Virginia Solar jobs: 6,005 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Virginia employs 6,005 people in the solar sector — about 1.6% of the U.S. total. That makes Virginia the 17th-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.
Solar Jobs in Virginia (2024)
National share: 1.62% of all U.S. solar jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
Virginia ranks 17th out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 6,005 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 1,922 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 110,375 solar workers.
1.1 Virginia’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; Virginia accounts for 6,005 of them.
1.3 Where Virginia sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 79,241 | #9 |
| Solar | 6,005 | #17 |
| Wind | 2,527 | #14 |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,509 | #16 |
| Nuclear | 2,426 | #10 |
| Storage & Grid | 1,486 | #20 |
| Hydropower | 823 | #15 |
| Clean Fuels | 327 | #17 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Virginia
Every solar-related sub-category reported for Virginia in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in Virginia
Virginia contributes 1.62% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within Virginia’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 6.3% of total clean-energy jobs (6,005 of 95,344 workers).
Cost-of-living in Virginia is roughly 3.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in Virginia is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | Virginia-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $61,590 | $63,438 | 3 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installer | $51,860 | $53,416 | 2 |
See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
Virginia employers rate 19.4% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 26.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 46.1% of Virginia’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 | 66,425 |
| Professional Services | 39,112 |
| Other Services | 30,402 |
| Manufacturing | 21,369 |
| Trade | 17,717 |
| Utilities | 10,936 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 6,442 |
| Mining and Extraction | 3,026 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 588 |
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.