LED & Solar recruiters serving Charlotte.
Solar photovoltaic installers are scarcer in Charlotte than in most of the country, 44% fewer per job, so the roughly 150 who work here are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 345 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 Charlotte.
BLS counts about 5,800 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Charlotte metro, the largest group being electricians (about 5,250). Relative to the size of the local economy, solar photovoltaic installers are far less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.56). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Charlotte: 150 employed · $45,970 median, 37th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Charlotte: 5,250 employed · $59,080 median, 81st-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
Charlotte: 2,360 employed · $77,990 median, 57th-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)
Charlotte: 9,670 employed · $77,300 median, 69th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Charlotte: 400 employed · $74,860 median, 44th-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Charlotte.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Charlotte earn a median $45,970, 13% under the $53,140 national figure, and 37th of 39 metros. Pay runs $37,440 at the tenth percentile to $77,950 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $74,860 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Charlotte 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) | $45,970 | $37,440–$77,950 | $53,140 | −13% | 150 |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $59,080 | $43,770–$76,310 | $63,190 | −7% | 5,250 |
| 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) | $77,990 | $47,520–$127,690 | $78,740 | −1% | 2,360 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $77,300 | $57,430–$107,080 | $79,920 | −3% | 9,670 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $74,860 | $60,150–$98,980 | $74,090 | +1% | 400 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Charlotte 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 Charlotte's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Charlotte rose from 292 in 2018 to 345 in 2023, up 18%, ahead of the 6% national rise.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 292 | 345 | +18% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | – | 5,911 | – |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | – | $71,483 | – |
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
Charlotte runs 44% fewer LED and solar workers per job than the country as a whole — well below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep 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 Charlotte's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Charlotte ranks 24th for headcount, 35th for median pay and 31st for concentration for solar photovoltaic installers. That makes it one of the thinnest LED and solar labor markets we recruit in.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 150 | $45,970 | 0.56 | 345 |
| Raleigh | – | – | – | 183 |
| Greensboro | – | – | – | 75 |
| Winston-Salem | – | – | – | 57 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | – | – | – | 62 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For LED and solar employers in Charlotte, the local pool is thin but growing. Expect a mix of local candidates and people recruited in from nearby metros, and budget for relocation on senior roles.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Charlotte metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in North Carolina.
A solar PV installation of any value requires an electrical contractor license. Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited classifications apply by project cost (up to $60,000, up to $150,000, and above $150,000). The same state rules apply in Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Durham-Chapel Hill, so candidates licensed there can work in Charlotte without re-qualifying. The Charlotte metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Charlotte talent.
The closest metro we cover is Winston-Salem, about 70 miles away.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | – | 150 | $45,970 |
| Winston-Salem | 69 mi | – | – |
| Greensboro | 83 mi | – | – |
| Columbia | 85 mi | – | – |
| Greenville | 91 mi | – | – |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 121 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Charlotte crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Charlotte in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Data center corridor (Charlotte metro + nearby counties)Multiple operators, rolling2024-2026 and beyond
The Carolinas are now a fast-growing hyperscale market. Power-systems electricians, mechanical PMs, and controls technicians are the bottleneck.
- Charlotte Douglas International (CLT) capital programMulti-billion, phasedThrough 2027+
Terminal Lobby Expansion plus concourse and airfield work. Heavy mechanical, electrical, and specialty finish demand on a rolling, multi-phase crew schedule.
- Atrium Health "The Pearl" + Wake Forest School of Medicine$1.5B+ innovation districtPhased through 2027
A full life-sciences and medical-education district south of uptown. Med-gas plumbers, lab-grade mechanical, and clean-space electrical in tight supply.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Charlotte market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Charlotte.
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 Charlotte.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Charlotte?
BLS puts the Charlotte median for solar photovoltaic installers at $45,970 a year, 13% below the $53,140 national median. That ranks 37th of 39 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Experience carries a clear premium, $37,440 at the 10th percentile against $77,950 at the 90th - a 2.1x gap - so an offer at the median mostly reaches newer workers.
Is it hard to hire solar photovoltaic installers in Charlotte?
Yes. Charlotte has 44% fewer solar photovoltaic installers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 150 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 345 nonresidential electrical contractors here average about 17 employees per location. With 18% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Charlotte?
Of the roles we recruit for, 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 pays the most in Charlotte, a $77,990 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $74,860, 4% below it. Solar PV Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $45,970. Solar PV Installer trails national pay the most (13% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Charlotte?
BLS counted 345 nonresidential electrical contractors in Charlotte in 2023, employing about 5,911 people between them. Up from 292 in 2018, an 18% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 17 people per location. They pay an average of $71,483, 16% below 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 Charlotte for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Virginia Beach (294 miles, $47,930 median).
Thin market. Short list anyway.
With solar photovoltaic installers this scarce in Charlotte, an open seat rarely fills from a job posting. Let's line up the people before the next one opens.
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