North Dakota Solar jobs: 352 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, North Dakota employs 352 people in the solar sector — about 0.1% of the U.S. total. That makes North Dakota the 49th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in North Dakota (2024)
National share: 0.10% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
North Dakota ranks 49th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 352 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 3,731 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 116,027 solar workers.
1.1 North Dakota’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; North Dakota accounts for 352 of them.
1.3 Where North Dakota sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 5,583 | #50 |
| Wind | 1,723 | #21 |
| Storage & Grid | 368 | #42 |
| Solar | 352 | #49 |
| Electric Vehicles | 262 | #42 |
| Clean Fuels | 107 | #40 |
| Hydropower | 45 | #50 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in North Dakota
Every solar-related sub-category reported for North Dakota in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in North Dakota
North Dakota contributes 0.10% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within North Dakota’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 4.2% of total clean-energy jobs (352 of 8,441 workers).
Cost-of-living in North Dakota is roughly 9.0% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in North Dakota is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | North Dakota-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $56,047 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $47,193 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
North Dakota employers rate 21.8% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 29.2% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 51.1% of North Dakota’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 | 17,068 |
| Trade | 14,191 |
| Construction | 9,449 |
| Manufacturing | 5,857 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 3,920 |
| Other Services | 3,320 |
| Utilities | 3,283 |
| Professional Services | 1,812 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 551 |
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.