LED & Solar recruiters serving Kansas City.
BLS counts 241 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 Kansas City.
BLS counts about 5,580 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Kansas City metro, the largest group being electricians (about 5,400). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Kansas City: $49,990 median, 27th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Kansas City: 5,400 employed · $76,860 median, 22nd-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
Kansas City: 2,290 employed · $78,940 median, 46th-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)
Kansas City: 5,860 employed · $84,100 median, 27th-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Kansas City: 180 employed · $80,240 median, 18th-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Kansas City.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Kansas City earn a median $49,990, 6% under the $53,140 national figure, and 27th of 39 metros. Pay runs $47,320 at the tenth percentile to $61,630 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $80,240 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Kansas City 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) | $49,990 | $47,320–$61,630 | $53,140 | −6% | – |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $76,860 | $46,280–$110,170 | $63,190 | +22% | 5,400 |
| 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) | $78,940 | $47,660–$130,360 | $78,740 | 0% | 2,290 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $84,100 | $58,670–$122,280 | $79,920 | +5% | 5,860 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $80,240 | $41,670–$99,590 | $74,090 | +8% | 180 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Kansas City 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 Kansas City's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Kansas City rose from 233 in 2018 to 241 in 2023, up 3%, close to the 6% national change. Headcount at those firms went up 26%, to about 5,348 people. Average annual pay there went from $75,467 to $86,853 (+15%), slower than the 21% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 233 | 241 | +3% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 4,256 | 5,348 | +26% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $75,467 | $86,853 | +15% |
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 Kansas City's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Kansas City ranks 25th for median pay for solar photovoltaic installers.
| Metro | Median pay | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | – | 230 |
| Kansas City | $49,990 | 241 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:Local LED and solar employers in Kansas City are adding headcount, which means more employers competing for the same people.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Kansas City metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Missouri.
Missouri licenses electrical contractors at state level. The Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors issues a statewide electrical contractor license under RSMo 324.900 to 324.945, and under RSMo 324.925 political subdivisions must recognise that license in place of their own local contractor license without requiring a local trade exam. The state does not license individual journeyman electricians, and there is no separate state solar contractor or PV installer license, so commercial solar and lighting retrofit work is treated as electrical work. Verify the statewide license through the Division's licensee search, and confirm the employer is also set up for permits and inspections with the local jurisdiction, since Kansas City, the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County still run their own electrical programs. The same state rules apply in St. Louis, so candidates licensed there can work in Kansas City without re-qualifying. The Kansas City metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors; local programs in Kansas City, the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a LED & solar search in Kansas City 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 Kansas City than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial HVAC Service TechnicianA technician who has run his own HVAC business - customer instincts on top of the wrench work.
Nearby markets competing for Kansas City talent.
The closest metro we cover is Omaha, about 165 miles away.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | – | – | $49,990 |
| Omaha | 165 mi | – | – |
| Wichita | 178 mi | – | – |
| Des Moines | 180 mi | – | – |
| Tulsa | 218 mi | – | – |
| St. Louis | 238 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Kansas City crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Kansas City in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- De Soto data center campus$3.1BUnder construction
A hyperscale campus adjacent to the Panasonic plant off 103rd Street and Edgerton Road near K-10. Power-systems electricians, mission-critical mechanical, and controls technicians - the same profiles the battery plant needs, competing head to head.
- Panasonic Energy battery plant, De Soto, KS~$4B facilityOpened 2025; second wing in operation 2027
Now employing roughly 1,800 with four production lines running. Construction has begun on a second wing, and in June 2026 the plant announced a shift toward producing battery cells for data centers, with first cells anticipated 2028-2029. Sustained industrial mechanical, process piping, and controls demand - not a one-and-done build.
- KC Streetcar and regional transit expansionFederal + local fundedPhased through 2028
Extension work through the urban core. Systems electrical, trackwork, and utility relocation in a live downtown - sequencing-heavy work that rewards experienced field leadership.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Kansas City market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Kansas City.
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 Kansas City.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Kansas City?
BLS puts the Kansas City median for solar photovoltaic installers at $49,990 a year, 6% below the $53,140 national median. That ranks 27th of 39 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $47,320 to $61,630 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.3x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Kansas City?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Kansas City, a $84,100 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $80,240, 5% below it. Solar PV Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $49,990. Relative to national pay, Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the strongest-paying role here (22% above). Solar PV Installer trails national pay the most (6% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Kansas City?
BLS counted 241 nonresidential electrical contractors in Kansas City in 2023, employing about 5,348 people between them. Up from 233 in 2018, a 3% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 22 people per location. They pay about the national average of $84,633. BLS counts commercial solar and LED retrofit firms under nonresidential electrical contractors.
Can Kansas City employers recruit solar photovoltaic installers from nearby metros?
Not easily. None of the other metros we cover within 300 miles of Kansas City has published BLS figures for solar photovoltaic installers, so a search here mostly has to be won locally or by relocating someone from farther away.
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
241 nonresidential electrical contractors in Kansas City are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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