How much do solar panel installers make in 2026?
Solar panel installers are counted in the BLS solar photovoltaic installers series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 47-2231 national median as $53,140 a year ($25.55 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $41,600 and the top 10% at $79,970. The useful distinction on this page is employer model rather than growth. Residential rooftop crews handle mounting and flashing on roofs, racking, module setting and DC wiring, working at height on pitched roofs in all weather with several installs a week; their pay sits in the lower and middle band, and the ceiling is reached by moving to the electrical side — service upgrades, inverter and battery commissioning — which usually requires an electrical licence or working under one. Utility-scale field crews work on tracker and fixed-tilt arrays in remote locations, with mechanical assembly, torque documentation and module handling at volume, often paid on prevailing-wage or agreement rates with per diem; the work is more repetitive and better paid per hour, but project-based and travel-dependent. Commissioning technicians, operations and maintenance staff and crew leads occupy the upper band in both models. Employment is projected to grow 42.1% through 2034 with roughly 4,100 openings a year. → Full solar panel installer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $53,140 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Solar Panel Installers earn a national median $53,140/yr ($25.55/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2231); the P10 to P90 range is $41,600 to $79,970.
- Solar photovoltaic installers have a dedicated BLS series: a $53,140 median inside a $41,600 to $79,970 band, alongside the fastest projected growth rate in the survey at 42.1%.
- Rooftop residential and utility-scale field work are paid on different logic: rooftop is route-based with local crews, while utility-scale is project work at prevailing-wage or agreement rates with per diem.
- The ceiling in both models runs through the electrical and commissioning side — service upgrades, inverters, storage and operations and maintenance — rather than through more module setting.
US Solar Panel Installer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do solar panel installers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-2231; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2231, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a solar panel installer earn at each career stage?
Solar installation pay rises by moving from mechanical work toward electrical and commissioning responsibility. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 47-2231.
By State
Which states pay solar panel installers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Solar geography is policy-driven rather than sun-driven: state incentives, net metering rules, interconnection processes and prevailing-wage requirements on public and utility-scale projects influence installer pay far more than local irradiance does.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($61,110), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay solar panel installers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Rooftop work is metro and suburban by nature, while the best-paid utility-scale installation is on rural sites where compensation is built from prevailing-wage rates, long shifts and per diem instead.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a solar panel installer’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does solar panel installer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Solar Panel Installers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify solar panel installer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a solar panel installer actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Solar Panel Installer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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