Solar · Wisconsin

Wisconsin Solar jobs: 4,429 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Wisconsin employs 4,429 people in the solar sector — about 1.2% of the U.S. total. That makes Wisconsin the 23rd-largest state for solar jobs nationwide.

Solar Jobs in Wisconsin (2024)

4,429 Rank #23 of 51

National share: 1.20% of all U.S. solar jobs.

Typical Median Wage

$56,725
Sector-wide BLS OES median across 2 tracked occupations.

1. Employment Landscape

Wisconsin ranks 23rd out of 51 U.S. states in solar employment. At 4,429 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Hawaii’s tally by 346 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 111,951 solar workers.

1.1 Wisconsin’s position vs. the top 10 and median states

1st · California
116,380
23. Wisconsin
4,429
25th · Hawaii
4,083
51st · Alaska
163

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The solar sector nationwide employs roughly 370,556 workers; Wisconsin accounts for 4,429 of them.

1.3 Where Wisconsin sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 58,160 #15
Solar 4,429 #23
Wind 2,002 #17
Electric Vehicles 1,925 #19
Storage & Grid 1,526 #19
Nuclear 945 #22
Clean Fuels 308 #20
Hydropower 305 #27

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Wisconsin

Every solar-related sub-category reported for Wisconsin in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.

Solar
4,429

2. Pay & Career Roles in Wisconsin

Wisconsin contributes 1.20% of the nation’s solar workforce. Within Wisconsin’s own clean-energy economy, solar accounts for 6.4% of total clean-energy jobs (4,429 of 69,599 workers).

Cost-of-living in Wisconsin is roughly 6.9% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for solar roles in Wisconsin is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianWisconsin-adjustedJob Zone
Electrician $61,590 $57,340 3
Solar Photovoltaic Installer $51,860 $48,282 2

See all 2 solar occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Wisconsin employers rate 20.1% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 24.9% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 45.0% of Wisconsin’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
49.0%
Somewhat difficult hiring
24.9%
Very difficult hiring
20.1%
Not at all difficult hiring
6.0%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Manufacturing 46,604
Construction 38,757
Trade 19,019
Other Services 18,866
Professional Services 10,962
Utilities 8,479
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 4,864
Agriculture and Forestry 898
Mining and Extraction 50

Frequently Asked Questions

How many solar jobs are there in Wisconsin?
As of 2024, Wisconsin has approximately 4,429 solar jobs — ranked 23rd nationally.
What do these jobs pay?
Median wages across the tracked solar occupations range from $51,860 to $61,590 according to BLS OES.
Is Wisconsin a good place to take one of these jobs?
Wisconsin is currently in line with national norms. Cost-of-living runs 6.9% below the U.S. average, which raises or lowers real take-home on a BLS national median by a similar amount.

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.