Average Hourly Wage of Solar Panel Installers, By State

This is the 15th installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state.  The three previous professions we examined were  window glaziers, sheet metal workers, and building inspectors.  You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.

The solar photo-voltaic panel installation profession is one of the newest jobs on the construction site.  It's also considered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to be one of the fastest growing professions across any industry.  From 2016 to 2026, the BLS expects employment to rise 105 percent, when the average is only around 5 percent.

As solar cells are getting lighter, more powerful, and cheaper by the day, homeowners and companies alike will continue to harness the sun's energy more and more.  Tesla also helped push the solar industry forward again last year, with their release of their solar roof shingles, which mimic the look of a traditional roof.  

Below you'll find a breakout of how each state compensates their solar panel installers. As you'll see, there is only data from 18 states currently, as the profession is still in its relative infancy.  All data below comes from the BLS' most recent reports from May 2016. 

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Solar Panel Installers, by State

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Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Solar Panel Installers, by State

18. Missouri  --  $15.46/hour

17. Florida  --  $15.66/hour

16. North Carolina  --  $16.48/hour

15. Vermont  --  $17.46/hour

14. Ohio  --  $17.79/hour

13. New Mexico  --  $17.89/hour

12. Connecticut  --  $18.71/hour

11. New York  --  $19.79/hour

10. Oregon--$19.81/hour

9. Arizona  --  $20.88/hour

8. Texas  --  $20.88/hour

7. California  --  $21.82/hour

6. New Jersey  --  $21.86/hour

5. Massachusetts  --  $22.18/hour

4. Colorado  --  $23.26/hour

3. Nevada  --  $23.81/hour

2. Hawaii  --  $25.46/hour

1. Utah  --  $27.70/hour

 

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of Solar Panel Installers - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state.  All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017.  The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state. 

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Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of Solar Panel Installers- Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

18. Hawaii  --  $8.55/hour

17. California  --  $11.87/hour

16. Oregon  --  $13.53/hour

15. New York  --  $13.54/hour

14. Massachusetts  --  $15.42/hour

13. Connecticut  --  $15.62/hour

12. Florida  --  $15.89/hour

11. New Jersey  --  $16.94/hour

10. Vermont--$16.95/hour

9. Missouri  --  $17.02/hour

8. North Carolina  --  $17.37/hour

7. New Mexico  --  $18.95/hour

6. Ohio  --  $19.16/hour

5. Arizona  --  $21.61/hour

4. Nevada  --  $22.52/hour

3. Colorado  --  $22.59/hour

2. Texas  --  $22.84/hour

1. Utah  --  $29.00/hour

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