Top 10 States for Solar Savings in 2026 (Ranked by ROI)

Last updated: October 2026

Where you live changes the payback on the same rooftop solar system by years. Electricity prices, sunshine, and installed cost all matter, but in 2026 the rule that decides how your exported solar is credited matters just as much. A state with high electricity prices can still rank poorly if exports earn only a few cents per kWh.

This ranking replaces an earlier version that relied on ranges we could not trace to a source. Every figure below now comes from the same planning model that powers our state guides, with the inputs and sources listed.

How We Ranked the States

We modeled the same 8 kW system in every state and ranked by simple payback:

• Installed price: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Tracking the Sun median for host-owned residential systems installed in 2024. Seven states have their own median; the rest use the national median of $3.98/W. See solar panel cost by state.
• Electricity price: the state's average residential rate from EIA's Electric Power Monthly (June 2026), rising 2.5% a year.
• Production: the state's peak sun hours, a 20% system-loss derate, and 0.5% a year panel degradation from year two.
• Incentives: only the New York state solar tax credit is subtracted, because it applies to most buyers at a known rate. Production-based programs such as SRECs and Massachusetts SMART are not counted, so states that have them may do better than shown.
• No federal credit: the federal residential solar credit (Section 25D) is not available for expenditures after December 31, 2025, and none of these figures include it.

The model values every kWh at the retail rate, so we ranked only states where on-site solar is credited at the retail rate under state net metering rules (checked against state regulators' rules and tariffs in October 2026). States that credit exports below retail are listed separately below, because the same model would overstate their savings. The retail treatment covers production up to your own annual use; an 8 kW system in these states makes roughly 9,300–12,400 kWh a year, and production above your use is generally credited at a lower rate.

The 2026 Ranking

* National median used because LBNL's public data has no state-specific sample. Savings are rounded to the nearest $100. Sources: LBNL Tracking the Sun (installed prices), EIA Electric Power Monthly June 2026 (rates), state regulator rules and tariffs (net metering).

State Notes

#1 New York

New York pairs a high residential rate with the state solar tax credit of 25% of qualified cost, capped at $5,000, which our model subtracts. Residential net metering credits on-site production at retail. Customers who connected solar on or after January 1, 2022 also pay a monthly Customer Benefit Contribution charge based on system size, which credits cannot offset and which our model does not include. NY-Sun incentives vary by region and program block and are not included either.

#2 Massachusetts

Massachusetts has one of the lowest installed prices among states with LBNL data ($3.41/W) and one of the highest electricity rates. Net metering credits for residential solar are built from the basic service, distribution, transmission, and transition rate components. The state's 15% residential energy income tax credit (up to $1,000) and SMART production incentives are not included here, so many owners will do better than the modeled figure.

#3 Maine

Maine's Net Energy Billing kWh credit program credits each kWh sent to the grid one-for-one against later usage. Unused credits expire after 12 months, so size to your annual use.

#4 Rhode Island

Rhode Island credits production at retail up to 100% of your consumption in a billing period. Production between 100% and 125% earns the utility's avoided-cost rate, and nothing is credited above 125%.

#5 New Jersey

New Jersey utilities credit residential solar at the full retail rate up to your use over a 12-month annualized period. Remaining credits are paid at the avoided cost of wholesale power. Production-based solar certificates are available in New Jersey but are not included here.

#6 District of Columbia

DC's net metering rules carry excess production forward as kWh credits; at year end, production above 100% of annual consumption is paid at the generation rate only. DC also has a solar renewable energy credit market that is not included here.

#7 Maryland

Maryland credits net metering customers at the full retail rate, with year-end excess valued at the generation portion of the rate. Maryland lawmakers acted in 2026 to require a successor to the current net metering program, so terms for future customers may change.

#8 Colorado

Colorado law requires qualifying utilities to offer net metering that offsets retail consumption, carrying the value of excess production forward month to month. Strong sun (5.2 peak sun hours a day in our data) partly offsets a moderate electricity rate.

#9 Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania utilities credit residential solar at the full retail rate up to the amount consumed, and pay year-end excess at the "price to compare."

#10 Florida

Florida's net metering rule requires investor-owned utilities to net meter customer-owned renewable systems with monthly meter readings. Good sun (5.3 peak sun hours) helps, but a lower electricity rate limits savings per kWh.

High-Rate States We Did Not Rank, and Why

These states credit exported solar below the retail rate, so a retail-offset model would overstate their savings. Their real payback depends on how much of your solar you use on-site.

Using This Ranking for Your Decision

A state ranking is a starting point. Your own payback depends on:

• Your installer's price. LBNL found median prices across the 100 largest installers ranging from about $2.70 to $6.50 per watt, a bigger spread than between any two states.
• Your actual rate and plan, which can differ from the state average.
• How much of your production you use on-site, which matters most where exports earn less than retail.
• Your roof's orientation, tilt, and shading.
• Production incentives such as SRECs or SMART, which this ranking leaves out.

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Data sources: LBNL Tracking the Sun 2025 public data file and October 2025 data update; EIA Electric Power Monthly (June 2026); New York PSC and NYSERDA; Massachusetts DPU; Maine PUC; Rhode Island PUC and Office of Energy Resources; New Jersey BPU; DC PSC (15 DCMR Chapter 9); Maryland PSC and General Assembly; Colorado Revised Statutes 40-2-124; Pennsylvania PUC; Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065; CPUC and PG&E; Hawaii PUC; APS and Arizona Corporation Commission; Michigan PSC; Illinois Commerce Commission and Illinois Power Agency; Nevada PUC; New Hampshire PUC; Vermont PUC; PUC of Texas.