2026 Solar Cost by State
A free, state-by-state snapshot of what residential solar costs in 2026 — the first full year after the 30% federal residential tax credit (Section 25D) expired on December 31, 2025. Each row pairs the local price of an installed system with the electricity rate, sun, and net-metering rules that decide whether it pays off.
50 states + DC + Puerto Rico · data updated June 30, 2026
- $2.20–$2.55
- $2.55–$2.62
- $2.62–$2.75
- $2.75–$2.95
- $2.95–$3.66
Open data · free to reuse (CC BY 4.0)
Download CSV| Alabama | $2.45 | $0.16 | 4.8 | 1.00 | 10.4 yr |
| Alaska | $2.95 | $0.27 | 3.2 | 1.00 | 11.3 yr |
| Arizona | $2.45 | $0.15 | 6.5 | 0.70 | 10.2 yr |
| Arkansas | $2.50 | $0.13 | 4.9 | 1.00 | 12.3 yr |
| California | $2.90 | $0.33 | 5.5 | 0.25 | 10.7 yr |
| Colorado | $2.70 | $0.16 | 5.2 | 1.00 | 10.6 yr |
| Connecticut | $3.10 | $0.29 | 4.3 | 1.00 | 8.7 yr |
| Delaware | $2.80 | $0.18 | 4.5 | 1.00 | 11.5 yr |
| District of Columbia | $3.00 | $0.23 | 4.4 | 1.00 | 9.9 yr |
| Florida | $2.40 | $0.15 | 5.2 | 1.00 | 10.1 yr |
| Georgia | $2.55 | $0.15 | 5.0 | 1.00 | 11.2 yr |
| Hawaii | $3.40 | $0.41 | 5.6 | 0.50 | 8.2 yr |
| Idaho | $2.55 | $0.12 | 4.9 | 1.00 | 13.2 yr |
| Illinois | $2.85 | $0.18 | 4.1 | 1.00 | 11.1 yr |
| Indiana | $2.65 | $0.17 | 4.3 | 0.80 | 13.1 yr |
| Iowa | $2.60 | $0.14 | 4.4 | 1.00 | 13.1 yr |
| Kansas | $2.60 | $0.15 | 5.0 | 1.00 | 11.3 yr |
| Kentucky | $2.55 | $0.14 | 4.4 | 0.75 | 15.0 yr |
| Louisiana | $2.55 | $0.13 | 4.8 | 1.00 | 12.8 yr |
| Maine | $2.95 | $0.29 | 4.2 | 1.00 | 8.7 yr |
| Maryland | $2.80 | $0.22 | 4.5 | 1.00 | 9.4 yr |
| Massachusetts | $3.16 | $0.30 | 4.3 | 1.00 | 8.2 yr |
| Michigan | $2.95 | $0.20 | 4.0 | 0.70 | 13.8 yr |
| Minnesota | $2.80 | $0.16 | 4.5 | 1.00 | 12.3 yr |
| Mississippi | $2.55 | $0.15 | 4.9 | 0.90 | 12.1 yr |
| Missouri | $2.60 | $0.14 | 4.7 | 1.00 | 12.7 yr |
| Montana | $2.70 | $0.14 | 4.5 | 1.00 | 13.5 yr |
| Nebraska | $2.55 | $0.13 | 4.9 | 1.00 | 12.8 yr |
| Nevada | $2.45 | $0.13 | 6.0 | 0.75 | 11.8 yr |
| New Hampshire | $3.66 | $0.26 | 4.2 | 1.00 | 11.0 yr |
| New Jersey | $2.95 | $0.23 | 4.4 | 1.00 | 9.8 yr |
| New Mexico | $2.55 | $0.15 | 6.2 | 1.00 | 9.3 yr |
| New York | $3.10 | $0.28 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 8.8 yr |
| North Carolina | $2.50 | $0.14 | 4.9 | 0.85 | 12.4 yr |
| North Dakota | $2.70 | $0.12 | 4.5 | 1.00 | 14.6 yr |
| Ohio | $2.70 | $0.18 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 12.1 yr |
| Oklahoma | $2.50 | $0.14 | 5.0 | 0.90 | 12.5 yr |
| Oregon | $2.75 | $0.15 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 13.7 yr |
| Pennsylvania | $2.75 | $0.20 | 4.1 | 1.00 | 11.0 yr |
| Puerto Rico | $3.30 | $0.24 | 5.3 | 1.00 | 9.0 yr |
| Rhode Island | $3.05 | $0.29 | 4.2 | 1.00 | 8.8 yr |
| South Carolina | $2.55 | $0.15 | 4.9 | 1.00 | 11.0 yr |
| South Dakota | $2.65 | $0.14 | 4.7 | 1.00 | 12.7 yr |
| Tennessee | $2.55 | $0.14 | 4.7 | 0.80 | 14.1 yr |
| Texas | $2.20 | $0.16 | 5.3 | 1.00 | 9.1 yr |
| Utah | $2.55 | $0.13 | 5.3 | 0.70 | 13.8 yr |
| Vermont | $3.00 | $0.23 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 10.6 yr |
| Virginia | $2.65 | $0.16 | 4.6 | 1.00 | 11.7 yr |
| Washington | $2.75 | $0.14 | 3.7 | 1.00 | 15.8 yr |
| West Virginia | $2.70 | $0.16 | 4.3 | 1.00 | 12.7 yr |
| Wisconsin | $2.80 | $0.18 | 4.2 | 1.00 | 11.7 yr |
| Wyoming | $2.65 | $0.14 | 4.9 | 1.00 | 12.2 yr |
A net-metering factor below 1.00 (highlighted) means the state credits exported energy below the retail rate (NEM 3.0-style) — the single biggest swing factor in payback. “Typical payback” is the break-even year for a $150/mo cash purchase; “—” means it does not break even within the 25-year horizon.
Methodology & sources
Every figure is computed with the same engine that powers our solar cost calculator, so the report and the tools can never disagree. We calibrate against primary sources, not other blogs:
- NREL — average daily peak sun hours used for production (PVWatts-style modeling).
- DOE / EIA — residential retail electricity prices and consumption by state. Electricity prices: U.S. EIA API v2, 12-month average through April 2026.
- DSIRE — state incentives and net-metering treatment by state.
- IRS / policy — the residential federal credit (25D) expired 2025-12-31, so it is $0 for cash and loan buyers in 2026.
Payback assumes a cash purchase sized to fully offset a $150/mo bill, with 400 W panels, a 0.8 performance ratio, 3.5% annual price escalation, and 0.5% panel degradation over a 25-year horizon — and a $0 residential federal credit (25D). Full assumptions live on the methodology page and every source is listed on data sources.
Data updated June 30, 2026
Cite this dataset
Ballpark Lab. “2026 Residential Solar Cost by State.” Updated June 30, 2026. ballparklab.com/reports/solar-cost-2026
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0) — a link back to this page is all we ask. Citing one state? Every row has a stable anchor, e.g. ballparklab.com/reports/solar-cost-2026#california.