Montana Solar jobs: 555 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Montana employs 555 people in the solar sector — about 0.2% of the U.S. total. That makes Montana the 48th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in Montana (2024)
National share: 0.15% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Montana ranks 48th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 555 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 3,528 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 115,825 solar workers.
1.1 Montana’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; Montana accounts for 555 of them.
1.3 Where Montana sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 8,832 | #44 |
| Solar | 555 | #48 |
| Hydropower | 429 | #23 |
| Storage & Grid | 296 | #45 |
| Electric Vehicles | 213 | #44 |
| Wind | 200 | #49 |
| Clean Fuels | 54 | #45 |
| Nuclear | 9 | #44 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Montana
Every solar-related sub-category reported for Montana in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Montana
Montana contributes 0.15% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within Montana’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 5.2% of total clean-energy jobs (555 of 10,588 workers).
Cost-of-living in Montana is roughly 5.8% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in Montana is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Montana-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $58,018 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $48,852 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Montana employers rate 17.9% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 28.4% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 46.3% of Montana’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 | 9,848 |
| Other Services | 4,488 |
| Professional Services | 4,386 |
| Trade | 3,149 |
| Mining and Extraction | 2,951 |
| Utilities | 2,914 |
| Manufacturing | 2,782 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 2,448 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 237 |
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.