The average solar installer in the United States earns $57,900 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $53,140. That works out at about $27.84 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: New Jersey averages $78,690 and North Carolina $47,420. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a solar installer actually does for that money
Solar photovoltaic installers are one of the newest occupations BLS tracks, and the count is small enough that many states have too few employers for a published figure. Most work for installation contractors rather than manufacturers, and employment tracks state incentives more than it tracks sunshine.
What solar installers earn, from bottom to top
An average hides the spread, and the spread is what matters when you are deciding whether to enter the trade or what to pay someone. Here is the full range BLS publishes.
| Percentile | Annual | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $41,600 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $46,700 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $53,140 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $62,870 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $79,970 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Solar salary by state
BLS published this occupation in only 32 states. Where too few employers report, the figure is suppressed rather than estimated, so those states are simply absent from the table below.
New Jersey pays the most at $78,690 a year, and North Carolina the least at $47,420. Cost of living explains part of that gap and licensing rules explain a good deal of the rest.
| # | State | Average annual | Median annual | Hourly | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $78,690 | $78,950 | $37.83 | 1,880 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $73,000 | $70,370 | $35.10 | 420 |
| 3 | Oregon | $71,390 | $66,320 | $34.32 | 360 |
| 4 | Nevada | $70,830 | $67,810 | $34.05 | 100 |
| 5 | Maine | $64,350 | $61,210 | $30.94 | 60 |
| 6 | California | $63,280 | $60,600 | $30.42 | 6,830 |
| 7 | Illinois | $62,480 | $59,630 | $30.04 | n/a |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $61,910 | $59,180 | $29.77 | 620 |
| 9 | Ohio | $59,010 | $62,400 | $28.37 | 70 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | $58,150 | $49,770 | $27.96 | 90 |
| 11 | Washington | $58,030 | $61,630 | $27.90 | n/a |
| 12 | New York | $56,940 | $56,160 | $27.38 | 1,230 |
| 13 | Iowa | $56,890 | $56,740 | $27.35 | 180 |
| 14 | Vermont | $55,730 | $49,490 | $26.80 | 250 |
| 15 | Connecticut | $55,290 | $55,590 | $26.58 | n/a |
| 16 | South Carolina | $54,980 | $50,490 | $26.43 | n/a |
| 17 | Utah | $54,960 | $49,980 | $26.42 | 770 |
| 18 | Florida | $54,780 | $50,550 | $26.34 | 2,980 |
| 19 | Colorado | $54,510 | $49,730 | $26.21 | 620 |
| 20 | Arizona | $54,170 | $51,160 | $26.05 | 1,280 |
| 21 | New Mexico | $53,810 | $48,490 | $25.87 | 340 |
| 22 | South Dakota | $53,180 | $42,380 | $25.57 | 50 |
| 23 | Virginia | $53,160 | $49,190 | $25.56 | n/a |
| 24 | Texas | $52,500 | $48,240 | $25.24 | 5,270 |
| 25 | Maryland | $51,540 | $45,430 | $24.78 | 670 |
| 26 | Kansas | $51,210 | $49,990 | $24.62 | n/a |
| 27 | Georgia | $51,030 | $47,790 | $24.54 | n/a |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $50,680 | $47,760 | $24.36 | 1,210 |
| 29 | Michigan | $50,520 | $47,080 | $24.29 | 310 |
| 30 | Indiana | $49,310 | $46,140 | $23.71 | 490 |
| 31 | Arkansas | $48,710 | $44,820 | $23.42 | n/a |
| 32 | North Carolina | $47,420 | $43,860 | $22.80 | 710 |
Where the money is: highest paying metros
State averages flatten out the difference between a city and the rural county next to it. These are the metro areas paying solar installers the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $77,060 | $37.05 |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $74,770 | $35.95 |
| 3 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $74,210 | $35.68 |
| 4 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $72,710 | $34.96 |
| 5 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $72,470 | $34.84 |
| 6 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $72,270 | $34.74 |
| 7 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $71,460 | $34.36 |
| 8 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $71,200 | $34.23 |
| 9 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $66,410 | $31.93 |
| 10 | Salinas, CA | $65,860 | $31.67 |
What moves the number
- Most states require an electrical or specialty solar license for interconnection work, and NABCEP certification is the credential the industry actually recognizes.
- Installation demand moves with incentives and utility rate changes rather than with the weather, which makes this the most policy-sensitive trade on this list.
- Battery storage, commercial arrays and interconnection design pay above residential panel installation, and the storage side is where the growth is.
- The bottom ten percent of solar installers earn under $41,600 and the top ten percent clear $79,970. That gap is the trade telling you where the money is.
- Working for somebody else and working for yourself are different questions. These figures cover employed solar installers on a payroll, so they exclude the self-employed, and in this trade a large share of the best operators are exactly that.
What you can earn running the business instead
The number above is a wage. Running the business is a different calculation: you take the full ticket rather than an hourly rate, and what you keep depends on how many jobs you fit in a week, how quickly you get paid and how much of your day goes on scheduling, estimates and chasing invoices instead of on the work. That is the part software actually changes. Owners who put scheduling, estimating, invoicing and automated follow-up in one place tend to run more jobs with the same crew, which is where the gap between a solar installer wage and an owner income opens up.
Solar salary FAQs
- How much do solar installers make a year?
- The median solar installer in the United States earns $53,140 a year and the average is $57,900, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do solar installers make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $27.84. Annual earnings are usually higher than that rate multiplied by a standard year, because overtime, call-outs and premium work are not in the base rate.
- Which state pays solar installers the most?
- New Jersey pays the most at an average of $78,690 a year, followed by Hawaii at $73,000 and Oregon at $71,390. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay solar installers the most?
- Kahului-Wailuku, HI tops the list at an average of $77,060 a year, with New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ at $74,770. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can solar installers earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $79,970. Owners are a different question, because they are paid on the job rather than on the hour, and owner income is not in these figures.
- Do these figures include self-employed solar installers?
- No. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program covers wage and salary workers, so sole proprietors and business owners are excluded. In a trade with as many owner-operators as this one, that matters when you read the number.
- Where does this solar salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Solar Photovoltaic Installers" (SOC 47-2231). It is a survey of employers rather than of workers, which is why it is more reliable than self-reported salary sites.
All wage figures on this page are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. BLS suppresses figures in areas with too few employers to publish safely; those appear as n/a rather than an estimate.
