Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Solar PV Installer Salary in Portland
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Electrical · COL Index: 130
Solar PV Installers in Portland, OR earn a median annual wage of $59,830 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $50,780 and the 90th at $75,250. After cost of living, that translates to $46,023 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (78/100).
What Solar PV Installers Take Home in Portland
The $24,470 spread between entry-level and top-decile solar pv installers in Portland is relatively narrow — about 41% of the median. That tight band usually signals a trade where pay scales primarily with experience rather than employer or specialization. New entrants can expect to climb steadily toward median pay over their first 5-10 years.
Portland's cost-of-living index of 130 is well above the U.S. average — meaning a solar pv installer earning $59,830 here brings home roughly $46,023 in U.S.-average purchasing power. That gap between nominal and real pay is one of the largest in the country and reflects expensive housing, transportation, and services. Workers should weigh whether the headline pay actually clears the cost-of-living premium.
With a Trade Pay Score of 78 (B), solar pv installers in Portland land in the strong second tier. Pay, growth, and purchasing power are all solid but one factor — usually wage growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay — keeps the score below the A threshold. For most workers, B-graded combinations are perfectly reasonable career choices.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Level | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Apprentice / Entry) | $50,780 | $39,062 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $51,880 | $39,908 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $59,830 | $46,023 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $63,850 | $49,115 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $75,250 | $57,885 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure here comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — a survey of about 1.2 million employers per release covering more than 800 occupations and every U.S. metropolitan statistical area. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade. Read the full methodology.
Career outlook detail — projected 2032 employment levels for solar pv installers, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Portland are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Solar PV Installer make in Portland?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median solar pv installer salary in Portland, OR is $59,830. The 10th percentile is $50,780 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $75,250 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Portland pay compare for Solar PV Installers?
With a Trade Pay Score of 78/100 and a grade of B, the Portland-Solar PV Installer pairing is a strong combination but with one factor (usually growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay) holding it back from an A grade.
What is the apprenticeship path for Solar PV Installers in Portland?
Solar PV Installers typically complete a 2-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($50,780) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Solar PV Installer pay in Portland?
Portland has a cost-of-living index of 130. The median solar pv installer salary of $59,830 translates to $46,023 in U.S.-average purchasing power — a downward adjustment because the metro is more expensive than average.
Where does this salary data come from?
Every wage figure on this page is a real BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median or percentile from the 2024 release at https://www.bls.gov/oes/, which surveys roughly 1.2 million U.S. employers per release. Career outlook context (projected employment growth through 2032) comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Both are public-domain U.S. government data sources.
Solar PV Installers in Portland, OR earn a median annual wage of $59,830 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $50,780 and the 90th at $75,250. After cost of living, that translates to $46,023 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (78/100).
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. trades, cities, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.