In the United States, commercial nuclear power plants are clustered mostly in the eastern half of the country, with notable pockets in the Midwest, Southeast, and along parts of the West Coast.

Big picture: where they are

Most operating nuclear power reactors are in these regions:

  • Northeast & Mid‑Atlantic:
    • New York (e.g., Nine Mile Point, FitzPatrick)
* Pennsylvania (e.g., Beaver Valley, Limerick, Susquehanna)

* New Jersey (Hope Creek, Salem)

* Connecticut (Millstone)

* Maryland (Calvert Cliffs)

* New Hampshire (Seabrook)
  • Southeast & Gulf Coast:
    • Georgia (Vogtle, Edwin I. Hatch)
* South Carolina (Catawba, Oconee, Robinson, Summer – Summer is shut down)

* North Carolina (Brunswick, McGuire is just over the SC border)

* Florida (Turkey Point, St. Lucie)

* Alabama (Joseph M. Farley, Browns Ferry)

* Louisiana (Waterford, River Bend)

* Mississippi (Grand Gulf)
  • Midwest & Great Lakes:
    • Illinois (Braidwood, LaSalle, Dresden, Byron, Clinton, Quad Cities; Illinois has the most reactors of any state)
* Michigan (Donald C. Cook, Fermi)

* Wisconsin (Point Beach; some others like Kewaunee are shut)

* Minnesota (Prairie Island, Monticello)

* Iowa (Duane Arnold is shut down, no longer operating)

* Ohio (Davis‑Besse, Perry)

* Missouri (Callaway)

* Arkansas (Arkansas Nuclear One)
  • Mid‑Atlantic & South interior:
    • Virginia (North Anna, Surry)
* Tennessee (Watts Bar, Sequoyah)

* Kentucky has no operating commercial reactors.
  • West & Southwest:
    • California (Diablo Canyon; San Onofre is shut and being decommissioned)
* Washington (Columbia Generating Station)

* Arizona (Palo Verde – the largest U.S. nuclear plant by output)

* New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado have no operating commercial power reactors, though they have other nuclear‑related facilities.

By state (high‑level)

Here is a compact view of where commercial nuclear power reactors operate today (not counting research or fuel facilities):

Region States with operating nuclear plants
Northeast New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire
Mid‑Atlantic Maryland, Virginia
Midwest / Great Lakes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri
Southeast / Gulf Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas
West Arizona, California, Washington
A few states (like Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas) also have or have had commercial reactors, but some units have shut down or changed status over time, so the current operating list is best checked on an official interactive map.

How many plants and reactors?

  • There are just under 60 commercial nuclear plant sites , hosting about 90–95 reactors in total in recent years.
  • Many sites have two or more reactors, which is why the reactor count is higher than the plant‑site count.
  • The fleet is aging; several reactors have shut down in the last decade, while a few new ones (like Vogtle 3 and 4 in Georgia) have recently entered service.

How to see exact locations near you

If you want precise locations or to see what is closest to a specific city or ZIP code:

  1. Visit the official U.S. nuclear regulator’s “reactors by location or name” page, which lists plants by state and region and links to plant detail pages with maps.
  1. Use interactive nuclear site maps that plot power plants, fuel sites, and research reactors on a scrollable map of the U.S.
  1. Cross‑check plant status (operating vs. shut down) using recent fact sheets from national industry groups or energy agencies.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.