The future is bright for solar: In just one decade, US solar jobs rose 167 percent. The number of those employed in the solar industry reached 249,983 in 2019, a 2.3 percent increase from the previous year. After two years of losses, it can be hard to conceptualize just how far solar has come. But looking back, solar’s jump from an environmentalist’s dream to a mainstream building ideal is a trajectory not many formerly niche technologies can boast: California alone has 74,255 workers in its solar industry, and solar jobs grew in 31 states in 2019.
The solar industry in the U.S. employed 249,983 people in 2019, a 2.3% increase compared to the previous year, according to The Solar Foundation’s “National Solar Jobs Census.”
The 2019 numbers represent a small boon for the industry, which saw job losses in both 2017 and 2018. The numbers for 2018 and 2019 include data from Puerto Rico.
In a statement Wednesday, The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit organization, said that jobs in the industry had grown by 167% since the publication of the first census for 2010.
When it comes to jobs by state, California leads the way with 74,255 workers, although the Golden State did see a 3.4% drop in solar jobs compared to 2018. Overall, solar jobs grew in 31 states last year.