LED & Solar recruiters serving Virginia Beach.
BLS counts 187 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 Virginia Beach.
BLS counts about 6,240 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Virginia Beach metro, the largest group being electricians (about 5,740). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the LED & Solar hub.
Solar PV Installer
Virginia Beach: $47,930 median, 34th-highest of 39 metros
NABCEP-Certified Solar Technician
Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician
Virginia Beach: 5,740 employed · $62,350 median, 59th-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
Virginia Beach: 1,440 employed · $80,850 median, 31st-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)
Virginia Beach: 6,140 employed · $80,950 median, 42nd-highest of 112 metros
Low-Voltage/Controls Technician
Virginia Beach: 500 employed · $72,380 median, 52nd-highest of 107 metros
What LED & Solar roles earn in Virginia Beach.
Solar photovoltaic installers in Virginia Beach earn a median $47,930, 10% under the $53,140 national figure, and 34th of 39 metros. Pay runs $47,700 at the tenth percentile to $58,270 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, at $72,380 against $74,090 nationally.
| Role | Virginia Beach 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) | $47,930 | $47,700–$58,270 | $53,140 | −10% | – |
| Commercial LED Retrofit Electrician · Solar ElectricianElectricians (47-2111) | $62,350 | $43,970–$81,280 | $63,190 | −1% | 5,740 |
| 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) | $80,850 | $52,340–$122,420 | $78,740 | +3% | 1,440 |
| Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty)First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $80,950 | $55,110–$99,510 | $79,920 | +1% | 6,140 |
| Low-Voltage/Controls TechnicianElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment (49-2094) | $72,380 | $49,320–$92,060 | $74,090 | −2% | 500 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach's LED & solar market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential electrical contractors in Virginia Beach rose from 180 in 2018 to 187 in 2023, up 4%, close to the 6% national change. Headcount at those firms went up 7%, to about 4,220 people. Average annual pay there went from $57,207 to $73,524 (+29%), faster than the 21% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: business locations | 180 | 187 | +4% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: employment | 3,956 | 4,220 | +7% |
| Nonresidential electrical contractors: average annual pay | $57,207 | $73,524 | +29% |
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 Virginia Beach's LED and solar market compares
Among the 37 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Virginia Beach ranks 32nd for median pay for solar photovoltaic installers. Pay here is among the lowest we see, which makes relocation offers from higher-paying metros a real retention risk.
| Metro | Median pay | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | $47,930 | 187 |
| Richmond | – | 211 |
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 Virginia Beach are adding headcount, which means more employers competing for the same people.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Virginia Beach metro. Employers are counted by business location.
LED & Solar licensing in Virginia.
Virginia's Alternative Energy System Contracting (AES) specialty covers installing alternative energy systems from the customer's meter but excludes electrical work. Electrical work falls under the Electrical Contractors (ELE) classification. The same state rules apply in Richmond, so candidates licensed there can work in Virginia Beach without re-qualifying. The Virginia Beach metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Board for Contractors. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Virginia Beach talent.
The closest metro we cover is Richmond, about 95 miles away. Virginia Beach pays more than every metro we cover within reach ($47,930 median), which helps when recruiting people in from Baltimore at $45,220.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | – | – | $47,930 |
| Richmond | 95 mi | – | – |
| Washington, D.C. | 152 mi | – | – |
| Raleigh | 166 mi | – | – |
| Baltimore | 172 mi | 490 | $45,220 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 173 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Virginia Beach crews.
Not LED & solar work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Virginia Beach in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Naval Station Norfolk + JEB Little Creek-Fort Story infrastructureMulti-project military constructionOngoing
A new Child Development Center at JEB Little Creek-Fort Story, plus substations and Pier 14 power infrastructure at Naval Station Norfolk supporting aircraft carrier operations - steady commercial-construction and electrical demand tied to the region's naval installations.
- Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarine contracts (combined)~$76.6B combinedMulti-year build program
HII's own reporting cites this as one combined figure across both concurrent submarine programs (Virginia-class: 9 boats plus material for a 10th; Columbia-class: 5 boats) rather than a per-class split. Sustained, large-scale demand for structural and pipe welders, marine pipefitters, and industrial electricians at Newport News Shipbuilding.
- FY2026 Navy shipbuilding program$47.4BFY2026, largest single-year US shipbuilding investment since the Cold War
Triggers major construction and outfitting activity at public shipyards, with a distributed manufacturing model spanning 11 states. Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia's largest industrial employer, is a primary beneficiary.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Virginia Beach market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for LED & solar, and what kills offers in Virginia Beach.
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 Virginia Beach.
What do solar photovoltaic installers earn in Virginia Beach?
BLS puts the Virginia Beach median for solar photovoltaic installers at $47,930 a year, 10% below the $53,140 national median. That ranks 34th of 39 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $47,700 to $58,270 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 Virginia Beach?
Of the roles we recruit for, Electrical Foreman (LED/Solar specialty) pays the most in Virginia Beach, an $80,950 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Low-Voltage/Controls Technician at $72,380, 11% below it. Solar PV Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $47,930. Solar PV Installer trails national pay the most (10% below).
How many nonresidential electrical contractors operate in Virginia Beach?
BLS counted 187 nonresidential electrical contractors in Virginia Beach in 2023, employing about 4,220 people between them. Up from 180 in 2018, a 4% increase against 6% growth nationally. That averages 23 people per location. They pay an average of $73,524, 13% below 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 Virginia Beach for solar photovoltaic installers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Baltimore (172 miles, about 490, $45,220 median), Philadelphia (219 miles, about 580, $58,350 median) and Lancaster (221 miles, about 90, $49,950 median). Philadelphia pays 22% more, which is where Virginia Beach employers tend to lose people.
Every hire from zero is a tax on your team.
187 nonresidential electrical contractors in Virginia Beach are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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