LED & Solar recruiters serving Akron.
BLS counts 77 business locations of nonresidential electrical contractors across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Akron.
BLS counts about 1,430 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Akron metro, the largest group being electricians (about 1,360). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Akron: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Akron: 1,360 employed · $77,360 median, 18th-highest of 112 metros
Solar Electrician
Solar Project Manager
O*NET 47-1011.03 - Solar Energy Installation Managers, a Bright Outlook occupation; wage data rolls up to the parent 47-1011 group
Solar Estimator/Designer
Akron: 530 employed · $77,490 median, 63rd-highest of 111 metros
Energy Auditor/Efficiency Consultant
O*NET 47-4011.01 - Energy Auditors; building energy assessments that often lead into LED retrofit and solar scoping
Solar O&M Technician
Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)
Akron: 1,390 employed · $80,660 median, 43rd-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Akron: 70 employed · $63,790 median, 80th-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Akron.
BLS publishes no Akron pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in Akron earn a median $77,360, 22% over the $63,190 national figure, and 18th of 112 metros. Pay runs $46,360 at the tenth percentile to $123,170 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $63,790 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Akron pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Akron median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar PV Installer · NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician · Energy Auditor/Efficiency Consultant O*NET 47-4011.01 - Energy Auditors; building energy assessments that often lead into LED retrofit and solar scoping Solar O&M TechnicianSolar Photovoltaic Installers (47-2231) | – | – | $53,140 | – | – |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $77,360 | $46,360–$123,170 | $63,190 | +22% | 1,360 |
| Solar Project Manager O*NET 47-1011.03 - Solar Energy Installation Managers, a Bright Outlook occupation; wage data rolls up to the parent 47-1011 group Solar Estimator/DesignerCost Estimators (13-1051) | $77,490 | $50,030–$122,300 | $78,740 | −2% | 530 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $80,660 | $58,520–$106,170 | $79,920 | +1% | 1,390 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $63,790 | $37,560–$80,530 | $74,090 | −14% | 70 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Akron metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Akron's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
Akron lost nonresidential electrical contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 80 business locations to 77 (down 4%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went up 16%, to about 1,593 people, so fewer firms are employing more people each. Average annual pay there went from $82,202 to $96,330 (+17%), slower than the 21% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 80 | 77 | −4% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 1,371 | 1,593 | +16% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $82,202 | $96,330 | +17% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free LED & Solar hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to LED & Solar · 2026 LED & Solar Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for LED & Solar
How Akron's LED and solar market compares
| Metro | Commercial employers |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 261 |
| Columbus | 238 |
| Cleveland | 242 |
| Dayton | 77 |
| Akron | 77 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:Local LED and solar employers in Akron are adding headcount, which means more employers competing for the same people.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Akron metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Ohio.
The board licenses commercial contractors in electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing and refrigeration, so commercial electrical contracting needs a state license. Local building departments may also require it for residential work. The same state rules apply in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton, so candidates licensed there can work in Akron without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Department of Commerce). Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Akron talent.
The closest metro we cover is Cleveland, about 30 miles away. BLS does not publish Akron figures for this occupation, so the nearby markets are the best guide: Detroit has the largest pool within reach, about 140, at a $48,020 median.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | – | – | – |
| Cleveland | 30 mi | – | – |
| Pittsburgh | 91 mi | – | – |
| Columbus | 110 mi | – | – |
| Detroit | 117 mi | 140 | $48,020 |
| Dayton | 168 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Akron crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Akron in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Akron 2026 Capital Budget$341.9M2026 fiscal year
Water/sewer infrastructure (including the Northside Interceptor Tunnel and $23.5M Brittain Road Reservoir replacement), $53M+ in transportation projects, and a multi-year Stubbs Justice Center renovation.
- East End & Goodyear HQ redevelopmentUndisclosed (400-acre site)Phase II ongoing
A 642,000 sq ft consolidated Goodyear world headquarters already built, with Phase II reimagining the original 1.4 million sq ft Goodyear Headquarters and Goodyear Hall as a mixed-use "live, work, play" district.
- NEO-SMART advanced manufacturing initiative$160M (NSF grant)10-year initiative
Aims to create or retain 20,000 jobs regionally and train 12,000 workers in new materials and manufacturing.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Akron market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Akron.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 4 things that most often end an LED & solar offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: LED & Solar credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - LED & Solar hiring in Akron.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Akron?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Akron, an $80,660 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician at $77,360, 4% below it. Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the lowest-paid field role at $63,790. Relative to national pay, Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the strongest-paying role here (22% above). Low-Voltage/Controls Technician trails national pay the most (14% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Akron?
BLS counted 77 nonresidential electrical contractors in Akron in 2023, employing about 1,593 people between them. Down from 80 in 2018, a 4% decline against 6% growth nationally. That averages 21 people per location. They pay an average of $96,330, 14% above the $84,633 national average for the same kind of employer. BLS counts commercial solar and LED retrofit firms under nonresidential electrical contractors.
Which nearby metros compete with Akron for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Detroit (117 miles, about 140, $48,020 median), Indianapolis (260 miles, about 240, $39,690 median) and Lancaster (283 miles, about 90, $49,950 median).
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77 nonresidential electrical contractors in Akron are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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