LED & Solar recruiters serving Phoenix.
Phoenix has 109% more solar photovoltaic installers per job than the country as a whole, about 1,000 in the metro. BLS counts 580 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 Phoenix.
BLS counts about 18,590 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Phoenix metro, the largest group being electricians (about 17,240). Relative to the size of the local economy, solar photovoltaic installers are far more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 2.09). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Phoenix: 1,000 employed · $51,200 median, 24th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Phoenix: 17,240 employed · $61,210 median, 68th-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
Phoenix: 4,380 employed · $77,590 median, 60th-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)
Phoenix: 16,770 employed · $79,840 median, 51st-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Phoenix: 350 employed · $77,110 median, 35th-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Phoenix.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Phoenix earn a median $51,200, 4% under the $53,140 national figure, and 24th of 39 metros. Pay runs $38,770 at the tenth percentile to $78,790 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $77,110 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Phoenix 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) | $51,200 | $38,770–$78,790 | $53,140 | −4% | 1,000 |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $61,210 | $46,920–$86,800 | $63,190 | −3% | 17,240 |
| 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) | $77,590 | $37,440–$128,970 | $78,740 | −1% | 4,380 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $79,840 | $59,350–$103,620 | $79,920 | 0% | 16,770 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $77,110 | $63,640–$89,920 | $74,090 | +4% | 350 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Phoenix 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 Phoenix's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Phoenix rose from 449 in 2018 to 580 in 2023, up 29%, ahead of the 6% national rise. Headcount at those firms went up 65%, to about 18,202 people. Average annual pay there went from $60,641 to $83,730 (+38%), faster than the 21% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 449 | 580 | +29% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 11,024 | 18,202 | +65% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $60,641 | $83,730 | +38% |
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
Phoenix runs 109% 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 Phoenix's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Phoenix ranks 5th for headcount, 22nd for median pay and 9th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 1,000 | $51,200 | 2.09 | 580 |
| Tucson | – | – | – | 70 |
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 Phoenix, the pool is deep and still growing, so the constraint is competition rather than supply. Move fast on good candidates, because another local firm is probably talking to them too.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Phoenix metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Arizona.
Electrical contracting is licensed under the C-11 (commercial), R-11 (residential) and CR-11 (dual) classifications. The classifications labeled 'including solar' are plumbing, boiler and HVAC trades, and the list has no separate solar PV classification. The same state rules apply in Tucson, so candidates licensed there can work in Phoenix without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Phoenix talent.
The closest metro we cover is Tucson, about 110 miles away. Las Vegas pays the most nearby, a $67,810 median, 32% above Phoenix. That is the number any Phoenix offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Phoenix is the largest market for this work in the region, so nearby metros tend to recruit from here rather than the other way round.
What else is competing for Phoenix crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Phoenix in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Data center campuses (Aligned, Microsoft, Apple, Vantage, others)$10B+ announced 2024-2026Rolling
Phoenix is now a top-5 US data center market. Power-systems electricians, cooling specialists, controls techs in extreme demand. Wages running 12-18% above standard commercial.
- ASU Health Futures Center$80M+ (ASU building only)Opened January 2021 - a completed, historical example of the research-lab construction capacity this metro delivers, not an active current driver
Research lab HVAC, fume hood air, specialty exhaust systems. Lab-grade mechanical work. Mayo Clinic's separate, larger Phoenix campus expansion is a distinct, still-active project, not part of this figure.
- TSMC Arizona - Fabs 21, 22, advanced packaging (Phoenix North)$65B+ over multi-phase buildPhase 1 operating; Phase 2-4 through 2030
Largest single private investment in Arizona history. Semiconductor-grade mechanical, cleanroom HVAC, process gas, ultra-pure water. Specialty trades commanding 20-30% premiums.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Phoenix market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Phoenix.
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 Phoenix.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Phoenix?
BLS puts the Phoenix median for solar photovoltaic installers at $51,200 a year, 4% below the $53,140 national median. That ranks 24th of 39 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $38,770 and $78,790, a 2.0x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience.
Is it hard to hire solar photovoltaic installers in Phoenix?
Not by national standards. Solar photovoltaic installers make up 109% more of the Phoenix workforce than they do nationally, about 1,000 people. The 580 nonresidential electrical contractors here average about 31 employees per location, which means a handful of large operators set the pace on pay. With 29% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Phoenix?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Phoenix, a $79,840 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $77,110, 3% below it. Solar PV Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $51,200. Relative to national pay, Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the strongest-paying role here (4% above). Solar PV Installer trails national pay the most (4% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Phoenix?
BLS counted 580 nonresidential electrical contractors in Phoenix in 2023, employing about 18,202 people between them. Up from 449 in 2018, a 29% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 31 people per location, so a few large operators dominate hiring. They pay about the national average of $84,633. BLS counts commercial solar and LED retrofit firms under nonresidential electrical contractors.
Which nearby metros compete with Phoenix for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Las Vegas (256 miles, about 60, $67,810 median) and San Diego (299 miles, about 550, $61,340 median). Las Vegas pays 32% more, which is where Phoenix employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Phoenix 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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