The Best States for Solar in 2026

How EcoGen ranked the states

Four questions decide the order, in this priority:

1. Export crediting: does the utility credit exported power at or near the retail rate, and do credits carry forward?
2. State and local incentives: does the state still pay you to install or produce, now that the federal homeowner credit has ended?
3. Electricity prices: how expensive is the grid power your panels replace?
4. Installed cost: what a fairly priced system costs there in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index.

Crediting and incentives carry the most weight, because two equally productive systems can earn very different value. The order is an editorial judgment built from these public facts and EcoGen’s state models; it is not a statistical score or a survey of real homeowner results. No state or company paid to be listed.

Scope: the ranking describes a purchased system on a suitable roof. If you lease, sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) or let a contract assign your incentive to someone else, the state’s best feature may not reach you.

The top 10 for homeowner economics

1. Washington, D.C.

D.C. pays the richest ongoing incentive in the country. Each 1,000 kWh a system makes earns one solar renewable energy certificate (SREC), and 2026 D.C. SRECs were quoted at $372.50 on Flett Exchange on October 14, 2026. A system making 8,000 kWh a year would earn about $2,980 at that price, on top of full-retail net metering. SREC prices are set by the market and can fall. EcoGen’s D.C. example pays back in about 4 years when you keep and sell the SRECs and about 10 when a contract gives them to someone else (D.C. worth-it page). Small row-house roofs are the main constraint. See the Washington, D.C. solar guide and the D.C. PSC renewable portfolio program.

2. New Jersey

Full one-for-one net metering, residential power averaging 23.98¢ per kWh from January to July 2026, and 15 years of SREC-II income. For registrations received on or after July 27, 2026, each SREC-II is worth $77, down from $85 (BPU order of May 21, 2026). EcoGen’s example pays back in about 7 years when the SREC-II is paid to you and about 10 when it is not (New Jersey worth-it page). See the New Jersey solar guide.

3. Massachusetts

Grid power is the third most expensive in the country (30.14¢ per kWh, January to July 2026), exports still earn close to the full price, and the SMART 3.0 program adds a production payment. For most home systems of 25 kW or less enrolling in 2026, SMART pays a flat $0.03 per kWh ($0.06 for low-income customers), locked for 20 years (MassCEC SMART 3.0 guide). EcoGen’s example pays back in about 8 years, or about 7 with SMART payments (Massachusetts worth-it page). See the Massachusetts solar guide.

4. New York

New York kept its own credit: 25% of qualified equipment costs, up to $5,000. It is one of the few state credits that also covers leases and PPAs of at least ten years. It is not refundable, but unused credit carries forward up to five years, so it helps only if you owe New York income tax (NY Department of Taxation). In our worked examples, a cash buyer at the typical $3.02/W pays the system off in about 6 years on Con Edison and about 10 on National Grid. See the New York solar guide.

5. Connecticut

High power prices (27.97¢ per kWh, January to July 2026) and the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program, which pays solar owners through either a Netting tariff or a Buy-All tariff. PURA updated both tariff rates for projects enrolling in 2026 (PURA RRES program). The Netting versus Buy-All choice matters more than the panel brand, so model both before signing. See the Connecticut solar guide.

6. New Mexico

Strong sun, net metering and a state tax credit of 10% of equipment, materials and labor, up to $6,000. The credit is tied to a fund year set by the date your system passes inspection, so check remaining funding before counting on it (New Mexico EMNRD). See the New Mexico solar guide.

7. Maryland

Full-retail net metering and a state rebate make Maryland strong today, but the clock is running. The 2026 Utility RELIEF Act requires a successor net-metering program to begin July 1, 2027, and the statewide net-metering cap is 3,000 MW (Maryland PSC notice, PC 78). EcoGen’s example pays back in about 7 years with the rebate and about 10 without (Maryland worth-it page). See the Maryland solar guide.

8. Delaware

One-for-one net metering plus Green Energy Program grants for customers of Delmarva Power, Delaware Electric Cooperative and the municipal utilities, administered by DNREC (Energize Delaware grants and rebates). Grant amounts and funding change, so confirm the current figure with the program before signing. EcoGen’s Delmarva example pays back in about 9 years with the grant and about 12 without (Delaware worth-it page). See the Delaware solar guide.

9. Maine

No large incentive stack: Maine’s case is expensive grid power (29.99¢ per kWh, January to July 2026, fourth highest) and kWh credits for exports under net energy billing. Unused credits expire after 12 months, so size the system to your annual use (Maine PUC net energy billing). See the Maine solar guide.

10. Minnesota

State law lets a system under 40 kW choose to be paid the average retail energy rate for power it sends to the grid (Minnesota Statutes 216B.164), and some utilities add performance programs with annual budgets. Prices are moderate (16.25¢ per kWh, January to July 2026), so self-use and price matter. See the Minnesota solar guide.

The top 10 at a glance

Prices are EIA average residential revenue per kWh for January through July 2026 (Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B). They include fixed charges, so they are not anyone’s tariff. Paybacks are EcoGen model examples for a typical owned system bought with cash, from each state’s worth-it page; they use assumed home-use shares and owner costs and are not household results. The national average for the same period was 18.19¢.

Where solar is hardest, and what moves a state

Alabama is the clearest counter-example. Alabama Power charges customers who generate their own electricity $5.41 per kilowatt of installed capacity every month, about $27 a month for a 5 kW system, and a federal judge declined to strike the fee in March 2026 (WBHM report). In states with low export credits and cheap power, solar can still work, but only when the system is sized to what the house uses as the panels produce.

A state moves up or down this list when:

• a commission replaces retail net metering with a lower export credit, as Maryland’s 2027 successor program may do;
• an incentive closes, hits a capacity cap, runs out of annual funding or steps down, as New Jersey’s SREC-II did in July 2026;
• retail rates or fixed charges change;
• installed-cost or production inputs change in the next Cost Index edition.

Check the ranking against your own home

1. Use your exact utility and tariff, including fixed charges and time-of-use periods. Utilities within one state can differ by years of payback, as New York shows.
2. Separate solar you will use in the home from solar you will export, and value exports at the tariff’s export rate.
3. Confirm each incentive with the administering agency: eligibility, remaining budget and who receives it under your contract.
4. Compare the proposal’s cash price with your state’s Cost Index figure.
5. Calculate payback with the payback formula and a conservative case.

Best-state questions