Power Plant Operators Salary — Buffalo, New York

The average Power Plant Operators in Buffalo, New York earns $96,400 a year.

$96,400 / year, mean
↓ 5.9% below national average 62th percentile in New York

Buffalo sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within New York — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's close to the national average for power plant operators — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within New York

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
80
Estimate confidence
RSE 1.9%
Cost of living 96 #92 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2005 #101 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $288,316 #110 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $70,572 #104 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Buffalo ranks #92 for cost of living and #110 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Wenatchee $150,930 Sacramento $135,310 Seattle $132,410 Fresno $131,280 San Francisco $130,890 Portland $128,530 New York $123,810 Chicago $116,150 Stockton $113,020 Detroit $111,910 Lubbock $110,650 Baltimore $109,540 Lakeland $108,370 Tampa $106,810 Albany $106,050 Los Angeles $105,840 Port St. Lucie $105,520 Dallas $105,190 Kiryas Joel $104,940 Bay City $104,870 Indianapolis $104,760 Spokane $104,720 San Jose $104,340 Lansing $103,900 Philadelphia $103,780 Jacksonville $103,400 Longview $103,000 Springfield $101,380 Louisville $98,580 Terre Haute $98,180 El Paso $97,980 Longview $97,480 Buffalo $96,400 Bakersfield $96,390 San Antonio $95,970 San Diego $95,380 Austin $94,730 Pittsburgh $94,570 Huntington $94,310 Riverside $94,120 Houston $93,920 Syracuse $93,580 College Station $90,490 Orlando $89,760 Rochester $85,960 Lexington $83,100 Watertown $79,290 Gainesville $78,880 Pensacola $75,930 Miami $73,000 Glens Falls $67,360 Richmond $67,130 Virginia Beach $64,660
CityMean salaryvs. Buffalo
Albany, New York$106,050+10.0%
Austin, Texas$94,730-1.7%
Bakersfield, California$96,390-0.0%
Baltimore, Maryland$109,540+13.6%
Bay City, Michigan$104,870+8.8%
Chicago, Illinois$116,150+20.5%
College Station, Texas$90,490-6.1%
Dallas, Texas$105,190+9.1%
Detroit, Michigan$111,910+16.1%
El Paso, Texas$97,980+1.6%
Fresno, California$131,280+36.2%
Gainesville, Florida$78,880-18.2%
Glens Falls, New York$67,360-30.1%
Houston, Texas$93,920-2.6%
Huntington, West Virginia$94,310-2.2%
Indianapolis, Indiana$104,760+8.7%
Jacksonville, Florida$103,400+7.3%
Kiryas Joel, New York$104,940+8.9%
Lakeland, Florida$108,370+12.4%
Lansing, Michigan$103,900+7.8%
Lexington, Kentucky$83,100-13.8%
Longview, Texas$103,000+6.8%
Longview, Washington$97,480+1.1%
Los Angeles, California$105,840+9.8%
Louisville, Kentucky$98,580+2.3%
Lubbock, Texas$110,650+14.8%
Miami, Florida$73,000-24.3%
New York, New York$123,810+28.4%
Orlando, Florida$89,760-6.9%
Pensacola, Florida$75,930-21.2%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$103,780+7.7%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$94,570-1.9%
Portland, Oregon$128,530+33.3%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$105,520+9.5%
Richmond, Virginia$67,130-30.4%
Riverside, California$94,120-2.4%
Rochester, New York$85,960-10.8%
Sacramento, California$135,310+40.4%
San Antonio, Texas$95,970-0.4%
San Diego, California$95,380-1.1%
San Francisco, California$130,890+35.8%
San Jose, California$104,340+8.2%
Seattle, Washington$132,410+37.4%
Spokane, Washington$104,720+8.6%
Springfield, Illinois$101,380+5.2%
Stockton, California$113,020+17.2%
Syracuse, New York$93,580-2.9%
Tampa, Florida$106,810+10.8%
Terre Haute, Indiana$98,180+1.8%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$64,660-32.9%
Watertown, New York$79,290-17.7%
Wenatchee, Washington$150,930+56.6%
Gross salary
96,400/yr
Estimated take-home
71,912/yr
Est. total withheld
25.4%

Single filer, federal + New York state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Power Plant Operators salaries in New York → All Power Plant Operators salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 51-8013 SOC code
Official area Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 15380 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ny_dtf_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
Cheektowaga
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: New York

Population (metro area)
1,161,385