LED & Solar recruiters serving Chicago.
BLS counts 818 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 Chicago.
BLS counts about 18,630 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Chicago metro, the largest group being electricians (about 17,720). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Chicago: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Chicago: 17,720 employed · $102,350 median, 2nd-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
Chicago: 4,610 employed · $83,640 median, 16th-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)
Chicago: 13,420 employed · $111,260 median, 5th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Chicago: 910 employed · $59,950 median, 94th-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Chicago.
BLS publishes no Chicago pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in Chicago earn a median $102,350, 62% over the $63,190 national figure, and 2nd of 112 metros. Pay runs $49,890 at the tenth percentile to $124,070 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $59,950 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Chicago pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Chicago 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) | $102,350 | $49,890–$124,070 | $63,190 | +62% | 17,720 |
| 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) | $83,640 | $50,720–$139,460 | $78,740 | +6% | 4,610 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $111,260 | $66,450–$135,240 | $79,920 | +39% | 13,420 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $59,950 | $41,780–$83,830 | $74,090 | −19% | 910 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Chicago 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 Chicago's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
Chicago lost nonresidential electrical contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 850 business locations to 818 (down 4%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Chicago, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 850 | 818 | −4% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 17,269 | – | – |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $89,811 | – | – |
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 Chicago's LED and solar market compares
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Chicago metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Illinois.
The Illinois Commerce Commission certifies distributed generation installers, which include solar PV installers, under 83 Ill. Adm. Code Part 468. The Chicago metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: Illinois Commerce Commission. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed an LED & solar search in Chicago yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in Chicago than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial Construction Project ManagerA Project Director-level background placed into a PM seat inside a week.
- Service Dispatch CoordinatorA dispatcher who already knows the trade, the software and the workflow.
- Lead HVAC TechnicianNATE, EPA Universal and Heat Pump Council certified, with VRF and VRV experience.
Nearby markets competing for Chicago talent.
The closest metro we cover is Milwaukee, about 85 miles away. BLS does not publish Chicago figures for this occupation, so the nearby markets are the best guide: Indianapolis has the largest pool within reach, about 240, at a $39,690 median.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | – | – | – |
| Milwaukee | 83 mi | – | – |
| Madison | 123 mi | – | – |
| Grand Rapids | 127 mi | – | – |
| Indianapolis | 164 mi | 240 | $39,690 |
| Dayton | 231 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Chicago crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Chicago in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Microsoft data center expansion (suburban Chicago)$123M Elk Grove Village campus + $41.5M Hoffman Estates land acquisition (real, itemized figures - not a verified $3B+ regional aggregate)Rolling
Chicagoland is a growing data center market. Mechanical PMs with cooling specialty + electrical crews in demand.
- O'Hare Global Terminal expansion$12.1BThrough 2030
Largest airport terminal project in US. Airport-grade MEP, baggage systems, central utility plant. Multi-year demand for senior airport-experienced trades.
- The 78 development (South Loop)$8B+Phased through 2040
62-acre mixed-use development adjacent to downtown. University of Illinois withdrew its planned Discovery Partners Institute biotech campus from the site in 2024-2025; the broader mixed-use build-out continues under new anchor plans.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Chicago market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Chicago.
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 Chicago.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Chicago?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Chicago, a $111,260 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician at $102,350, 8% below it. Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the lowest-paid field role at $59,950. Relative to national pay, Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the strongest-paying role here (62% above). Low-Voltage/Controls Technician trails national pay the most (19% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Chicago?
BLS counted 818 nonresidential electrical contractors in Chicago in 2023. Down from 850 in 2018, a 4% decline 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.
Which nearby metros compete with Chicago for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Indianapolis (164 miles, about 240, $39,690 median) and Detroit (238 miles, about 140, $48,020 median).
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
818 nonresidential electrical contractors in Chicago are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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