LED & Solar recruiters serving Houston.
Houston has 145% more solar photovoltaic installers per job than the country as a whole, about 1,620 in the metro. BLS counts 709 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 Houston.
BLS counts about 26,040 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Houston metro, the largest group being electricians (about 19,730). Relative to the size of the local economy, solar photovoltaic installers are far more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 2.45). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Houston: 1,620 employed · $47,060 median, 35th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Houston: 19,730 employed · $59,180 median, 79th-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
Houston: 5,660 employed · $78,200 median, 53rd-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)
Houston: 24,570 employed · $76,020 median, 80th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Houston: 4,690 employed · $77,880 median, 31st-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Houston.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Houston earn a median $47,060, 11% under the $53,140 national figure, and 35th of 39 metros. Pay runs $37,230 at the tenth percentile to $74,000 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $77,880 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Houston 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) | $47,060 | $37,230–$74,000 | $53,140 | −11% | 1,620 |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $59,180 | $38,800–$84,470 | $63,190 | −6% | 19,730 |
| 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) | $78,200 | $44,800–$132,450 | $78,740 | −1% | 5,660 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $76,020 | $48,170–$119,090 | $79,920 | −5% | 24,570 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $77,880 | $50,900–$113,010 | $74,090 | +5% | 4,690 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Houston 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 Houston's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
Houston lost nonresidential electrical contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 716 business locations to 709 (down 1%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Houston, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 716 | 709 | −1% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 17,554 | – | – |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $71,506 | – | – |
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
Houston runs 145% more LED and solar workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching 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 Houston's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Houston ranks 3rd for headcount, 33rd for median pay and 6th for concentration for solar photovoltaic installers. That puts it among the deepest LED and solar labor markets in the country.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 1,620 | $47,060 | 2.45 | 709 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 1,570 | $48,350 | 1.93 | 859 |
| Austin | 830 | $50,580 | 3.18 | 315 |
| San Antonio | – | – | – | 259 |
| McAllen | – | – | – | 42 |
| El Paso | – | – | – | 74 |
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 Houston, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Houston metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Texas.
Texas licenses electricians statewide, and non-exempt electrical work, including installing solar panels, must be done by licensed individuals working through a licensed electrical contractor. Companies offering turnkey solar installation must hold a TDLR electrical contractor license. The same state rules apply in Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in Houston without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed an LED & solar search in Houston 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 Houston than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial HVAC Service TechnicianFive to ten years of commercial HVAC experience, EPA 608, and independent troubleshooting - filled in two weeks.
- Commercial HVAC TechnicianA lead technician who can also train the rest of the bench.
- Commercial HVAC TechnicianThe second of two technician seats on the same requisition, filled in the same window as the first.
Nearby markets competing for Houston talent.
The closest metro we cover is Austin, about 145 miles away, with roughly 830 solar photovoltaic installers (0.5 times Houston's 1,620). Austin pays the most nearby, a $50,580 median, 7% above Houston. That is the number any Houston offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Houston is the largest market for this work in the region, so nearby metros tend to recruit from here rather than the other way round.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | – | 1,620 | $47,060 |
| Austin | 147 mi | 830 | $50,580 |
| San Antonio | 190 mi | – | – |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 225 mi | 1,570 | $48,350 |
| Baton Rouge | 254 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Houston crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Houston in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Port Houston Bayport Container Terminal expansion$1B+2024-2027
Heavy civil, paving, large-scale mechanical. Crane operators and heavy electricians in tight supply.
- Texas Medical Center expansion (TMC3, MD Anderson, Memorial Hermann)$5B+ aggregated2024-2030
Largest medical complex in the world keeps expanding. Hospital-grade mechanical, isolation HVAC, OR work. Mechanical PMs with healthcare experience in extreme demand.
- ExxonMobil Baytown chemical complex expansion~$2B2024-2026
Process mechanical, instrumentation, refinery-grade trades. Wages running 15-25% above standard commercial.
Showing 3 of 5 projects tracked in this metro. The Houston market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Houston.
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 Houston.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Houston?
BLS puts the Houston median for solar photovoltaic installers at $47,060 a year, 11% below the $53,140 national median. That ranks 35th of 39 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Most of the market sits between $37,230 and $74,000, a 2.0x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within Texas, Austin pays more, at $50,580.
Is it hard to hire solar photovoltaic installers in Houston?
Not by national standards. Solar photovoltaic installers make up 145% more of the Houston workforce than they do nationally, about 1,620 people.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Houston?
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 Houston, a $78,200 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $77,880, 0% below it. Solar PV Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $47,060. Relative to national pay, Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the strongest-paying role here (5% above). Solar PV Installer trails national pay the most (11% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Houston?
BLS counted 709 nonresidential electrical contractors in Houston in 2023. That is roughly where the count stood in 2018 (716). 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 Houston for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Austin (147 miles, about 830, $50,580 median) and Dallas-Fort Worth (225 miles, about 1,570, $48,350 median). Austin pays 7% more, which is where Houston employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Houston has one of the deeper pools of solar photovoltaic installers we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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