SOC 47-2231 · Construction and Extraction Occupations · May 2025
How much do Solar Photovoltaic Installers make in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA?
In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Solar Photovoltaic Installers in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA is $59,960. The 10th percentile is $48,240 and the 90th percentile is $81,520. Employment is 100.
Median annual wage
$59,960
- 10th percentile
- $48,240
- 25th percentile
- $59,960
- Median
- $59,960
- 75th percentile
- $66,140
- 90th percentile
- $81,520
- Mean
- $64,690
Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

Percentile spread
For Solar Photovoltaic Installers, the published 10th percentile is $48,240 and the 90th percentile is $81,520. The difference is $33,280, which is 55.5% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.
The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $59,960 to the 75th at $66,140, covers $6,180.
The mean annual wage is $64,690, which sits above the median of $59,960. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.
National and state comparison
The Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA median is 12.8% higher than the national median of $53,140 for Solar Photovoltaic Installers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $55,111, which is 3.7% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.
It is 1.1% lower than the California median of $60,600.
Price-adjusted pay
The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA is 108.798, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $59,960 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Solar Photovoltaic Installers at $55,111 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.
Nearby metros
7 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Solar Photovoltaic Installers. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ranks 4th of 8 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is 53 miles away, with a median of $59,650. That median is 0.5% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $53,965, against $55,111 here.
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA is 63 miles away, with a median of $61,020 and employment of 100. That median is 1.8% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $56,190, against $55,111 here.
- Bakersfield-Delano, CA is 93 miles away, with a median of $56,990 and employment of 370. That median is 5% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $56,490, against $55,111 here.
Employment share
Solar Photovoltaic Installers accounts for 0.05% of wage-and-salary employment in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA (100 of 200,760). Nationally the occupation is 0.02% of employment (31,350 of 155,495,730). The local share is 2.47 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.
Highest-paying jobs in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA · Solar Photovoltaic Installers by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices
Questions this page answers
How much do Solar Photovoltaic Installers make in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA?
In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Solar Photovoltaic Installers in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA is $59,960. The 10th percentile is $48,240 and the 90th percentile is $81,520. Employment is 100.
How does that compare with the national median for Solar Photovoltaic Installers?
The local median is 12.8% higher than the national median of $53,140.
What is Solar Photovoltaic Installers pay in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA after local prices?
The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA is 108.798, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $59,960 is $55,111. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.
How does Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA compare with nearby metros for Solar Photovoltaic Installers?
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 53 miles away, at $59,650. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ranks 4th of 8 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.