LED & Solar recruiters serving New Orleans.
BLS counts 210 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 New Orleans.
BLS counts about 2,340 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the New Orleans metro, the largest group being electricians (about 2,240). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
New Orleans: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
New Orleans: 2,240 employed · $62,490 median, 56th-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
New Orleans: 470 employed · $81,170 median, 30th-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)
New Orleans: 2,130 employed · $77,700 median, 63rd-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
New Orleans: 100 employed · $65,700 median, 69th-highest of 107 metros
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Milwaukee, WI too.
What LED & Solar roles earn in New Orleans.
BLS publishes no New Orleans pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in New Orleans earn a median $62,490, level with the $63,190 national figure, and 56th of 112 metros. Pay runs $38,990 at the tenth percentile to $82,530 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $65,700 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds New Orleans pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | New Orleans 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) | $62,490 | $38,990–$82,530 | $63,190 | −1% | 2,240 |
| 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) | $81,170 | $47,210–$123,180 | $78,740 | +3% | 470 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $77,700 | $52,090–$104,160 | $79,920 | −3% | 2,130 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $65,700 | $46,060–$104,150 | $74,090 | −11% | 100 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, New Orleans 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 New Orleans's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in New Orleans rose from 202 in 2018 to 210 in 2023, up 4%, close to the 6% national change. Headcount at those firms went down 12%, to about 2,436 people, so more firms are sharing fewer workers. Average annual pay there went from $57,132 to $68,121 (+19%), in step with the 21% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 202 | 210 | +4% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 2,771 | 2,436 | −12% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $57,132 | $68,121 | +19% |
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 New Orleans's LED and solar market compares
| Metro | Commercial employers |
|---|---|
| New Orleans | 210 |
| Baton Rouge | 166 |
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, New Orleans metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Louisiana.
Building, installing or repairing solar PV or thermal systems requires a contractor license once a project reaches $10,000. Eligible classifications are Building Construction, Electrical, Mechanical or Residential Construction. The same state rules apply in Baton Rouge, so candidates licensed there can work in New Orleans without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for New Orleans talent.
The closest metro we cover is Baton Rouge, about 75 miles away.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | – | – | – |
| Baton Rouge | 74 mi | – | – |
| Pensacola | 174 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for New Orleans crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into New Orleans in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Port NOLA Louisiana International Terminal$1.8BMulti-year delivery, dedicated finance team recently staffed
A major new container terminal for the Port of New Orleans. Heavy civil, marine construction, and port-electrical demand at a scale the region's port infrastructure hasn't seen in a generation.
- Shintech petrochemical expansion (Iberville Parish)$3.4BMulti-year
A second ethylene unit and a fourth chlor-alkali/VCM unit at Shintech's existing complex - 163 direct jobs plus an estimated 655 indirect. Shintech is also the Port of New Orleans' top exporter by containerized volume, tying the petrochemical and port economies together directly.
- UBE Chemicals plant (Jefferson Parish)$500MUnder construction, modular units arriving
A new chemical manufacturing plant inside the New Orleans MSA itself (Jefferson Parish), with mechanical construction ongoing as modular production units arrive on site.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The New Orleans market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in New Orleans.
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 New Orleans.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in New Orleans?
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 New Orleans, an $81,170 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $65,700, 19% below it. Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the lowest-paid field role at $62,490. Relative to national pay, 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 is the strongest-paying role here (3% above). Low-Voltage/Controls Technician trails national pay the most (11% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in New Orleans?
BLS counted 210 nonresidential electrical contractors in New Orleans in 2023, employing about 2,436 people between them. Up from 202 in 2018, a 4% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 12 people per location. They pay an average of $68,121, 20% below the $84,633 national average for the same kind of employer. BLS counts commercial solar and LED retrofit firms under nonresidential electrical contractors.
Can New Orleans employers recruit solar photovoltaic installers from nearby metros?
Not easily. None of the other metros we cover within 300 miles of New Orleans 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.
210 nonresidential electrical contractors in New Orleans are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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