California Wind jobs: 8,384 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, California employs 8,384 people in the wind sector — about 6.3% of the U.S. total. That makes California the 3rd-largest state for wind jobs nationwide.
Wind Jobs in California (2024)
National share: 6.30% of all U.S. wind jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
California ranks 3rd out of 51 U.S. states in wind employment. At 8,384 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arizona’s tally by 6,895 jobs, and trails the national leader Texas by 19,740 wind workers.
1.1 California’s position vs. the top 10 and median states
1.2 Share of U.S. total
The wind sector nationwide employs roughly 132,984 workers; California accounts for 8,384 of them.
1.3 Where California sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 312,090 | #1 |
| Solar | 116,380 | #1 |
| Electric Vehicles | 48,965 | #1 |
| Storage & Grid | 19,309 | #1 |
| Hydropower | 10,633 | #1 |
| Wind | 8,384 | #3 |
| Clean Fuels | 4,373 | #1 |
| Nuclear | 4,106 | #4 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in California
Every wind-related sub-category reported for California in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in California
California contributes 6.30% of the nation’s wind workforce. Within California’s own clean-energy economy, wind accounts for 1.6% of total clean-energy jobs (8,384 of 524,239 workers).
Cost-of-living in California is roughly 14.0% higher the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for wind roles in California is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | California-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Energy Engineer | $100,940 | $115,072 | 4 |
| Wind Turbine Service Technician | $61,770 | $70,418 | 3 |
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
California employers rate 19.0% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 31.7% as “somewhat difficult”) — on par with the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 50.7% of California’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 | 261,790 |
| Professional Services | 179,480 |
| Other Services | 140,473 |
| Manufacturing | 135,925 |
| Trade | 114,418 |
| Utilities | 78,614 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 18,372 |
| Mining and Extraction | 11,089 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 1,334 |
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.