New Mexico Solar jobs: 3,378 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, New Mexico employs 3,378 people in the solar sector — about 0.9% of the U.S. total. That makes New Mexico the 30th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in New Mexico (2024)
National share: 0.91% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
New Mexico ranks 30th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 3,378 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 705 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 113,001 solar workers.
1.1 New Mexico’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 Mexico accounts for 3,378 of them.
1.3 Where New Mexico sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 6,988 | #48 |
| Solar | 3,378 | #30 |
| Wind | 1,239 | #30 |
| Storage & Grid | 481 | #37 |
| Electric Vehicles | 312 | #41 |
| Clean Fuels | 133 | #37 |
| Hydropower | 110 | #46 |
| Nuclear | 98 | #36 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in New Mexico
Every solar-related sub-category reported for New Mexico in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in New Mexico
New Mexico contributes 0.91% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within New Mexico’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 26.5% of total clean-energy jobs (3,378 of 12,740 workers).
Cost-of-living in New Mexico is roughly 7.8% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in New Mexico is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | New Mexico-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $56,786 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $47,815 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
New Mexico employers rate 22.2% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 29.5% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 51.8% of New Mexico’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) |
|---|---|
| Mining and Extraction | 19,901 |
| Construction | 15,246 |
| Professional Services | 10,503 |
| Manufacturing | 8,343 |
| Other Services | 6,295 |
| Utilities | 4,538 |
| Trade | 2,949 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 2,005 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 83 |
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.