How much do solar installers make in North Carolina in 2026?

The median solar installer in North Carolina earns $43,860 a year, which works out to about $21.09 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That is the midpoint — half of installers in the state earn more, half earn less. If you are just starting out or working for a smaller residential contractor, you are more likely landing near the 25th percentile at $39,710 a year, or roughly $19.09 an hour. Workers with more experience, commercial project exposure, or specialized skills push toward the 75th percentile at $48,460 a year, about $23.30 an hour.

The spread between the bottom quartile and the top quartile is roughly $8,750 a year. That gap is driven by a handful of things: years in the trade, the type of work you do (residential rooftop versus ground-mount commercial or utility-scale), and which part of North Carolina you are working in. The Raleigh-Durham metro, Charlotte, and the Research Triangle all have a higher concentration of commercial and industrial solar projects, which tend to pay more per hour than residential installs. Rural counties may have fewer openings but utility-scale ground-mount projects — and there are a significant number of those in eastern North Carolina — can pay competitively because they require more specialized rigging, conduit work, and sometimes electrical licensing.

Experience is the single biggest lever on pay within this trade. A first-year installer running panels up a roof and learning the racking systems is not earning the same as a lead installer who can read single-line diagrams, troubleshoot inverters, and manage a two- or three-person crew. Moving from entry-level to lead typically takes two to four years of consistent field work. Some employers accelerate that by pairing newer installers with licensed electricians on larger jobs, which speeds up the learning curve and often the pay scale.

Licensing matters here. North Carolina requires electrical work — including the wiring side of solar installations — to be performed by or under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician. Many solar installers pursue a Limited Energy Contractor license or work toward a full electrical license, which opens up higher-paying work and more responsibility. Holding or working toward that credential puts you in a different pay conversation than someone who only handles mechanical installation.

Overtime is common in this trade, especially in spring and fall when homeowners and developers push to get systems online before summer peaks or before year-end tax deadlines. Weeks of 45 to 50 hours are not unusual during those stretches. At the median base rate of $21.09 an hour, overtime hours at time-and-a-half bring in $31.64 per hour — a meaningful bump that does not show up in the BLS annual figure, which reflects base wage rates rather than total annual earnings with overtime included.

The BLS OEWS data also does not capture bonuses, productivity incentives, or any pay for lead or foreman responsibilities that some employers handle through flat stipends rather than hourly adjustments. If your employer pays a crew-lead bonus or a per-system completion bonus, your real take-home can run noticeably above what the published median suggests.

North Carolina ranked among the top states for solar capacity installed in recent years, which means demand for qualified installers has stayed relatively steady. That steady demand is reflected in pay holding above the national floor for this trade. Workers who add battery storage knowledge — lithium-iron-phosphate systems are increasingly common on both residential and commercial jobs — are seeing employers willing to pay above the 75th percentile mark to keep that skill on staff.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.