Is solar worth it where you live?
Most results for this are sales pages. Here is the local picture: what a rooftop system generates and saves in your state, from NREL sun data and your local power rate. A planning estimate, not a pitch.
In California, a typical 8 kW system generates about 12,800 kWh a year, saves about $4,275, and pays back in about 5.6 years before incentives.
How to use it
- Choose your state. Select the state where the rooftop solar system would be installed.
- Enter the system size. Use the default 8 kW home system or enter your own system size in kilowatts.
- Read the estimate. Compare annual generation, annual savings, install cost, simple payback, and 25-year net.
- Compare states. Use the state table to see how sun and electricity rates change the payback.
How the states compare
A typical 8 kW system, best dollar payback first. Tap a state for the detail.
Solar questions
Is solar worth it in the US?
It depends on two local numbers: how much sun your state gets and how much you pay for power. The best math is in sunny, higher-rate states like California and Hawaii; the longest payback is where power is cheap, like North Dakota and Washington. A typical 8 kW system pays back in roughly 4 to 19 years across the states before the federal credit. Use the estimator for your own case.
How is the estimate calculated?
Annual generation is your system size in kilowatts times the state's NREL PVWatts output (kWh per kW per year). Savings is that generation times your electricity rate. Payback is the install cost (about $3.00 per watt) divided by yearly savings. It is a planning estimate, not a quote.
What does this leave out?
Your roof tilt and shading, your exact utility rate and net-metering rules, financing, rate increases over time, and incentives. All of those move the result, so treat this as a starting point and get local quotes.
Does this include the federal solar tax credit?
No. The payback uses the before-incentive install cost, so the 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit, plus any state or utility programs, shortens it. Check current programs before you sign.
Why do states differ so much?
Savings are driven by sun times electricity price. A state with high solar yield and high power rates saves more per installed kilowatt than a state with lower sun or very cheap electricity.
How this page was made
Sun figures are NREL PVWatts(kWh per kW per year, representative state city). Rates are a representative all-in residential figure from the US Energy Information Administration. Install cost uses about $3.00 per watt (2.50 to 3.50 typical), from 2026 US cost benchmarks. Last reviewed 2026-06-30.
This is a planning estimate, not a quote. It uses a state-level representative figure for sun and electricity price; your roof, shading, tilt, exact utility rate, net-metering rules, financing, and incentives will change the result. The payback shown is before incentives; the 30 percent federal solar tax credit and any state or utility programs shorten it. Run PVWatts for your address and get two or three local quotes before deciding. Figures last reviewed on the verified date.