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Best cities for solar installers

Rank every metro by what matters to you: pay, buying power, rent and job market

Best cities for solar installers, balanced Our calculation

With balanced priorities, Honolulu, HI ranks first for solar installers: $69,940 median pay worth $63,031 after local prices. We ranked the 42 metros with enough published solar installer data on pay, buying power, rent burden, job market size and unemployment.

  1. 1
    HonoluluHAWAII · HI · $69,940 median · $63,031 buying power · rent 33% of pay · 330 jobs
    81
  2. 2
    KahuluiHAWAII · HI · $78,360 median · $71,632 buying power · rent 31% of pay · 40 jobs
    79
  3. 3
    ProvoUTAH · UT · $59,950 median · $61,029 buying power · rent 24% of pay · 200 jobs
    76
  4. 4
    AlbuquerqueNEW MEXICO · NM · $59,800 median · $62,588 buying power · rent 22% of pay · 120 jobs
    74
  5. 5
    Las VegasNEVADA · NV · $67,810 median · $67,665 buying power · rent 25% of pay · 60 jobs
    71
  6. 6
    PortlandOREGON · OR · $66,320 median · $62,910 buying power · rent 30% of pay · 210 jobs
    71
  7. 7
    San FranciscoCALIFORNIA · CA · $72,150 median · $62,406 buying power · rent 43% of pay · 710 jobs
    69
  8. 8
    New YorkNEW YORK · NY · $70,130 median · $62,303 buying power · rent 41% of pay · 2,190 jobs
    68
  9. 9
    San JoseCALIFORNIA · CA · $71,630 median · $64,869 buying power · rent 46% of pay · 280 jobs
    67
  10. 10
    PhiladelphiaPENNSYLVANIA · PA · $58,350 median · $56,897 buying power · rent 32% of pay · 580 jobs
    61
  11. 11
    RiversideCALIFORNIA · CA · $60,050 median · $56,416 buying power · rent 34% of pay · 790 jobs
    60
  12. 12
    Atlantic CityNEW JERSEY · NJ · $60,230 median · $60,926 buying power · rent 31% of pay · 70 jobs
    57
  13. 13
    BakersfieldCALIFORNIA · CA · $56,990 median · $56,490 buying power · rent 27% of pay · 370 jobs
    57
  14. 14
    ModestoCALIFORNIA · CA · $59,920 median · $57,556 buying power · rent 28% of pay · 50 jobs
    56
  15. 15
    FresnoCALIFORNIA · CA · $58,220 median · $56,990 buying power · rent 28% of pay · 210 jobs
    56

Default weights: buying power 4, pay 3, rent 3, job market 2, unemployment 2. Change them below to re-rank.

Top 5 by each factor Government data

Highest pay

  1. Kahului, HI: $78,360
  2. San Francisco, CA: $72,150
  3. San Jose, CA: $71,630
  4. New York, NY: $70,130
  5. Honolulu, HI: $69,940

Most buying power

  1. Kahului, HI: $71,632
  2. Las Vegas, NV: $67,665
  3. San Jose, CA: $64,869
  4. Santa Cruz, CA: $63,287
  5. Honolulu, HI: $63,031

Lowest rent burden

  1. Albuquerque, NM: 22% of pay for a 1-bed
  2. Provo, UT: 24% of pay for a 1-bed
  3. Las Vegas, NV: 25% of pay for a 1-bed
  4. Grand Junction, CO: 26% of pay for a 1-bed
  5. Bakersfield, CA: 27% of pay for a 1-bed

Most jobs

  1. New York, NY: 2,190 employed
  2. Los Angeles, CA: 1,930 employed
  3. Houston, TX: 1,620 employed
  4. Dallas, TX: 1,570 employed
  5. Phoenix, AZ: 1,000 employed

See every metro on the solar installer overview.

What matters to you? Our calculation

Pick a quick start or set your own weights. Each metro gets a percentile for every factor (compared with all metros for this trade), weighted by your sliders. Nothing is estimated: a metro needs at least 4 of the 5 figures published to be ranked, and results show when one is missing.

Pay and jobs: BLS OEWS May 2025. Buying power: BEA 2024. Rent: HUD FY2027. How we calculate

How the ranking works →

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