South Dakota Solar jobs: 743 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, South Dakota employs 743 people in the solar sector — about 0.2% of the U.S. total. That makes South Dakota the 46th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in South Dakota (2024)
National share: 0.20% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
South Dakota ranks 46th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 743 workers, the state sits below the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 3,339 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 115,636 solar workers.
1.1 South 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; South Dakota accounts for 743 of them.
1.3 Where South Dakota sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 7,898 | #45 |
| Wind | 1,831 | #18 |
| Solar | 743 | #46 |
| Storage & Grid | 340 | #43 |
| Electric Vehicles | 327 | #40 |
| Clean Fuels | 79 | #43 |
| Hydropower | 65 | #48 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in South Dakota
Every solar-related sub-category reported for South Dakota in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in South Dakota
South Dakota contributes 0.20% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within South Dakota’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 6.6% of total clean-energy jobs (743 of 11,282 workers).
Cost-of-living in South Dakota is roughly 10.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in South Dakota is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | South Dakota-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $55,246 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $46,518 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
South Dakota employers rate 14.7% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 29.0% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 43.7% of South 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) |
|---|---|
| Construction | 9,080 |
| Manufacturing | 5,860 |
| Trade | 5,444 |
| Other Services | 3,922 |
| Utilities | 2,008 |
| Professional Services | 1,638 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 955 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 622 |
| Mining and Extraction | 65 |
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.