Tennessee Solar jobs: 5,590 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Tennessee employs 5,590 people in the solar sector — about 1.5% of the U.S. total. That makes Tennessee the 21st-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in Tennessee (2024)
National share: 1.51% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Tennessee ranks 21st out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 5,590 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 1,507 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 110,790 solar workers.
1.1 Tennessee’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; Tennessee accounts for 5,590 of them.
1.3 Where Tennessee sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 53,319 | #17 |
| Hydropower | 5,802 | #3 |
| Solar | 5,590 | #21 |
| Electric Vehicles | 5,332 | #7 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,137 | #21 |
| Wind | 849 | #35 |
| Clean Fuels | 253 | #22 |
| Nuclear | 94 | #37 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Tennessee
Every solar-related sub-category reported for Tennessee in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Tennessee
Tennessee contributes 1.51% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within Tennessee’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 7.7% of total clean-energy jobs (5,590 of 72,376 workers).
Cost-of-living in Tennessee is roughly 7.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in Tennessee is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Tennessee-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $57,094 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $48,074 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Tennessee employers rate 18.2% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.6% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 44.8% of Tennessee’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 | 86,997 |
| Construction | 44,586 |
| Trade | 22,813 |
| Other Services | 22,441 |
| Utilities | 19,794 |
| Professional Services | 15,934 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 6,701 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 390 |
| Mining and Extraction | 379 |
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.