Solar Calculator by State: Sun, Rates and Policy
Fifteen leading solar states, compared on the three inputs that actually move a payback period: how much sun reaches the roof, what you pay per kilowatt-hour, and how much of the retail rate your utility pays for exported solar. Load any state’s typical values into the calculator with one tap, then swap in your own quote.
Policy data reviewed August 2026 · last data update 2026-08 · read from NREL PVWatts and EIA publications
Planning estimate only - not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm installed cost and current incentives with a licensed installer and the official IRS and Energy.gov sources.
Read the table in three steps
First find your state’s sun band — High means roughly five peak-sun hours a day or better, the point where generation stops being the bottleneck. Then check the electricity-rate band, because the same kilowatt-hour saves three times as much in a high-rate state as in a low-rate one. Finally look at the export-credit band: Full means exports cancel purchases one-for-one at the meter price, Partial means a discount, and Weakened means a tariff like California’s NEM 3.0 that pays close to wholesale. The best payback combinations pair a high rate band with a full credit; a weakened credit pushes payback out unless you pair the system with a battery.
| State | Peak sun | Electricity rate | Export credit | State incentive | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | High | High | Weakened | — | Prefill calculator |
| Texas | High | Moderate | Partial | — | Prefill calculator |
| Florida | High | Moderate | Full | — | Prefill calculator |
| Arizona | High | Moderate | Partial | Yes, capped | Prefill calculator |
| New York | Moderate | High | Partial | Yes, capped | Prefill calculator |
| Nevada | High | Moderate | Partial | — | Prefill calculator |
| North Carolina | Moderate | Low | Full | — | Prefill calculator |
| Colorado | High | Moderate | Full | — | Prefill calculator |
| Massachusetts | Moderate | High | Full | Yes, capped | Prefill calculator |
| New Jersey | Moderate | Moderate | Full | — | Prefill calculator |
| Illinois | Moderate | Moderate | Full | Yes, capped | Prefill calculator |
| Georgia | High | Low | Partial | — | Prefill calculator |
| Ohio | Low | Moderate | Weakened | — | Prefill calculator |
| Washington | Low | Low | Full | — | Prefill calculator |
| South Carolina | Moderate | Low | Full | Yes, capped | Prefill calculator |
Why bands instead of exact decimals
Utility prices change every year and solar tariffs change with them. A page that prints fifteen sets of decimals goes quietly stale one rate-case at a time; a band survives those amendments and still tells you what you need for a first look. The prefilled values behind each link are refreshed on a yearly cycle from public sources, and your own utility bill is always the better number. Treat the table as a map, not a meter.
State incentives are marked yes-or-no for the same reason: the durable fact is that a state offers some credit or rebate program, while the exact cap moves with legislative sessions. The incentives page explains the programs that still carry weight now that the federal credit has ended.
State table questions
How do I prefill the calculator for my state?
Every state row carries a prefill link. It loads that state’s typical sun, rate, export credit and incentive figures into the main calculator, then you swap in your own quote numbers for a precise estimate.
Why bands instead of exact numbers for every state?
Because utility prices and program rules change more often than most pages get updated. A band that says high or low survives those changes; a printed decimal quietly goes stale. The prefill values are refreshed on a yearly cycle, and your own bill is always the better source.
Which states pay back fastest?
The combination that moves payback most is a high electricity rate with a healthy export credit: Hawaii-level rates aside, the Northeast high-rate states and sun-heavy states with strong credit lead. Low-rate states can still work, but the payback runs longer and state incentives matter more.