LED & Solar recruiters serving Dayton.
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 Dayton.
BLS counts about 1,980 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Dayton metro, the largest group being electricians (about 1,920). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Dayton: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Dayton: 1,920 employed · $61,870 median, 63rd-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
Dayton: 590 employed · $79,020 median, 45th-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)
Dayton: 1,220 employed · $80,220 median, 50th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Dayton: 60 employed · $76,920 median, 37th-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Dayton.
BLS publishes no Dayton pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in Dayton earn a median $61,870, level with the $63,190 national figure, and 63rd of 112 metros. Pay runs $38,920 at the tenth percentile to $98,230 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $76,920 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Dayton pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Dayton 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) | $61,870 | $38,920–$98,230 | $63,190 | −2% | 1,920 |
| 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) | $79,020 | $50,520–$124,060 | $78,740 | 0% | 590 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $80,220 | $59,690–$106,660 | $79,920 | 0% | 1,220 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $76,920 | $27,030–$85,280 | $74,090 | +4% | 60 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Dayton 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 Dayton's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Dayton rose from 72 in 2018 to 77 in 2023, up 7%, close to the 6% national change. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Dayton, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 72 | 77 | +7% |
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 Dayton'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.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Dayton 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 Akron, so candidates licensed there can work in Dayton without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Department of Commerce). Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Dayton talent.
The closest metro we cover is Cincinnati, about 45 miles away. BLS does not publish Dayton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | – | – | – |
| Cincinnati | 47 mi | – | – |
| Columbus | 65 mi | – | – |
| Indianapolis | 104 mi | 240 | $39,690 |
| Louisville | 134 mi | – | – |
| Akron | 168 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Dayton crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Dayton in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Convergence Research Center (Wright-Patterson AFB)$250MGroundbreaking underway; first building potentially complete 2027
A 43.5-acre research campus developed by Synergy under a federal enhanced use lease - a hub for academia, government, and industry collaboration on aerospace and defense research.
- Salem Avenue Reconstruction, Phase 4UndisclosedLaunched spring 2026
New roadway, sidewalks, street lighting, and concrete-stamped crosswalks from Cornell Drive to Elsmere Avenue.
- Kettering Health Greene County investment$40M ($25M new medical center + $15M hospital renovation)Groundbreaking April 2026, complete late 2028
A new Xenia medical center plus renovations at Greene Memorial Hospital - healthcare-grade MEP work across two facilities.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Dayton market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Dayton.
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 Dayton.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Dayton?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Dayton, a $80,220 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $76,920, 4% below it. Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the lowest-paid field role at $61,870. Relative to national pay, Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the strongest-paying role here (4% above).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Dayton?
BLS counted 77 nonresidential electrical contractors in Dayton in 2023. Up from 72 in 2018, a 7% 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.
Which nearby metros compete with Dayton for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Indianapolis (104 miles, about 240, $39,690 median) and Detroit (187 miles, about 140, $48,020 median).
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
77 nonresidential electrical contractors in Dayton are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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