North Carolina Wind jobs: 1,731 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, North Carolina employs 1,731 people in the wind sector — about 1.3% of the U.S. total. That makes North Carolina the 20th-largest state for wind jobs nationwide.
Wind Jobs in North Carolina (2024)
National share: 1.30% of all U.S. wind jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
North Carolina ranks 20th out of 51 U.S. states in wind employment. At 1,731 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arizona’s tally by 242 jobs, and trails the national leader Texas by 26,393 wind workers.
1.1 North Carolina’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; North Carolina accounts for 1,731 of them.
1.3 Where North Carolina sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 83,490 | #7 |
| Solar | 10,224 | #7 |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,747 | #14 |
| Storage & Grid | 2,020 | #15 |
| Wind | 1,731 | #20 |
| Nuclear | 1,565 | #15 |
| Hydropower | 806 | #16 |
| Clean Fuels | 571 | #9 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in North Carolina
Every wind-related sub-category reported for North Carolina in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in North Carolina
North Carolina contributes 1.30% of the nation’s wind workforce. Within North Carolina’s own clean-energy economy, wind accounts for 1.7% of total clean-energy jobs (1,731 of 103,154 workers).
Cost-of-living in North Carolina is roughly 3.8% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for wind roles in North Carolina is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | North Carolina-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Energy Engineer | $100,940 | $97,104 | 4 |
| Wind Turbine Service Technician | $61,770 | $59,423 | 3 |
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
North Carolina employers rate 18.8% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 36.2% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 55.0% of North Carolina’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 | 54,511 |
| Professional Services | 47,657 |
| Manufacturing | 44,541 |
| Other Services | 39,092 |
| Trade | 23,647 |
| Utilities | 14,591 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 2,791 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 1,119 |
| Mining and Extraction | 301 |
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.