Rhode Island Solar jobs: 1,566 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Rhode Island employs 1,566 people in the solar sector — about 0.4% of the U.S. total. That makes Rhode Island the 37th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in Rhode Island (2024)
National share: 0.42% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Rhode Island ranks 37th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 1,566 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 2,517 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 114,813 solar workers.
1.1 Rhode Island’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; Rhode Island accounts for 1,566 of them.
1.3 Where Rhode Island sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 11,582 | #39 |
| Solar | 1,566 | #37 |
| Wind | 614 | #38 |
| Storage & Grid | 169 | #49 |
| Electric Vehicles | 128 | #49 |
| Hydropower | 93 | #47 |
| Nuclear | 67 | #39 |
| Clean Fuels | 48 | #47 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Rhode Island
Every solar-related sub-category reported for Rhode Island in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Rhode Island
Rhode Island contributes 0.42% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within Rhode Island’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 11.0% of total clean-energy jobs (1,566 of 14,267 workers).
Cost-of-living in Rhode Island is roughly 0.9% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in Rhode Island is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Rhode Island-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $62,144 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $52,327 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Rhode Island employers rate 19.1% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 33.4% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 52.5% of Rhode Island’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 | 8,269 |
| Trade | 4,123 |
| Professional Services | 4,069 |
| Other Services | 3,682 |
| Manufacturing | 1,591 |
| Utilities | 1,502 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 193 |
| Mining and Extraction | 1 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 0 |
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.