State solar rankings

The best states for solar, ranked four ways

Sunshine, incentives, electricity rates, and net-metering rules all pull payback in different directions, so the "best" state depends on which lever you weight. Here are all 51 states + DC sorted by each, from NREL, EIA, and DSIRE data.

HI
#1 solar score (67): 5.2 yr
fastest payback - Hawaii: 4
most programs - California: 41
full net-metering states

The takeaway

Hawaii tops the composite solar score at 67/100, but Hawaii's 5.2-year payback is the real headline, high electricity rates, not raw sunshine, decide where solar pays back first.

HI · 67
top solar score: HI · 5.2 yr
fastest payback: CA · 4
most incentive programs: 41/51
with full net metering

Rankings use modeled payback on a typical 6 kW system; programs are counted from the DSIRE registry.

HI

67
CA

66
AZ

61
NM

57
NV

53
TX

49
FL

47
CO

45
CT

41
MA

41
UT

40
NY

38
RI

37
ME

36
NH

34

What this shows Hawaii, California, and Arizona lead, sunbelt irradiance plus deep incentive stacks. Scores compress quickly below the top tier.

Why the rankings diverge: sun vs payback

Each dot is a state, sunshine left-to-right, faster payback toward the bottom. The fastest-payback states sit on the left: high electricity rates, not raw sun, decide where solar pays back first, which is why the solar-score and payback lists order states so differently.

Hawaii (highlighted) leads on payback at 5.2 years, not on raw sunshine.

States ranked by solar score

The composite (0–100) weights irradiance 40%, incentive density 30%, and modeled payback 30% - overall solar suitability balancing sun, programs, and economics.

#	State	Solar score	Irradiance	Programs	Payback
1	Hawaii	67	5.9	3	5.2 yr
2	California	66	5.8	4	6.3 yr
3	Arizona	61	6.5	4	10.3 yr
4	New Mexico	57	6.4	3	10.3 yr
5	Nevada	53	6.2	4	11.9 yr
6	Texas	49	5.7	4	11.8 yr
7	Florida	47	5.6	4	12 yr
8	Colorado	45	5.5	4	12.3 yr
9	Connecticut	41	4.1	4	8.9 yr
10	Massachusetts	41	4.2	4	9.2 yr
11	Utah	40	5.9	3	14.5 yr
12	New York	38	4.4	4	11.1 yr
13	Rhode Island	37	4.2	3	9.7 yr
14	Maine	36	4.3	2	9.3 yr
15	New Hampshire	34	4.2	2	9.8 yr
16	New Jersey	34	4.5	4	12.8 yr
17	South Carolina	34	5.2	3	14 yr
18	North Carolina	33	5.2	3	14.4 yr
19	Kansas	32	5.2	2	13.7 yr
20	District of Columbia	32	4.4	4	13 yr
21	Georgia	31	5.3	2	14.5 yr
22	Vermont	31	4.1	3	11.5 yr
23	Maryland	29	4.5	4	14.3 yr
24	Montana	29	5.0	3	16.3 yr
25	Oklahoma	29	5.3	2	15.5 yr
26	Illinois	28	4.3	4	14 yr
27	Wyoming	28	5.5	1	15.3 yr
28	Louisiana	27	5.1	2	17.8 yr
29	Virginia	27	4.8	3	15 yr
30	Minnesota	26	4.4	4	15.9 yr
31	Tennessee	25	4.9	2	16.7 yr
32	Alabama	24	4.9	1	14.4 yr
33	Arkansas	24	4.8	2	17.2 yr
34	Delaware	24	4.5	3	15.4 yr
35	Missouri	24	4.8	2	15.6 yr
36	North Dakota	24	4.8	2	18.2 yr
37	Oregon	24	4.5	3	16.9 yr
38	Pennsylvania	24	4.3	3	14.2 yr
39	Wisconsin	24	4.3	3	14.2 yr
40	Mississippi	23	5.0	1	15.7 yr
41	Nebraska	23	5.0	1	16.4 yr
42	South Dakota	23	5.0	1	17.1 yr
43	Iowa	21	4.5	2	16.7 yr
44	Kentucky	21	4.5	2	17.7 yr
45	Idaho	20	4.7	1	20 yr
46	Michigan	18	4.0	2	14.4 yr
47	Ohio	18	4.2	2	16.3 yr
48	West Virginia	18	4.2	2	19.4 yr
49	Indiana	17	4.4	1	15.8 yr
50	Washington	14	3.5	3	26.6 yr
51	Alaska	10	3.4	2	17 yr

