LED & Solar recruiters serving Columbia.
BLS counts 78 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 Columbia.
BLS counts about 1,420 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Columbia metro, the largest group being electricians (about 1,170). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Columbia: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Columbia: 1,170 employed · $60,390 median, 72nd-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
Columbia: 490 employed · $65,850 median, 108th-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)
Columbia: 1,930 employed · $72,800 median, 99th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Columbia: 250 employed · $68,100 median, 61st-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Columbia.
BLS publishes no Columbia pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in Columbia earn a median $60,390, 4% under the $63,190 national figure, and 72nd of 112 metros. Pay runs $45,330 at the tenth percentile to $78,310 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $68,100 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Columbia pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Columbia 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) | $60,390 | $45,330–$78,310 | $63,190 | −4% | 1,170 |
| 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) | $65,850 | $47,070–$107,390 | $78,740 | −16% | 490 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $72,800 | $50,720–$101,310 | $79,920 | −9% | 1,930 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $68,100 | $48,790–$83,450 | $74,090 | −8% | 250 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Columbia 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 Columbia's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
Columbia lost nonresidential electrical contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 93 business locations to 78 (down 16%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Columbia, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 93 | 78 | −16% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 1,428 | – | – |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $47,587 | – | – |
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 Columbia's LED and solar market compares
| Metro | Commercial employers |
|---|---|
| Greenville | 99 |
| Charleston | 119 |
| Columbia | 78 |
| Myrtle Beach | 47 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Columbia metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in South Carolina.
Commercial solar installers need a mechanical contractor's license with an electrical classification, plus other classifications for roof-mounted or ground-mounted structural work. Residential systems fall under the Residential Builders Commission. The same state rules apply in Greenville, Charleston and Myrtle Beach, so candidates licensed there can work in Columbia without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Contractor's Licensing Board. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed an LED & solar search in Columbia 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 Columbia than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Sign InstallerTwo decades in the sign trade - installation, fabrication and crew leadership in one person.
Nearby markets competing for Columbia talent.
The closest metro we cover is Augusta, about 65 miles away. BLS does not publish Columbia figures for this occupation, so the nearby markets are the best guide: Charlotte has the largest pool within reach, about 150, at a $45,970 median.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | – | – | – |
| Augusta | 65 mi | – | – |
| Charlotte | 85 mi | 150 | $45,970 |
| Greenville | 97 mi | – | – |
| Charleston | 106 mi | – | – |
| Myrtle Beach | 125 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Columbia crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Columbia in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Nephron Pharmaceuticals expansion$215MAnnounced 2020, targeted Q1 2021 completion - historical, not an active current driver
380,000 sq ft of pharmaceutical manufacturing space - cleanroom-grade electrical and process-mechanical demand. No 2025-2026 phase-two announcement could be independently confirmed; kept as a historical example of the cleanroom-grade specialty this metro has delivered, not a current pipeline project.
- Carolina Crossroads ("Malfunction Junction")$2.7B (Aug 2026 estimate, up from a $1.7B pre-2024 baseline)Phase 3C starting 2026, running through the end of the decade
The largest road construction project in South Carolina history - widening I-20 and replacing bridges between Bush River Road and U.S. 378. Sustained heavy-civil demand for years.
- ōLiv Columbia apartment tower$225M ($232M in permits issued)Under construction
A 26-story tower - the tallest building erected in Columbia in a generation - combining student and non-student housing at 1421 Main Street.
These are the 3 projects we track in Columbia. The Columbia market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Columbia.
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 Columbia.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Columbia?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Columbia, a $72,800 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $68,100, 6% below it. Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the lowest-paid field role at $60,390. 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 (16% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Columbia?
BLS counted 78 nonresidential electrical contractors in Columbia in 2023. Down from 93 in 2018, a 16% 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 Columbia for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Charlotte (85 miles, about 150, $45,970 median).
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
78 nonresidential electrical contractors in Columbia are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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