LED & Solar recruiters serving Harrisburg.
BLS counts 47 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 Harrisburg.
BLS counts about 1,180 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Harrisburg metro, the largest group being electricians (about 1,050). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Harrisburg: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Harrisburg: 1,050 employed · $71,820 median, 37th-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
Harrisburg: 470 employed · $78,060 median, 56th-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)
Harrisburg: 1,320 employed · $86,090 median, 25th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Harrisburg: 130 employed · $56,410 median, 103rd-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Harrisburg.
BLS publishes no Harrisburg pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in Harrisburg earn a median $71,820, 14% over the $63,190 national figure, and 37th of 112 metros. Pay runs $38,860 at the tenth percentile to $129,510 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $56,410 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Harrisburg pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Harrisburg 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) | $71,820 | $38,860–$129,510 | $63,190 | +14% | 1,050 |
| 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) | $78,060 | $48,390–$126,940 | $78,740 | −1% | 470 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $86,090 | $60,000–$127,400 | $79,920 | +8% | 1,320 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $56,410 | $39,720–$80,520 | $74,090 | −24% | 130 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
Harrisburg lost nonresidential electrical contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 53 business locations to 47 (down 11%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Harrisburg, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 53 | 47 | −11% |
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 Harrisburg's LED and solar market compares
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 580 | $58,350 | 0.98 | 595 |
| Lancaster | 90 | $49,950 | 1.83 | 61 |
| Pittsburgh | – | – | – | 245 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem | – | – | – | 54 |
| Harrisburg | – | – | – | 47 |
| Scranton | – | – | – | 58 |
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, Harrisburg metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania does not license electricians or electrical contractors at state level. The Department of Labor and Industry states that the Commonwealth has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors or their employees, and that individual municipalities set their own electrical and plumbing licensing rules. The only statewide registration is Home Improvement Contractor registration with the Office of Attorney General, a consumer protection registration for residential work rather than a trade competency license, and there is no separate state solar contractor license. For commercial solar and lighting retrofit work, verify the Philadelphia electrical contractor license, the Pittsburgh electrical trade license, and then the requirements of whichever municipality the job sits in. The same state rules apply in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown-Bethlehem, Lancaster and Scranton, so candidates licensed there can work in Harrisburg without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Licensed at municipal level: Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections, Pittsburgh Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed an LED & solar search in Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial Construction EstimatorCost management on projects up to $150 million, brought onto a retail and medical bid calendar.
- Project ManagerNot a fit for the first role we put him forward for - exactly right for the next one.
Nearby markets competing for Harrisburg talent.
The closest metro we cover is Lancaster, about 35 miles away, with roughly 90 solar photovoltaic installers. BLS does not publish Harrisburg figures for this occupation, so the nearby markets are the best guide: Philadelphia has the largest pool within reach, about 580, at a $58,350 median.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | – | – | – |
| Lancaster | 35 mi | 90 | $49,950 |
| Baltimore | 70 mi | 490 | $45,220 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem | 77 mi | – | – |
| Philadelphia | 94 mi | 580 | $58,350 |
| Washington, D.C. | 96 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Harrisburg crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Harrisburg in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Pennsylvania Digital I ("PAX-1") data center campus$15B total (the $3B construction / $1.5B power / $750M cooling-security cost breakdown is not independently sourced beyond the $15B headline)~5-year buildout
700 acres in Middlesex Township with three campuses of 5-6 buildings each, each with its own dedicated 450MW substation (1.35GW total power capacity, scalable to 1.8GW) - the largest capital project in Cumberland County's history, projected to generate ~$45M/year in local school-district tax revenue alone.
- Whirlpool New Kingstown distribution centerUndisclosed (1.1M sq ft)Under construction
A 300,000+ sq ft expansion over Whirlpool's existing regional distribution facility.
- Governor Shapiro's RACP investment$109.3M2026
Funding across 68 projects in Southcentral Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.
These are the 3 projects we track in Harrisburg. The Harrisburg market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Harrisburg.
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 Harrisburg.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Harrisburg?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Harrisburg, an $86,090 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician at $71,820, 17% below it. Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the lowest-paid field role at $56,410. Relative to national pay, Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the strongest-paying role here (14% above). Low-Voltage/Controls Technician trails national pay the most (24% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Harrisburg?
BLS counted 47 nonresidential electrical contractors in Harrisburg in 2023. Down from 53 in 2018, an 11% 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 Harrisburg for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Lancaster (35 miles, about 90, $49,950 median), Baltimore (70 miles, about 490, $45,220 median) and Philadelphia (94 miles, about 580, $58,350 median).
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
47 nonresidential electrical contractors in Harrisburg are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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