Fastest solar payback

Payback = net system cost ÷ annual electricity savings on a 6 kW system at the state's average installed cost (before incentives). High electricity rates speed break-even more than raw sunshine.

#	State	Payback	Annual savings	Rate	Score
1	Hawaii	5.2 yr	$3,928/yr	38.0¢	67
2	California	6.3 yr	$3,049/yr	30.0¢	66
3	Connecticut	8.9 yr	$2,047/yr	28.5¢	41
4	Massachusetts	9.2 yr	$2,023/yr	27.5¢	41
5	Maine	9.3 yr	$1,959/yr	26.0¢	36
6	Rhode Island	9.7 yr	$1,913/yr	26.0¢	37
7	New Hampshire	9.8 yr	$1,876/yr	25.5¢	34
8	Arizona	10.3 yr	$1,537/yr	13.5¢	61
9	New Mexico	10.3 yr	$1,570/yr	14.0¢	57
10	New York	11.1 yr	$1,696/yr	22.0¢	38
11	Vermont	11.5 yr	$1,616/yr	22.5¢	31
12	Texas	11.8 yr	$1,398/yr	14.0¢	49
13	Nevada	11.9 yr	$1,358/yr	12.5¢	53
14	Florida	12 yr	$1,423/yr	14.5¢	47
15	Colorado	12.3 yr	$1,368/yr	14.2¢	45
16	New Jersey	12.8 yr	$1,459/yr	18.5¢	34
17	District of Columbia	13 yr	$1,503/yr	19.5¢	32
18	Kansas	13.7 yr	$1,203/yr	13.2¢	32
19	South Carolina	14 yr	$1,203/yr	13.2¢	34
20	Illinois	14 yr	$1,243/yr	16.5¢	28
21	Pennsylvania	14.2 yr	$1,243/yr	16.5¢	24
22	Wisconsin	14.2 yr	$1,243/yr	16.5¢	24
23	Maryland	14.3 yr	$1,261/yr	16.0¢	29
24	North Carolina	14.4 yr	$1,166/yr	12.8¢	33
25	Alabama	14.4 yr	$1,185/yr	13.8¢	24
26	Michigan	14.4 yr	$1,226/yr	17.5¢	18
27	Utah	14.5 yr	$1,116/yr	10.8¢	40
28	Georgia	14.5 yr	$1,161/yr	12.5¢	31
29	Virginia	15 yr	$1,161/yr	13.8¢	27
30	Wyoming	15.3 yr	$1,079/yr	11.2¢	28
31	Delaware	15.4 yr	$1,167/yr	14.8¢	24
32	Oklahoma	15.5 yr	$1,068/yr	11.5¢	29
33	Missouri	15.6 yr	$1,076/yr	12.8¢	24
34	Mississippi	15.7 yr	$1,051/yr	12.0¢	23
35	Indiana	15.8 yr	$1,064/yr	13.8¢	17
36	Minnesota	15.9 yr	$1,095/yr	14.2¢	26
37	Montana	16.3 yr	$1,034/yr	11.8¢	29
38	Ohio	16.3 yr	$1,067/yr	14.5¢	18
39	Nebraska	16.4 yr	$1,007/yr	11.5¢	23
40	Tennessee	16.7 yr	$987/yr	11.5¢	25
41	Iowa	16.7 yr	$986/yr	12.5¢	21
42	Oregon	16.9 yr	$1,009/yr	12.8¢	24
43	Alaska	17 yr	$1,340/yr	22.5¢	10
44	South Dakota	17.1 yr	$964/yr	11.0¢	23
45	Arkansas	17.2 yr	$959/yr	11.4¢	24
46	Kentucky	17.7 yr	$930/yr	11.8¢	21
47	Louisiana	17.8 yr	$911/yr	10.2¢	27
48	North Dakota	18.2 yr	$908/yr	10.8¢	24
49	West Virginia	19.4 yr	$883/yr	12.0¢	18
50	Idaho	20 yr	$823/yr	10.0¢	20
51	Washington	26.6 yr	$644/yr	10.5¢	14

