decommissioned plants that have been removed from the dataset will not appear. A small number of research or military reactors are not included, as the dataset covers commercial generating facilities only.
How accurate is the distance measurement?
The distance tool calculates a straight-line geodesic distance between your clicked point and the nearest reactor currently visible on the map. It does not account for roads, travel time, or terrain. Results are in miles and kilometers.
