Energy and solar · no ZIP code asked
Solar panel cost by state
Choose a state and a system size: the price range per watt and per system appears at once, before any incentive.
Built by Radif Partners · How prices are built · Editorial policy
7.4 kW of solar panels in Texas, before incentives
$15,688 to $22,371
$2.12 to $3.02 per watt
| Texas median quote | $2.12/W |
| Reported installed price, same system | $3.02/W |
| Output per year | 10,427 kWh |
| Federal 30% credit (25D) | Ended December 31, 2025 |
The low end is the median competitive quote; the high end adds the gap New York measured in 2025 between prices reported to NYSERDA and marketplace quotes (financing fees, extras). How this is calculated.
A home solar system of 7.4 kW, the median size installed in 2023, costs about $18,352 to $26,170 in 2026 before incentives, which is $2.48 to $3.54 per watt. The low figure is the U.S. median of competitive quotes made on the EnergySage marketplace in the second half of 2025, published by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) in its Spring 2026 industry update. The high figure applies the gap New York measured in 2025 between prices reported to NYSERDA by installers, a median of $3.85 per watt over 8,652 purchased home systems, and the EnergySage quote for the same state, $2.70: a factor of 1.426. Median quotes ranged from $2.02 per watt in Arizona to $3.01 in Illinois. The federal 30% residential clean energy credit does not apply to systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a 2026 buyer pays the full sticker price unless a state or utility program helps.
Price per watt is the number to compare
Installers quote a total, but two totals for different system sizes say nothing until each is divided by its DC rating in watts. A 7.4 kW system holds 7,400 watts of panels; at the national median quote of $2.48 per watt that is $18,352, and at the reported-price level of $3.54 it is $26,170. With panels of 425 W, the median rating in New York's 2025 installations, the roof carries 18 of them. A quote far above the high figure deserves a line-by-line explanation; one below the low figure deserves a look at the panel and inverter models.
The Spring 2026 Solar and Storage Industry Update lists the EnergySage median for 10 states. They are the states where the marketplace had enough quotes to publish, so the calculator falls back to the U.S. median elsewhere and says so in the result.
| State | Median quote | 7.4 kW at the quote | 7.4 kW at reported prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $2.02/W | $14,948 | $21,316 |
| Florida | $2.10/W | $15,540 | $22,160 |
| Texas | $2.12/W | $15,688 | $22,371 |
| California | $2.30/W | $17,020 | $24,271 |
| New York | $2.70/W | $19,980 | $28,491 |
| Maryland | $2.71/W | $20,054 | $28,597 |
| Connecticut | $2.77/W | $20,498 | $29,230 |
| New Jersey | $2.77/W | $20,498 | $29,230 |
| Massachusetts | $3.00/W | $22,200 | $31,657 |
| Illinois | $3.01/W | $22,274 | $31,763 |
| United States | $2.48/W | $18,352 | $26,170 |
Why the price you pay can sit above the quote
Marketplace quotes are competitive bids for a plain system. The NYSERDA installation records show what New York homeowners who bought their systems in 2025 actually reported: one in five paid less than $3.10 per watt, one in five paid more than $5.43, and the median was $3.85. Part of that spread comes from things a bare quote leaves out, such as a main panel upgrade, conduit runs across a long attic, or a steep or tile roof. Part comes from how the sale is financed: a loan with a dealer fee folds that fee into the system price.
What this range does not cover
Batteries, ground-mounted arrays, re-roofing before installation and trenching to a detached garage all add to the bill and are priced separately by installers. Leases and power purchase agreements are not priced per watt at all; the owner of the panels sells you their output per kWh, so compare those offers against your utility rate, not against this page.
In Arizona, where the calculator reads sun data for Phoenix, 7.4 kW produces about 12,987 kWh a year and costs $14,948 to $21,316. The panel calculator sizes a system to your own use instead of the median.
From kilowatts to dollars
The calculator multiplies watts by the per-watt figure, so a system twice as large shows twice the price. Real quotes bend that line a little: permits, design, the inverter setup and the crew's trip cost about the same for 4 kW as for 12 kW, so small systems carry a higher price per watt and large ones a lower one.
| System size | Panels | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 kW | 10 | $9,920 | $14,146 |
| 6.0 kW | 15 | $14,880 | $21,219 |
| 7.4 kW | 18 | $18,352 | $26,170 |
| 10.0 kW | 24 | $24,800 | $35,365 |
| 12.0 kW | 29 | $29,760 | $42,438 |
No federal credit in 2026
The IRS states that the residential clean energy credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. On a median system at the quoted price, the 30% credit was worth about $5,506, which buyers in 2026 no longer get back at tax time. Some states and utilities run their own rebates or performance payments; their amounts and deadlines change, so ask the installer to show any incentive as a separate line and check it with the program itself. The payback calculator turns the price into years of bill savings.
A quote you can check
Ask for the DC size in kW, the panel model and wattage, the inverter type, the total before incentives and the price per watt. Put that per-watt figure next to the median for your state in the table above. This page asks for no ZIP code and no phone number, so nobody calls you back with a sales pitch.