Skilled Wages

Solar installer salary in South Dakota

Median $20.37 an hour for 50 solar installers, May 2025, with the union scale by county, the job trend since 2025 and the state's own outlook.

$20.37/hrMedian hourly wageSouth Dakota, May data
$42,380/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$18.06 – $35.3810th to 90th percentilehourly range
50Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-13

Solar installer pay in South Dakota: the full range

Wage percentiles, South DakotaMarket wage, 10th-90th pctU.S. reference$10$20$30$40$50/hrSouth Dakota: 10th $18.06 · 25th $20.00 · median $20.37 · 75th $32.30 · 90th $35.38South Dakota$20.37$18.06$35.38United States: 10th $20.00 · 25th $22.45 · median $25.55 · 75th $30.23 · 90th $38.45United States$25.55
Hourly wage percentiles for solar installers: South Dakota vs United States, May 2025.

South Dakota ranks 32nd of 32 states for median solar installer pay, and 30th once adjusted for cost of living (the cost-of-living-adjusted median is $22.99). 50 solar installers work in the state. The top 10% earn 2.0× what the bottom 10% earn.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$18.06 – $20.00$37,560 – $41,600roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$20.00 – $32.30$41,600 – $67,180the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$32.30 – $35.38$67,180 – $73,590the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Where does your pay fall?



Are there more solar installer jobs in South Dakota?

0.1Jobs per 1,000 in the stateconcentration 0.5× the US share, 19th of 24 states

BLS counted 50 solar installers in South Dakota in May 2025, an estimate with a relative standard error of 50%. With fewer than 3,000 jobs or a wide margin of error, year-to-year changes are within the survey's noise and are not shown as a trend.

Outlook for solar installers in South Dakota

No state projection is published for solar installers in South Dakota. Nationally, BLS projects +36.5% growth over 2025-35 with about 4,200 openings a year; the national page has the openings breakdown and every state that does publish a figure.

Union scale and prevailing wage for solar installers in South Dakota

On federally funded construction in South Dakota, contractors must pay solar installers at least the Davis-Bacon rate for the county. 48 of the 66 counties with a Building rate use a union contract rate (typical package $53.15 an hour including fringe); the rest use a survey rate (typical $32.33). 18 of the 66 counties still use a survey rate dated 2014 or earlier (for example Butte County at $32.33). The market median for the state is $20.37.

Union contract rateSurvey rate
Union / prevailing package, $/hr, SDAurora: $53.15 (union)Beadle: $53.15 (union)Bennett: $53.15 (union)Bon Homme: $53.15 (union)Brookings: $53.15 (union)Brown: $53.15 (union)Brule: $53.15 (union)Buffalo: $53.15 (union)Butte: $32.33 (survey)Campbell: $32.33 (survey)Charles Mix: $53.15 (union)Clark: $53.15 (union)Clay: $53.15 (union)Codington: $53.15 (union)Corson: $32.33 (survey)Custer: $22.58 (survey)Davison: $53.15 (union)Day: $53.15 (union)Deuel: $53.15 (union)Dewey: $32.33 (survey)Douglas: $53.15 (union)Edmunds: $53.15 (union)Fall River: $53.15 (union)Faulk: $53.15 (union)Grant: $53.15 (union)Gregory: $53.15 (union)Haakon: $32.33 (survey)Hamlin: $53.15 (union)Hand: $53.15 (union)Hanson: $53.15 (union)Harding: $32.33 (survey)Hughes: $32.33 (survey)Hutchinson: $53.15 (union)Hyde: $53.15 (union)Jackson: $53.15 (union)Jerauld: $53.15 (union)Jones: $53.15 (union)Kingsbury: $53.15 (union)Lake: $53.15 (union)Lawrence: $32.33 (survey)Lincoln: $53.15 (union)Lyman: $53.15 (union)McCook: $53.15 (union)McPherson: $53.15 (union)Marshall: $53.15 (union)Meade: $21.26 (survey)Mellette: $53.15 (union)Miner: $53.15 (union)Minnehaha: $53.15 (union)Moody: $53.15 (union)Oglala Lakota: $53.15 (union)Pennington: $23.08 (survey)Perkins: $32.33 (survey)Potter: $32.33 (survey)Roberts: $53.15 (union)Sanborn: $53.15 (union)Spink: $53.15 (union)Stanley: $32.33 (survey)Sully: $32.33 (survey)Todd: $53.15 (union)Tripp: $53.15 (union)Turner: $53.15 (union)Union: $53.15 (union)Walworth: $32.33 (survey)Yankton: $30.29 (survey)Ziebach: $32.33 (survey)Union / prevailing package, $/hr$32.33survey rate
Davis-Bacon base + fringe for solar installers by county, Building construction. Hatched counties use a survey rate rather than a union contract.
CountyRate sourceBaseFringeTotalDetermination
AuroraUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260004
BeadleUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260021
BennettUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260022
Bon HommeUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260023
BrookingsUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260005
BrownUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260006
BruleUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260022
BuffaloUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260007
Charles MixUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260010
ClarkUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260021
ClayUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260023
CodingtonUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260011
DavisonUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260023
DayUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260021
DeuelUnion ELEC0426-002 2025-06-01$36.32$16.83$53.15SD20260021

Building construction type, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Residential, Heavy and Highway rates differ; look them up on the South Dakota prevailing wage page. This is not the official wage determination.

Is construction work growing in South Dakota?

32.1kConstruction jobsSouth Dakota, 2026-09
+3.2%Change over 12 monthsseasonally unadjusted
Construction employment, 1990-20260k10k20k30k40k1990199520002005201020152020202532kSep 2026
Construction employment in South Dakota (thousands), construction supersector, BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted. Grey bands are recessions.

Contractor pay by county

Average pay at electrical contractors establishments by county (all employees, not just solar installers), from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages. Across the 45 counties that report both years, specialty trade contractor employment (all trades) went from 12,682 in 2015 to 17,169 in 2025, +35.4%.

CountyEstablishmentsEmployeesAverage annual payAvg weekly wage
Minnehaha County821,363$89,909$1,729
Beadle County646$79,681$1,532
Pennington County54573$76,688$1,475
Hamlin County765$73,783$1,419
Charles Mix County45$68,403$1,315
Butte County741$68,252$1,313
Lincoln County33270$64,764$1,245
Union County537$62,872$1,209
Hughes County834$59,366$1,142
Clay County415$57,570$1,107
Sanborn County310$55,297$1,063
Yankton County1247$51,212$985

Keep comparing

Solar installer pay in neighbouring states

Other trades in South Dakota

More on South Dakota

Questions this page answers

How much do solar installers make in South Dakota?

The median solar installer in South Dakota earned $20.37 an hour ($42,380 a year) in May 2025, 20% below the national median of $25.55. The middle half earn $20.00–$32.30; the top 10% earn more than $35.38.

Where does South Dakota rank for solar installer pay?

South Dakota ranks 32nd of 32 states for solar installer pay, with a median of $20.37 an hour, and 30th after adjusting for South Dakota's cost of living (BEA price parity 88.6, US = 100).

What is the union solar installer rate in South Dakota?

Davis-Bacon determinations list a union contract rate for solar installers in 48 counties, with a typical package of $53.15 an hour including fringe benefits; see the county table above.

How many solar installers work in South Dakota?

BLS counted 50 solar installers in South Dakota in May 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 jobs (location quotient 0.51; 1.0 is the national average concentration).

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, South Dakota and metro areas, SOC 47-2231. Job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics, state construction employment through 2026-09.
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages.
  • BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (cost-of-living adjustment).
  • SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-11-13. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35.