Top 10 US States by Number of Solar Incentive Programs
PlainSolarData counts the residential and commercial solar incentive programs catalogued in the DSIRE database for each US state and ranks states by program count.
Research period:
Research question
Which US states maintain the broadest policy stacks supporting residential and commercial solar adoption, measured by the count of distinct incentive programs (tax credits, rebates, performance-based incentives, financing programs, exemptions, and net-metering frameworks) catalogued in the DSIRE database?
Methodology
This ranking is generated fresh from the current dataset from the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE) every time the page loads, not a fixed figure typed in once and forgotten. When a new release is published, our next data refresh picks it up automatically.
States with no data reported are left out rather than shown as a false zero, since the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE) occasionally withholds a figure for data-quality reasons.
Every number on this page traces back to a specific record from the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE), so you can verify it yourself against the original source. See the methodology page for the full data pipeline and how often we refresh.
Top 10 US States by Number of Solar Incentive Programs
Live data, current as of the most recent source-data refresh
The ranked top 10
Every row below reflects the current dataset from the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE) and updates automatically the next time we refresh it.
| # | State | Incentive programs | Net metering |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | 4 | full |
| 2 | California | 4 | partial |
| 3 | Colorado | 4 | full |
| 4 | Connecticut | 4 | full |
| 5 | Florida | 4 | full |
| 6 | Illinois | 4 | full |
| 7 | Maryland | 4 | full |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 4 | full |
| 9 | Minnesota | 4 | full |
| 10 | Nevada | 4 | full |
Source: N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE) - DSIRE, Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. Values are current as of our most recent data refresh. N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE) - DSIRE, Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. Values are current as of our most recent data refresh.
Findings
Top entity in the ranking
The top-ranked record in this dataset is Arizona, with a value of 4 on the Incentive programs column. The full top-10 set is rendered in the table above. Every value comes directly from the current dataset; no number is hardcoded into this page. When the source agency publishes a revision, the ranking and the prose around it update automatically.
Distribution shape
The gap between the top-ranked record (4) and the 10th-ranked record (4) characterizes how concentrated the top of the distribution is. Where the top value is many multiples of the median value of the visible set, the population is highly concentrated, a small number of entities accumulate the bulk of the measured quantity. Where the top and bottom of the visible set are close together, the distribution is relatively flat across the top end. The full distribution beyond this top-10 cut is summarized in the aggregate context section below and explored in the linked entity profiles.
Aggregate context
Across the full population behind this ranking, here are the summary statistics: how many records exist in total, the sum of the ranking metric across all qualifying records, and the mean per-record value. The methodology page documents the exact filter applied (records with null or zero values on the ranking metric are excluded). This aggregate row is computed from the same dataset that powers the ranking above.
Source provenance
The records in this ranking originate from N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (DSIRE), specifically the DSIRE, Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. PlainSolarData ingests each new release and republishes the figures here automatically, so this page always reflects the current dataset rather than a fixed snapshot. The methodology page documents the source URL, the vintage date, and the transformation steps applied during ETL.
Why this ranking matters
Rankings like this one let a reader scan a population quickly and identify outliers, concentrations, and patterns that warrant deeper investigation. The detail pages linked from each entity in the table above give the full per-entity context: time-series history where available, related metrics from adjacent tables, and links onward to the underlying source records. The methodology page explains how an entity earns inclusion in the dataset and how the ranking column is computed at the source.
What this analysis cannot tell us
Program count is a coarse measure of policy support, a state with three high-value programs may generate more household savings than a state with eight small programs. Program scope, eligibility, and dollar value vary widely. DSIRE catalogues both state-administered and major utility-administered programs but coverage of small-utility programs is uneven, particularly for rural cooperatives and municipal utilities. Federal programs (the residential clean energy Investment Tax Credit, USDA Rural Energy for America Program) apply to all states and are excluded from state-by-state counts. Programs may be expired, suspended, or capped; PlainSolarData filters out expired programs at ingest but program status can change between data refreshes. Net-metering rules are categorized as full, partial, or none, within 'partial' there is enormous variation (1:1 retail vs avoided-cost vs hybrid tariffs); a binary net-metering label hides substantive economic differences. This ranking is a starting point for state-level policy research, not a comprehensive scoring of incentive value.
Secondary cut from the same source
Distribution of incentive categories across all 137 catalogued programs
Sources
- DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency) - N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center - https://www.dsireusa.org/
- U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Energy Technologies Office - https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-energy-technologies-office