- The middle half earn between $21.78 and $29.09 an hour.
- Arizona ranks 14th of the 32 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Arizona pays more than 3 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,280 solar installers on payrolls in Arizona.
- At the state median wage, a solar installation company needs to bill about $113.79 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Solar Installer pay in Arizona, bottom to top
BLS calls this group solar photovoltaic installers: the crews who mount, wire and set up solar panels on roofs and on the ground.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.64 | $38,770 | $20.00 |
| 25th percentile | $21.78 | $45,300 | $22.45 |
| Median | $24.60 | $51,160 | $25.55 |
| 75th percentile | $29.09 | $60,500 | $30.23 |
| 90th percentile | $37.88 | $78,780 | $38.45 |
| Average (mean) | $26.05 | $54,170 | $27.84 |
From the bottom tenth ($18.64) to the top tenth ($37.88), the top of the scale pays about 2 times the bottom in Arizona, close to the 1.9 times spread for solar installers nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $1.36 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $0.57 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $26.05, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Arizona compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $51,160 in Arizona against $53,140 nationally, $1,980 less.
In the state ranking, Arizona sits 14th, between Connecticut ($26.73) and Florida ($24.30). The range runs from $20.37 in South Dakota to $37.96 in New Jersey.
Against its neighboring states, Arizona is in the middle: California and Nevada pay more, and Colorado, New Mexico and Utah pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Arizona |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $24.60 | $51,160 | |
| California | $29.14 | $60,600 | +$4.54 an hour |
| Colorado | $23.91 | $49,730 | −$0.69 an hour |
| Nevada | $32.60 | $67,810 | +$8.00 an hour |
| New Mexico | $23.31 | $48,490 | −$1.29 an hour |
| Utah | $24.03 | $49,980 | −$0.57 an hour |
How many solar installers work in Arizona
BLS estimates 1,280 solar installers on payrolls in Arizona, 4.1% of the 31,350 nationwide. Only 4 states have more.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in Arizona, 2 times the national share.
What a solar installation company in Arizona should charge
Say you run a solar installation company in Arizona and pay the state median of $24.60 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $24.60 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $55,082 |
| Break-even rate | ($55,082 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $96.72 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $96.72 ÷ 0.85 | $113.79 |
That is $113.79 per billable hour, 4.6 times the wage, and $1.67 less than the $115.46 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.09 in Arizona, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.68.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.78, the rate only drops to $108.84.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2231, solar photovoltaic installers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: solar installer salary by state.