California Solar jobs: 116,380 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, California employs 116,380 people in the solar sector — about 31.4% of the U.S. total. That makes California the 1st-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in California (2024)
National share: 31.41% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
California ranks 1st out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 116,380 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 112,297 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 0 solar workers.
1.1 California’s position vs. the top 10 and median states
1.2 Share of U.S. total
The solar sector nationwide employs roughly 370,556 workers; California accounts for 116,380 of them.
1.3 Where California sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 312,090 | #1 |
| Solar | 116,380 | #1 |
| Electric Vehicles | 48,965 | #1 |
| Storage & Grid | 19,309 | #1 |
| Hydropower | 10,633 | #1 |
| Wind | 8,384 | #3 |
| Clean Fuels | 4,373 | #1 |
| Nuclear | 4,106 | #4 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in California
Every solar-related sub-category reported for California in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in California
California contributes 31.41% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within California’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 22.2% of total clean-energy jobs (116,380 of 524,239 workers).
Cost-of-living in California is roughly 14.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in California is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | California-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $70,213 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $59,120 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
California employers rate 19.0% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 31.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 50.7% of California’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.
4.1 Employer hiring difficulty
4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group
| Industry (NAICS group) | Jobs (2024) |
|---|---|
| Construction | 261,790 |
| Professional Services | 179,480 |
| Other Services | 140,473 |
| Manufacturing | 135,925 |
| Trade | 114,418 |
| Utilities | 78,614 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 18,372 |
| Mining and Extraction | 11,089 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 1,334 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Data source: U.S. Department of Energy — 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (reflecting 2024 employment); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics; O*NET Occupation Database 29.1.
Last updated: April 2026.