Salary guide › Illinois › Solar Installer
Solar Installer salary in Illinois (2025)
Most solar installers in Illinois earn $23.03 to $34.04 an hour.
The typical solar installer salary in Illinois is $28.67 an hour, or $59,630 a year. That is 12% more than the national typical pay of $25.55.
Pay by job level
| Job | Hourly | Yearly | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $17.00 | $35,360 | Estimate: the lowest 10% of pay in this trade (BLS 10th percentile). BLS has no apprentice category. Apprentices often start near helper pay, then step up each year toward journeyman pay. Low |
| Journeyman | $28.67 | $59,630 | Typical pay in the trade. BLS does not split pay by license level. Medium |
| Foreman | $50.84 | $105,750 | BLS pay for construction supervisors across all trades. Medium |
| Superintendent | $52.48 | $109,160 | BLS pay for construction managers, the closest official category. Medium |
| Project Manager | $52.48 | $109,160 | BLS pay for construction managers, the closest official category. Medium |
| Estimator | $39.78 | $82,750 | BLS pay for cost estimators in all industries. Medium |
| Owner Operator | Depends on the business | There is no wage data for owners. They earn from business profit, not a wage. None | |
High exact government figure Medium closest government category Low estimate, method shown None no data
Ready to get licensed in Illinois? Start your solar installer exam prep with Contractor Pathway.
See Illinois exam prepUnion and prevailing wage pay for solar installers in Illinois
The federal wage list for Illinois has no separate classification for solar installers, so there is no official union or prevailing rate to show. Ask the local union in your area for its wage sheet. Federal rates by county are on SAM.gov.
How to earn more
- Get licensed. A license lets you bid work in your own name. See Illinois exam prep.
- Know the steps. Experience, application, exams and what comes after. How to get licensed in Illinois.
- Run your own company. Many states also require a business and law exam. Business exam prep.
- Move up to foreman. Construction supervisors in Illinois typically earn $50.84 an hour.
Common questions
How much does a solar installer make in Illinois?
Typical pay is $28.67 an hour, or $59,630 a year, based on government data for May 2025. Most earn between $23.03 and $34.04 an hour. That includes union and non union workers.
What is the starting pay for a solar installer apprentice in Illinois?
Expect about $17.00 an hour to start. That is the lowest 10% of pay in the trade, an estimate. Apprentice pay then rises each year. The local union or the Illinois apprenticeship agency publishes the exact steps.
Do union solar installers make more in Illinois?
We have no official union rate for this trade in Illinois. Government pay figures mix union and non union workers, so they cannot answer this alone. Ask the local union for its wage sheet and compare wages plus benefits.
What is the prevailing wage for solar installer in Illinois?
The federal wage list has no separate classification for this trade in Illinois. Prevailing wage is the minimum on covered public jobs and changes by county. Check SAM.gov for your county, and whether Illinois has its own prevailing wage law.
Ready to get licensed in Illinois? Start your solar installer exam prep with Contractor Pathway.
See Illinois exam prepSee the full numbers and sources
Solar Installer salary in Illinois: full pay range
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.00 | $35,360 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 | High |
| 25th percentile | $23.03 | $47,890 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 | High |
| Median | $28.67 | $59,630 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 | High |
| 75th percentile | $34.04 | $70,800 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 | High |
| 90th percentile | $49.74 | $103,460 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 | High |
A percentile shows where pay falls: the 10th percentile means 10% earn less. BLS publishes hourly and yearly figures; yearly assumes 2,080 paid hours (40 hours times 52 weeks). $115.00+ means BLS reports it only as at least that amount.
What affects solar installer pay in Illinois
- Experience and skill. In Illinois, the top 10% earn at least $49.74 an hour, while the bottom 10% earn $17.00 or less. That gap of $32.74 an hour reflects experience, specialty and responsibility.
- State market. The Illinois median is 12% above the national median of $25.55 for Solar Photovoltaic Installers.
- Overtime. BLS figures are straight time pay. Overtime, shift pay and bonuses are not included, so total earnings can be higher.
- Union status and public work. Union contracts and prevailing wage jobs set their own rates. Those are separate from the market figures above.
- License classification. A contractor license lets you bid and run your own jobs instead of earning a wage.
Comparing union, prevailing and market pay
These are not directly comparable. A union total package includes benefits, a prevailing wage applies only to covered public jobs, and the BLS market wage is straight time pay for everyone in the trade.
Methodology
Market figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, state and metro tables, May 2025. We never average across sources or occupations. Full methodology.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state, metro and national tables. bls.gov/oes/tables.htm
- U.S. Department of Labor wage determination IL20260009 (Davis-Bacon, building), Cook, revision 2. sam.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, state prevailing wage laws. dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/prevailing-wages
Salary information on Contractor Pathway is an estimate for educational purposes only. Figures come from public sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, state prevailing wage determinations, federal wage determinations, and published union wage sheets. Actual pay depends on your employer, experience, local market, license classification, overtime, benefits, and the date of the data. Market wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics includes both union and non union workers. Union, prevailing wage, and market figures come from different sources and are not directly comparable. Some positions do not have official wage data, and those figures are marked as estimates with the method shown. This tool does not guarantee any wage, job offer, or income. Always confirm current rates with your local union, your state labor agency, or a prospective employer before making career or business decisions. Contractor Pathway is not responsible for decisions made based on these estimates.