LED & Solar recruiters serving Albuquerque.
Albuquerque has 43% more solar photovoltaic installers per job than the country as a whole, about 120 in the metro. BLS counts 204 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 Albuquerque.
BLS counts about 2,700 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Albuquerque metro, the largest group being electricians (about 2,440). Relative to the size of the local economy, solar photovoltaic installers are far more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.43). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Albuquerque: 120 employed · $59,800 median, 14th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Albuquerque: 2,440 employed · $59,120 median, 80th-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
Albuquerque: 520 employed · $73,090 median, 89th-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)
Albuquerque: 2,280 employed · $75,070 median, 87th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Albuquerque: 140 employed · $72,820 median, 50th-highest of 107 metros
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Rochester, NY, Sacramento, CA too.
What LED & Solar roles earn in Albuquerque.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Albuquerque earn a median $59,800, 13% over the $53,140 national figure, and 14th of 39 metros. Pay runs $39,430 at the tenth percentile to $76,970 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $72,820 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Albuquerque 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) | $59,800 | $39,430–$76,970 | $53,140 | +13% | 120 |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $59,120 | $36,650–$81,310 | $63,190 | −6% | 2,440 |
| 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) | $73,090 | $39,810–$115,970 | $78,740 | −7% | 520 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $75,070 | $47,960–$99,770 | $79,920 | −6% | 2,280 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $72,820 | $57,550–$102,970 | $74,090 | −2% | 140 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Albuquerque 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 Albuquerque's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Albuquerque rose from 182 in 2018 to 204 in 2023, up 12%, ahead of the 6% national rise. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Albuquerque, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 182 | 204 | +12% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 3,251 | – | – |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $58,264 | – | – |
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
Albuquerque runs 43% more LED and solar workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Solar Photovoltaic Installers (nearest published occupation for this trade). Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Albuquerque's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Albuquerque ranks 26th for headcount, 12th for median pay and 18th for concentration for solar photovoltaic installers.
What this means for hiring:For LED and solar employers in Albuquerque, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Albuquerque metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in New Mexico.
Anyone bidding or contracting for solar PV electrical installation needs a state-issued electrical classification such as EE-98. The people doing the installation must hold a journeyman certificate or be supervised apprentices.
Licensing authority: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Albuquerque talent.
The closest metro we cover is El Paso, about 230 miles away.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | – | 120 | $59,800 |
| El Paso | 230 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Albuquerque crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Albuquerque in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Sandia National Laboratories Power Sources Capability buildingOne of Sandia's largest projects in a decadeStarted August 2025; final beam installed April 2026; completing 2028
Replaces an aging facility with one designed to adapt to changing weapons-systems missions over the next 50 years. Federal-facility-grade mechanical and electrical construction at a scale few commercial projects in the region reach.
This is the only project we track in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Albuquerque.
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 Albuquerque.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Albuquerque?
BLS puts the Albuquerque median for solar photovoltaic installers at $59,800 a year, 13% above the $53,140 national median. That ranks 14th of 39 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $39,430 and $76,970, a 2.0x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience.
Is it hard to hire solar photovoltaic installers in Albuquerque?
Not by national standards. Solar photovoltaic installers make up 43% more of the Albuquerque workforce than they do nationally, about 120 people. With 12% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Albuquerque?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Albuquerque, a $75,070 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $72,820, 3% below it. Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the lowest-paid field role at $59,120. Relative to national pay, Solar PV Installer is the strongest-paying role here (13% above). 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 trails national pay the most (7% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Albuquerque?
BLS counted 204 nonresidential electrical contractors in Albuquerque in 2023. Up from 182 in 2018, a 12% increase against 6% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers. BLS counts commercial solar and LED retrofit firms under nonresidential electrical contractors.
Can Albuquerque employers recruit solar photovoltaic installers from nearby metros?
Not easily. None of the other metros we cover within 300 miles of Albuquerque has published BLS figures for solar photovoltaic installers, so a search here mostly has to be won locally or by relocating someone from farther away.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Albuquerque has one of the deeper pools of solar photovoltaic installers we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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