Iowa Solar jobs: 1,405 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Iowa employs 1,405 people in the solar sector — about 0.4% of the U.S. total. That makes Iowa the 40th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in Iowa (2024)
National share: 0.38% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Iowa ranks 40th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 1,405 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 2,677 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 114,974 solar workers.
1.1 Iowa’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; Iowa accounts for 1,405 of them.
1.3 Where Iowa sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 21,088 | #30 |
| Wind | 3,895 | #9 |
| Solar | 1,405 | #40 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,190 | #25 |
| Storage & Grid | 901 | #30 |
| Nuclear | 626 | #27 |
| Clean Fuels | 231 | #25 |
| Hydropower | 125 | #40 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Iowa
Every solar-related sub-category reported for Iowa in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Iowa
Iowa contributes 0.38% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within Iowa’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 4.8% of total clean-energy jobs (1,405 of 29,462 workers).
Cost-of-living in Iowa is roughly 9.9% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in Iowa is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Iowa-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $55,493 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $46,726 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Iowa employers rate 23.0% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 24.8% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 47.7% of Iowa’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 | 24,088 |
| Manufacturing | 18,675 |
| Trade | 14,334 |
| Other Services | 11,679 |
| Utilities | 6,403 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 4,558 |
| Professional Services | 4,427 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 2,487 |
| Mining and Extraction | 41 |
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.