Lead Solar Installer: metro pay ranking
At Skilled Trades Headhunters, this is what we do all day: recruit skilled trades professionals.
Skilled Trades Headhunters compares published medians for SOC 47-2231 Solar Photovoltaic Installers, not estimated offers for this particular title.
Which metros publish the highest and lowest medians?
This ranking uses the May 2025 annual median for Solar Photovoltaic Installers. It is not adjusted for living costs. A metro is a BLS statistical area, not just the city limits. Top-coded or suppressed medians are not ranked.
The wage ratio is simple arithmetic: this occupation's median divided by the all-occupations median in the same area and unit. It is not a cost-of-living measure. Location quotient describes the concentration of employment, not relative pay. Neither predicts what a particular candidate will accept.
Where does this trade pay most relative to local wages?
| Area | Wage ratio | Median | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 1.45 | $67,810 | 0.27 |
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | 1.36 | $78,360 | 2.77 |
| Salinas, CA | 1.31 | $62,260 | Not published by BLS |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 1.27 | $69,550 | 2.02 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | 1.27 | $60,230 | 2.03 |
| Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | 1.25 | $59,950 | 3.31 |
| Albuquerque, NM | 1.24 | $59,800 | 1.43 |
| Fresno, CA | 1.24 | $58,220 | 2.15 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 1.24 | $60,050 | 2.28 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 1.22 | $69,940 | 3.72 |
| Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 1.21 | $54,410 | 1.39 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | 1.21 | $59,110 | 2.04 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 1.20 | $61,020 | 4.15 |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 1.20 | $56,990 | 5.43 |
| Modesto, CA | 1.18 | $59,920 | 1.39 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 1.16 | $59,960 | 2.52 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 1.14 | $70,130 | 1.15 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 1.14 | $59,650 | Not published by BLS |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 1.09 | $66,320 | 0.88 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 1.09 | $61,810 | 2.51 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1.07 | $58,350 | 0.98 |
| Flagstaff, AZ | 1.07 | $50,890 | 2.5 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 1.07 | $59,600 | 1.53 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 1.05 | $51,170 | Not published by BLS |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 1.05 | $61,340 | 1.79 |
| Lancaster, PA | 1.04 | $49,950 | 1.83 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 1.00 | $59,930 | 3.23 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 1.00 | $46,660 | 1.47 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 1.00 | $53,700 | 0.76 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 1.00 | $51,200 | 2.09 |
| Aguadilla, PR | 0.99 | $26,340 | 9.38 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 0.99 | $48,290 | 0.9 |
| Ogden, UT | 0.99 | $48,290 | 3.42 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 0.98 | $49,990 | Not published by BLS |
| Grand Junction, CO | 0.98 | $47,620 | 3.8 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 0.97 | $72,150 | 1.49 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 0.97 | $47,930 | Not published by BLS |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 0.95 | $47,060 | 2.45 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 0.94 | $48,350 | 1.93 |
| commercial-vehicle manufacturers-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 0.92 | $48,020 | 0.37 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 0.92 | $45,970 | 0.56 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR | 0.91 | $26,860 | 12.23 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 0.89 | $59,400 | 0.69 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 0.89 | $50,580 | 3.18 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 0.85 | $53,140 | 0.88 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 0.85 | $71,630 | 1.24 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 0.85 | $61,630 | Not published by BLS |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 0.85 | $49,470 | 1.05 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 0.80 | $39,690 | 1.08 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 0.77 | $45,220 | 1.8 |
Broader occupation Our title "Lead Solar Installer" is reported by BLS as SOC 47-2231 Solar Photovoltaic Installers. BLS groups Lead Solar Installer within Solar Photovoltaic Installers; it does not publish this niche title or credential level separately.
National percentile table Methodology