New Jersey Solar jobs: 9,436 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, New Jersey employs 9,436 people in the solar sector — about 2.5% of the U.S. total. That makes New Jersey the 8th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in New Jersey (2024)
National share: 2.55% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
New Jersey ranks 8th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 9,436 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 5,354 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 106,943 solar workers.
1.1 New Jersey’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; New Jersey accounts for 9,436 of them.
1.3 Where New Jersey sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 40,756 | #22 |
| Solar | 9,436 | #8 |
| Nuclear | 2,417 | #11 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,837 | #20 |
| Wind | 1,212 | #31 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,012 | #29 |
| Clean Fuels | 371 | #16 |
| Hydropower | 321 | #26 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in New Jersey
Every solar-related sub-category reported for New Jersey in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in New Jersey
New Jersey contributes 2.55% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within New Jersey’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 16.5% of total clean-energy jobs (9,436 of 57,363 workers).
Cost-of-living in New Jersey is roughly 12.4% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in New Jersey is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | New Jersey-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $69,227 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $58,291 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
New Jersey employers rate 17.6% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 35.6% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 53.2% of New Jersey’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 | 34,921 |
| Other Services | 29,153 |
| Trade | 28,896 |
| Manufacturing | 18,696 |
| Professional Services | 14,902 |
| Utilities | 12,766 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 7,275 |
| Mining and Extraction | 175 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 39 |
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.