LED & Solar recruiters serving Seattle.
BLS counts 301 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 Seattle.
BLS counts about 10,660 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Seattle metro, the largest group being electricians (about 9,750). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Seattle: $61,630 median, 8th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Seattle: 9,750 employed · $101,780 median, 3rd-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
Seattle: 4,340 employed · $94,490 median, 5th-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)
Seattle: 11,040 employed · $121,130 median, 2nd-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Seattle: 910 employed · $109,570 median, 2nd-highest of 107 metros
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Winston-Salem, NC too.
What LED & Solar roles earn in Seattle.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Seattle earn a median $61,630, 16% over the $53,140 national figure, and 8th of 39 metros. Pay runs $50,440 at the tenth percentile to $61,640 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $109,570 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Seattle 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) | $61,630 | $50,440–$61,640 | $53,140 | +16% | – |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $101,780 | $55,690–$151,290 | $63,190 | +61% | 9,750 |
| 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) | $94,490 | $62,020–$152,220 | $78,740 | +20% | 4,340 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $121,130 | $77,980–$170,810 | $79,920 | +52% | 11,040 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $109,570 | $80,000–$122,440 | $74,090 | +48% | 910 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Seattle 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 Seattle's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
Seattle lost nonresidential electrical contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 364 business locations to 301 (down 17%), behind the 6% growth nationally. Their combined payroll headcount barely moved, at about 8,967. Average annual pay there went from $85,814 to $106,762 (+24%), faster than the 21% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 364 | 301 | −17% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 9,090 | 8,967 | −1% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $85,814 | $106,762 | +24% |
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 Seattle's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Seattle ranks 6th for median pay for solar photovoltaic installers. Pay here is among the highest we see, so offers need to start near the top of the range.
| Metro | Median pay | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $61,630 | 301 |
| Spokane | – | 60 |
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 Seattle have been cutting headcount, so the people you want are more likely to be weighing a move than actively looking.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Seattle metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Washington.
Washington licenses electrical contractors statewide, and its specialty categories include none for solar, so PV falls under electrical licensing. There is a Nonresidential Lighting Maintenance and Lighting Retrofit (07A) specialty. The same state rules apply in Spokane, so candidates licensed there can work in Seattle without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed an LED & solar search in Seattle 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 Seattle than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Service Operations CoordinatorA lead dispatcher used to 20-25 technicians and 75 calls a day, placed in eight days.
- Commercial SuperintendentTwenty-five years of ground-up commercial leadership, placed in two weeks.
- Construction SuperintendentTenant-improvement and renovation leadership, including prevailing-wage public work.
Nearby markets competing for Seattle talent.
The closest metro we cover is Portland, about 145 miles away, with roughly 210 solar photovoltaic installers. Portland pays the most nearby, a $66,320 median, 8% above Seattle. That is the number any Seattle offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move.
What else is competing for Seattle crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Seattle in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Sound Transit ST3 light-rail expansion$185B+ (revised from the original 2016 $54B estimate)Phased through 2044
Largest transit expansion in the region's history. Heavy civil, tunneling, stations, systems + traction power. Multi-year demand for civil crews, high-voltage electricians, and transit-experienced supers.
- Data center growth (Central WA)Real trend, no verified regional totalSeattle itself has an active 2026 moratorium on new large data-center permits, so growth is concentrated in Central WA, not rolling metro-wide
Central Washington is a major hyperscale market. Mechanical PMs with cooling specialty and high-voltage electrical crews command premiums.
- Amazon & Microsoft campus build-outs + TIsReal trend, no verified regional totalRolling
South Lake Union and Eastside campuses plus continuous tenant-improvement churn. High-spec commercial MEP, fast-track fit-out, senior PMs with tech-client experience in constant demand.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Seattle market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Seattle.
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 Seattle.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Seattle?
BLS puts the Seattle median for solar photovoltaic installers at $61,630 a year, 16% above the $53,140 national median. That ranks 8th of 39 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $50,440 to $61,640 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.2x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed.
Which LED & solar roles pay the most in Seattle?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Seattle, a $121,130 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $109,570, 10% below it. Solar PV Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $61,630. Relative to national pay, Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician is the strongest-paying role here (61% above).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Seattle?
BLS counted 301 nonresidential electrical contractors in Seattle in 2023, employing about 8,967 people between them. Down from 364 in 2018, a 17% decline against 6% growth nationally. That averages 30 people per location. They pay an average of $106,762, 26% above the $84,633 national average for the same kind of employer. BLS counts commercial solar and LED retrofit firms under nonresidential electrical contractors.
Which nearby metros compete with Seattle for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Portland (145 miles, about 210, $66,320 median). Portland pays 8% more, which is where Seattle employers tend to lose people.
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
301 nonresidential electrical contractors in Seattle are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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