South Carolina Solar jobs: 4,176 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, South Carolina employs 4,176 people in the solar sector — about 1.1% of the U.S. total. That makes South Carolina the 25th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in South Carolina (2024)
National share: 1.13% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
South Carolina ranks 25th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 4,176 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 93 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 112,204 solar workers.
1.1 South Carolina’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; South Carolina accounts for 4,176 of them.
1.3 Where South Carolina sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 31,530 | #27 |
| Hydropower | 7,415 | #2 |
| Nuclear | 4,306 | #1 |
| Solar | 4,176 | #25 |
| Electric Vehicles | 1,994 | #18 |
| Wind | 1,818 | #19 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,097 | #22 |
| Clean Fuels | 249 | #23 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in South Carolina
Every solar-related sub-category reported for South Carolina in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in South Carolina
South Carolina contributes 1.13% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within South Carolina’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 7.9% of total clean-energy jobs (4,176 of 52,585 workers).
Cost-of-living in South Carolina is roughly 5.7% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in South Carolina is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | South Carolina-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $58,079 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $48,904 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
South Carolina employers rate 28.1% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 21.9% as “somewhat difficult”) — tighter than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 50.0% of South Carolina’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) |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 50,545 |
| Construction | 28,144 |
| Trade | 25,163 |
| Other Services | 17,799 |
| Utilities | 12,125 |
| Professional Services | 7,687 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 4,875 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 815 |
| Mining and Extraction | 127 |
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.