LED & Solar recruiters serving Pittsburgh.
BLS counts 245 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 Pittsburgh.
BLS counts about 5,540 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Pittsburgh metro, the largest group being electricians (about 5,210). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Pittsburgh: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Pittsburgh: 5,210 employed · $69,340 median, 42nd-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
Pittsburgh: 2,000 employed · $77,980 median, 58th-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)
Pittsburgh: 6,000 employed · $83,030 median, 32nd-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Pittsburgh: 330 employed · $63,240 median, 83rd-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Pittsburgh.
BLS publishes no Pittsburgh pay for solar photovoltaic installers; nationally the median is $53,140. Electricians in Pittsburgh earn a median $69,340, 10% over the $63,190 national figure, and 42nd of 112 metros. Pay runs $45,780 at the tenth percentile to $106,840 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $63,240 against $74,090 nationally. BLS withholds Pittsburgh pay for one occupation in the table.
| Role | Pittsburgh 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) | $69,340 | $45,780–$106,840 | $63,190 | +10% | 5,210 |
| 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) | $77,980 | $48,030–$127,680 | $78,740 | −1% | 2,000 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $83,030 | $59,570–$129,930 | $79,920 | +4% | 6,000 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $63,240 | $40,090–$83,730 | $74,090 | −15% | 330 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Pittsburgh rose from 235 in 2018 to 245 in 2023, up 4%, close to the 6% national change. Headcount at those firms went up 11%, to about 4,537 people. Average annual pay there went from $70,721 to $86,721 (+23%), in step with the 21% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 235 | 245 | +4% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 4,081 | 4,537 | +11% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $70,721 | $86,721 | +23% |
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 Pittsburgh'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.
What this means for hiring:Local LED and solar employers in Pittsburgh are adding headcount, which means more employers competing for the same people.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Pittsburgh 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, Allentown-Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Scranton, so candidates licensed there can work in Pittsburgh 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.
Nearby markets competing for Pittsburgh talent.
The closest metro we cover is Akron, about 90 miles away.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | – | – | – |
| Akron | 91 mi | – | – |
| Cleveland | 115 mi | – | – |
| Columbus | 162 mi | – | – |
| Harrisburg | 164 mi | – | – |
| Buffalo | 179 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Pittsburgh crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Pittsburgh in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Homer City Redevelopment gas-powered data center campus (Indiana County, ~50 mi from Pittsburgh -- outside the core Pittsburgh MSA but commonly described regionally as "near Pittsburgh")$10B initial investmentTurbine deliveries begin 2026; phased build-out
A 3,200+ acre campus on the site of the former Homer City Generating Station, powered by seven GE Vernova 7HA.02 hydrogen-enabled gas turbines. Billed as the largest gas-powered data center campus in the country. Power generation plus data center construction in one program - the most demanding electrical and mechanical scope in the region.
- Shell Polymers Monaca petrochemical complexOperational, ~$6B builtTurnaround and maintenance cycles ongoing
Beaver County's cracker plant now drives recurring industrial turnaround demand rather than construction. Pipefitters, industrial electricians, millwrights, and I&C techs are pulled into scheduled outages - competing directly with commercial contractors for the same people.
- Robotics and life sciences corridor build-outRolling private investment2025-2029
Strip District and Oakland lab and advanced manufacturing conversions. Specialty exhaust, precision environmental controls, and clean power work in adaptive-reuse buildings - technically harder than ground-up.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Pittsburgh market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Pittsburgh.
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 Pittsburgh.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Pittsburgh?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Pittsburgh, an $83,030 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician at $69,340, 16% below it. Low-Voltage/Controls Technician is the lowest-paid field role at $63,240. Relative to national pay, Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the strongest-paying role here (10% above). Low-Voltage/Controls Technician trails national pay the most (15% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Pittsburgh?
BLS counted 245 nonresidential electrical contractors in Pittsburgh in 2023, employing about 4,537 people between them. Up from 235 in 2018, a 4% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 19 people per location. 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 Pittsburgh for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Baltimore (196 miles, about 490, $45,220 median), Lancaster (197 miles, about 90, $49,950 median) and Detroit (205 miles, about 140, $48,020 median).
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
245 nonresidential electrical contractors in Pittsburgh are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
Schedule a Discovery Call →