Shorter bars = faster payback. Modeled on a 6 kW system; actual payback depends on system size, installer pricing, incentives used, and self-consumption.

Most incentive programs

Program count from the DSIRE registry, tax credits, rebates, net metering, SRECs, loans, and exemptions. More programs mean more ways to stack savings (though one well-funded program can outweigh several narrow ones).

#	State	Programs	Solar score	Net metering	Payback
1	California	4	66	partial	6.3 yr
2	Arizona	4	61	full	10.3 yr
3	Nevada	4	53	full	11.9 yr
4	Texas	4	49	partial	11.8 yr
5	Florida	4	47	full	12 yr
6	Colorado	4	45	full	12.3 yr
7	Connecticut	4	41	full	8.9 yr
8	Massachusetts	4	41	full	9.2 yr
9	New York	4	38	full	11.1 yr
10	New Jersey	4	34	full	12.8 yr
11	District of Columbia	4	32	full	13 yr
12	Maryland	4	29	full	14.3 yr
13	Illinois	4	28	full	14 yr
14	Minnesota	4	26	full	15.9 yr
15	Hawaii	3	67	partial	5.2 yr
16	New Mexico	3	57	full	10.3 yr
17	Utah	3	40	full	14.5 yr
18	Rhode Island	3	37	full	9.7 yr
19	South Carolina	3	34	partial	14 yr
20	North Carolina	3	33	full	14.4 yr
21	Vermont	3	31	full	11.5 yr
22	Montana	3	29	full	16.3 yr
23	Virginia	3	27	full	15 yr
24	Delaware	3	24	full	15.4 yr
25	Oregon	3	24	full	16.9 yr
26	Pennsylvania	3	24	full	14.2 yr
27	Wisconsin	3	24	full	14.2 yr
28	Washington	3	14	full	26.6 yr
29	Maine	2	36	full	9.3 yr
30	New Hampshire	2	34	full	9.8 yr
31	Kansas	2	32	full	13.7 yr
32	Georgia	2	31	partial	14.5 yr
33	Oklahoma	2	29	full	15.5 yr
34	Louisiana	2	27	full	17.8 yr
35	Tennessee	2	25	partial	16.7 yr
36	Arkansas	2	24	full	17.2 yr
37	Missouri	2	24	full	15.6 yr
38	North Dakota	2	24	full	18.2 yr
39	Iowa	2	21	full	16.7 yr
40	Kentucky	2	21	full	17.7 yr
41	Michigan	2	18	full	14.4 yr
42	Ohio	2	18	full	16.3 yr
43	West Virginia	2	18	none	19.4 yr
44	Alaska	2	10	full	17 yr
45	Wyoming	1	28	full	15.3 yr
46	Alabama	1	24	partial	14.4 yr
47	Mississippi	1	23	partial	15.7 yr
48	Nebraska	1	23	full	16.4 yr
49	South Dakota	1	23	full	17.1 yr
50	Idaho	1	20	full	20 yr
51	Indiana	1	17	none	15.8 yr

Best states for net metering

41 states offer full retail net metering, crediting exported solar at the full electricity rate. Ranked by solar score within that group.

