What does a Solar Photovoltaic Installer earn?

Federal figures put this role between $41,600 and $79,970 a year, with a national median of $53,140. The federal occupation for this role is Solar Photovoltaic Installers (SOC 47-2231), May 2025.

What credentials should a Solar Photovoltaic Installer have?

The credentials that command a premium in this seat are NABCEP (preferred). Requirements vary by state and by what the job actually involves, so treat these as what moves an offer rather than a legal minimum.

LED & SOLAR - ROLE PROFILE

Solar Photovoltaic Installer

Q: How long does it take to hire a Solar Photovoltaic Installer?

We have closed 0 led & solar searches in 2026 year to date - below the 8 we require before publishing a median. We would rather print the count than a number the sample cannot carry.

Federal figures put this role between $41,600 and $79,970 a year, with a national median of $53,140.

What this role pays.

We have not closed enough led & solar searches to publish a band of our own for this seat, so the figures above are the federal 10th to 90th percentile spread rather than a My Trade Talent band. They are national and not adjusted for experience or region.

The federal occupation for this role is Solar Photovoltaic Installers (SOC 47-2231), May 2025. Nationally it reports a median of $53,140 , with the middle of the market between $41,600 and $79,970.

Where it pays most.

Solar Photovoltaic Installers across the metros we cover, May 2025. BLS publishes a median for 39 of them and withholds the rest, where the local sample was too small to be reliable.

Highest-paying metros - Solar Photovoltaic Installers
Metro	Median	Employed there
San Francisco	$72,150	710
San Jose	$71,630	280
New York	$70,130	2,190
urban honolulu hi	$69,940	330
Las Vegas	$67,810	60
Portland	$66,320	210
santa rosa ca	$61,810	100
Seattle	$61,630	-
Indianapolis	$39,690	240
Baltimore	$45,220	490
Charlotte	$45,970	150

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The last three rows are the lowest-paying metros in the same set. Headcount is metro-wide across every industry, not this trade alone.

Credentials that move an offer.

NABCEP (preferred)

Licensing is a state question, not a national one. The LED & Solar hiring page carries the state-by-state position, and every market page names the authority for that state.

What the search actually takes.

We have closed 0 led & solar searches in 2026 year to date, which is below the 8 we require before publishing a median. We would rather print the count than a number the sample cannot carry. The Hiring Index shows what we do and do not have.

Keep reading.

2026 LED & Solar Salary Guide - the full benchmark by role.
LED & Solar recruiting - how we run this trade.
Salary calculator - the band by experience and region.
LED & Solar hiring in Houston - one market in detail.
Hiring Index - how long our searches actually take.

Other LED & Solar roles we recruit

Electrician (LED & Solar)

All 56 roles we recruit - every trade, every seat.

Hiring a Solar Photovoltaic Installer? Schedule a call.

What changed in your trade this month, and what to do about it.

One email a month, and only one. We write a separate issue for every trade we recruit in, so you get yours - not a round-up with your trade buried in paragraph nine. Every issue is written for the person actually doing the hiring.

Where wages moved in your trade, by market, and what that does to your next offer

How long roles like yours are taking to fill, and where it is getting worse

Interview and screening tactics that are landing candidates this month

What contractors competing for the same people are doing differently

Built on federal wage data, our own closed searches, and what we hear on the desk every week. Written for employers, not candidates. No pitch, no filler, one click to leave.