Net Metering by State 2026
Updated March 2026 · PlainSolarData Editorial · 51 states + DC
41
Full Retail NM
Earn full rate on exports
8
Partial / Avoided Cost
Earn less than retail
2
None / Limited
No grid credit for exports
Net metering policy is one of the most important factors determining solar ROI in your state. Below is a complete state-by-state breakdown of net metering policies, along with each state's electricity rate — which together determine how much your exported solar electricity is worth.
How to read this table: States with full retail net metering AND high electricity rates offer the best economics for solar. States with partial or no net metering require higher self-consumption ratios (or battery storage) to maximize ROI.
Full Retail Net Metering States (41)
You earn the full retail electricity rate for every kWh exported to the grid. This is the most solar-friendly policy — excess production earns full credit toward future bills.
| State | Rate (¢/kWh) | Payback |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 28.5¢ | 8.9 yr |
| Massachusetts | 27.5¢ | 9.2 yr |
| Rhode Island | 26.0¢ | 9.7 yr |
| Maine | 26.0¢ | 9.3 yr |
| New Hampshire | 25.5¢ | 9.8 yr |
| Vermont | 22.5¢ | 11.5 yr |
| Alaska | 22.5¢ | 17 yr |
| New York | 22.0¢ | 11.1 yr |
| District of Columbia | 19.5¢ | 13 yr |
| New Jersey | 18.5¢ | 12.8 yr |
| Michigan | 17.5¢ | 14.4 yr |
| Illinois | 16.5¢ | 14 yr |
| Pennsylvania | 16.5¢ | 14.2 yr |
| Wisconsin | 16.5¢ | 14.2 yr |
| Maryland | 16.0¢ | 14.3 yr |
| Delaware | 14.8¢ | 15.4 yr |
| Florida | 14.5¢ | 12 yr |
| Ohio | 14.5¢ | 16.3 yr |
| Colorado | 14.2¢ | 12.3 yr |
| Minnesota | 14.2¢ | 15.9 yr |
| New Mexico | 14.0¢ | 10.3 yr |
| Virginia | 13.8¢ | 15 yr |
| Arizona | 13.5¢ | 10.3 yr |
| Kansas | 13.2¢ | 13.7 yr |
| North Carolina | 12.8¢ | 14.4 yr |
| Missouri | 12.8¢ | 15.6 yr |
| Oregon | 12.8¢ | 16.9 yr |
| Nevada | 12.5¢ | 11.9 yr |
| Iowa | 12.5¢ | 16.7 yr |
| Montana | 11.8¢ | 16.3 yr |
| Kentucky | 11.8¢ | 17.7 yr |
| Oklahoma | 11.5¢ | 15.5 yr |
| Nebraska | 11.5¢ | 16.4 yr |
| Arkansas | 11.4¢ | 17.2 yr |
| Wyoming | 11.2¢ | 15.3 yr |
| South Dakota | 11.0¢ | 17.1 yr |
| Utah | 10.8¢ | 14.5 yr |
| North Dakota | 10.8¢ | 18.2 yr |
| Washington | 10.5¢ | 26.6 yr |
| Louisiana | 10.2¢ | 17.8 yr |
| Idaho | 10.0¢ | 20 yr |
Partial / Avoided Cost Net Metering States (8)
You receive less than the full retail rate — typically the utility's "avoided cost" (what it would pay to generate that power itself), usually 4–8¢/kWh. Self-consumption is critical here; battery storage often improves ROI.
| State | Rate (¢/kWh) | Payback |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 38.0¢ | 5.2 yr |
| California | 30.0¢ | 6.3 yr |
| Texas | 14.0¢ | 11.8 yr |
| Alabama | 13.8¢ | 14.4 yr |
| South Carolina | 13.2¢ | 14 yr |
| Georgia | 12.5¢ | 14.5 yr |
| Mississippi | 12.0¢ | 15.7 yr |
| Tennessee | 11.5¢ | 16.7 yr |
No Net Metering / Limited States (2)
Limited or no formal net metering policy. In these states, solar ROI depends almost entirely on self-consumption. Battery storage and time-of-use rate optimization are essential.
| State | Rate (¢/kWh) | Payback |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 13.8¢ | 15.8 yr |
| West Virginia | 12.0¢ | 19.4 yr |
Key Takeaways
- Full retail net metering + high electricity rates = fastest payback. States like Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut check both boxes
- California is the exception. Despite high rates, NEM 3.0 drastically reduced export value. Battery storage has become near-mandatory for new California installations
- Low-rate states need irradiance to compensate. Arizona and Nevada have excellent sun but modest rates; their strong solar scores rely on irradiance volume
- Policies change. Florida's legislature has signaled a move from full retail NM to avoided-cost after 2029. Florida solar installations are time-sensitive
- Municipal utilities may differ. This table reflects state-level policy. Your specific investor-owned utility, electric co-op, or municipal utility may have different rates
Net metering classifications sourced from DSIRE USA database. Policies current as of early 2026. State net metering rules evolve through legislation and utility commission decisions — verify current policy with your state public utilities commission before installing. Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives are not required to follow state net metering mandates in all states.
Understanding the Data
The information presented throughout this guide is informed by publicly available public records published by federal and state government agencies. Our database aggregates and standardizes these records to make them more accessible and easier to interpret for general audiences. When we reference specific statistics or trends, they are drawn directly from these authoritative sources unless explicitly noted otherwise.
It is important to understand the limitations of any large-scale data dataset. Records may contain errors from the original data collection process, some fields may be incomplete for older entries, and classification systems may have changed over time. Our analysis accounts for these factors by clearly labeling data vintage, flagging records with missing critical fields, and noting when temporal comparisons span methodology changes in the source data.
For readers who want to conduct their own research, we recommend going directly to the source whenever possible. federal and state government agencies provides detailed documentation on collection methodology, sampling frames, and known data quality issues. Our goal is not to replace primary sources but to make them more approachable and to highlight patterns that may not be immediately obvious when browsing raw records.
How We Analyze Data Records
Our analytical approach involves several steps designed to surface meaningful insights from large datasets. First, we clean and standardize the raw data, handling variations in naming conventions, date formats, and categorical labels. Then we compute summary statistics, distributions, and comparative benchmarks across relevant dimensions such as geography, time period, and category type.
Key metrics we examine include statistical records, geographic distributions, temporal trends. These indicators provide a multi-dimensional view of each entity in our database, allowing users to understand not just individual records but how they compare to peers, regional averages, and national benchmarks. We believe this contextual approach is far more valuable than presenting raw numbers in isolation.