#	State	Solar score	Rate	Annual savings	Payback
1	Arizona	61	13.5¢	$1,537/yr	10.3 yr
2	New Mexico	57	14.0¢	$1,570/yr	10.3 yr
3	Nevada	53	12.5¢	$1,358/yr	11.9 yr
4	Florida	47	14.5¢	$1,423/yr	12 yr
5	Colorado	45	14.2¢	$1,368/yr	12.3 yr
6	Connecticut	41	28.5¢	$2,047/yr	8.9 yr
7	Massachusetts	41	27.5¢	$2,023/yr	9.2 yr
8	Utah	40	10.8¢	$1,116/yr	14.5 yr
9	New York	38	22.0¢	$1,696/yr	11.1 yr
10	Rhode Island	37	26.0¢	$1,913/yr	9.7 yr
11	Maine	36	26.0¢	$1,959/yr	9.3 yr
12	New Hampshire	34	25.5¢	$1,876/yr	9.8 yr
13	New Jersey	34	18.5¢	$1,459/yr	12.8 yr
14	North Carolina	33	12.8¢	$1,166/yr	14.4 yr
15	Kansas	32	13.2¢	$1,203/yr	13.7 yr
16	District of Columbia	32	19.5¢	$1,503/yr	13 yr
17	Vermont	31	22.5¢	$1,616/yr	11.5 yr
18	Maryland	29	16.0¢	$1,261/yr	14.3 yr
19	Montana	29	11.8¢	$1,034/yr	16.3 yr
20	Oklahoma	29	11.5¢	$1,068/yr	15.5 yr
21	Illinois	28	16.5¢	$1,243/yr	14 yr
22	Wyoming	28	11.2¢	$1,079/yr	15.3 yr
23	Louisiana	27	10.2¢	$911/yr	17.8 yr
24	Virginia	27	13.8¢	$1,161/yr	15 yr
25	Minnesota	26	14.2¢	$1,095/yr	15.9 yr
26	Arkansas	24	11.4¢	$959/yr	17.2 yr
27	Delaware	24	14.8¢	$1,167/yr	15.4 yr
28	Missouri	24	12.8¢	$1,076/yr	15.6 yr
29	North Dakota	24	10.8¢	$908/yr	18.2 yr
30	Oregon	24	12.8¢	$1,009/yr	16.9 yr
31	Pennsylvania	24	16.5¢	$1,243/yr	14.2 yr
32	Wisconsin	24	16.5¢	$1,243/yr	14.2 yr
33	Nebraska	23	11.5¢	$1,007/yr	16.4 yr
34	South Dakota	23	11.0¢	$964/yr	17.1 yr
35	Iowa	21	12.5¢	$986/yr	16.7 yr
36	Kentucky	21	11.8¢	$930/yr	17.7 yr
37	Idaho	20	10.0¢	$823/yr	20 yr
38	Michigan	18	17.5¢	$1,226/yr	14.4 yr
39	Ohio	18	14.5¢	$1,067/yr	16.3 yr
40	Washington	14	10.5¢	$644/yr	26.6 yr
41	Alaska	10	22.5¢	$1,340/yr	17 yr

How these rankings are built

Solar score (0–100): Composite of irradiance (40%), incentive-program count (30%), and modeled payback (30%). A relative comparison aid, not a guarantee.
Payback period: Years to break even on a 6 kW system at the state's average installed cost, before incentives, using the state's average rate and modeled production.
Incentive programs: Active programs in the DSIRE registry: tax credits, rebates, net metering, SRECs, loans, and tax exemptions.
Data sources: NREL solar-resource data (irradiance), EIA (electricity rates & capacity), DSIRE (incentives & net-metering classification).

How to read the rankings

For your own decision, weight payback most, it already folds in sunshine and electricity rates. Run the calculator
For policy depth, look at incentive count and net-metering status, not just the headline score. Incentive ranking
Then open your own state for the full profile and the exact programs you can claim. Browse states

Rankings use modeled estimates from public data; a state's position is a comparison aid, not a guarantee of returns for any individual home.

These rankings draw on data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (irradiance), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (electricity rates and the 124,310 MW of U.S. capacity installed as of December 2024), and the DSIRE incentives Registry (137 tracked programs). According to those sources, the spread between the fastest- and slowest-payback states exceeds 20 years. See our methodology for the full Solar Score formula.