As of right now, the U.S. has 54 operating nuclear power plants that run 94 active reactors. That’s a lot of atoms splitting in your general vicinity. They’re not evenly spread out, which is the first thing you should know.
Illinois, believe it or not, is the king of nuclear. It has 11 reactors across six plants—more than any other state. (Yes, the one I passed was home, and I didn’t even wave.) If you’re in Pennsylvania, you’re also spoiled: they have nine reactors.
You’ll find the biggest clusters in the East, the Midwest, and the Southeast. Think of it like a nuclear necklace draped from New Hampshire down through Virginia, then swinging west to Illinois, and dipping south through the Carolinas and Alabama. The West Coast? Barely a speck—California has one plant left (Diablo Canyon), and it’s closing by 2030.
And if you live in the Pacific Northwest? Sorry. The only plant there, Columbia Generating Station in Washington, is practically a loner. The rest of the region is all about hydro and wind.
