Solar by state
Solar in California, by the numbers
Utilities and their rates, adoption, ten years of growth, batteries, ownership, state rules and installer licensing in California, from federal 2024 data.
California in brief
14.71% of California homes had rooftop solar in 2024, the 2nd-highest of 51 (3.55% nationally). Power cost 31.97¢/kWh, above the national 16.48¢, and the average system was 6.07 kW. Pacific Gas & Electric Company serves 35.7% of homes.
Where does California stand out?
The four measures, beyond price and adoption, on which California sits furthest from the middle of the ranking.
California solar in numbers, 2024
Every California figure next to the national one, with its place in the ranking (highest first, out of the jurisdictions reporting it).
| Measure | California | United States | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes with a metered rooftop system | 14.71% | 3.55% | 2nd-highest of 51 |
| Rooftop systems counted | 2,090,983 | 5,077,543 | highest of 51 |
| Average system size | 6.07 kW | 6.74 kW | 8th-lowest of 51 |
| Residential price | 31.97¢/kWh | 16.48¢/kWh | 2nd-highest of 51 |
| Average monthly bill | $160.86 | $142.26 | 8th-highest of 51 |
| Use per home | 6,039 kWh/yr | 10,359 kWh/yr | 2nd-lowest of 51 |
| Systems with a battery | 10.58% | 5.86% | 6th-highest of 47 |
| Leased or on a PPA | 32.0% | 29.1% | 11th-highest of 38 |
| Growth in systems, five years | 14.4% a year | — | 9th-lowest of 51 |
| Minutes without power per customer | 285 | 297 (median state) | 23rd-lowest of 51 |
| Homes on a time-varying rate | 36.1% | 11.1% | 7th-highest of 51 |
| Installed rooftop capacity | 12,701.6 MW | 34,226 MW | — |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. The California ratios and ranks are HyreSolar calculations from EIA inputs.
Which utility serves California, and what does it charge?
The 8 largest utilities selling to California homes, by residential customers, with the price full-service customers paid and how many run net-metered solar.
| Utility | Type | Homes served | Price per kWh | Use per home, monthly | Net-metered systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Gas & Electric Company | Investor-owned; wires, 37% on its own supply | 5,047,461 (35.7%) | 39.62¢ | 429 kWh | 861,211 (17.1%) |
| Southern California Edison Company | Investor-owned; wires, 70% on its own supply | 4,594,415 (32.5%) | 32.43¢ | 497 kWh | 684,496 (14.9%) |
| Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | Municipal | 1,410,191 (10.0%) | 23.84¢ | 485 kWh | 87,951 (6.2%) |
| San Diego Gas & Electric Company | Investor-owned; wires, 23% on its own supply | 1,364,361 (9.6%) | 43.63¢ | 294 kWh | 325,401 (23.9%) |
| Sacramento Municipal Utility District | Public power district | 592,557 (4.2%) | 17.87¢ | 702 kWh | 57,003 (9.6%) |
| Imperial Irrigation District | Public power district | 142,078 (1.0%) | 17.91¢ | 1,159 kWh | 10,215 (7.2%) |
| City of Anaheim | Municipal | 105,839 (0.75%) | 17.11¢ | 467 kWh | 5,154 (4.9%) |
| Modesto Irrigation District | Public power district | 103,650 (0.73%) | 21.78¢ | 808 kWh | 11,160 (10.8%) |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 2024, Sales to Ultimate Customers and Net Metering, utility level, retrieved 5 October 2026. Shares are of 14,147,818 California residential accounts. Each California price is residential revenue divided by sales for full-service customers (HyreSolar calculation); a wires company’s price is its default-service price.
What do the California utility figures mean for a solar quote?
EIA-861 lists 32 utilities serving homes in California in 2024, across 14,147,818 residential accounts. The three largest, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, served 78.1% of those homes. By ownership: investor-owned utilities 78.5%, municipal utilities 14.7% and public power districts 6.6%.
5,621,955 California homes (39.7%) bought their energy from 28 competitive suppliers, 5,380,262 of them through community choice aggregation, while the local utility kept delivering it. On a supplier, the energy price on your bill is the supplier’s, so price a solar quote against your own bill rather than the utility prices in the table.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the largest, served 5,047,461 California homes (35.7%). Its full-service residential customers paid 39.62¢ per kWh, above the California average of 31.97¢, and used 429 kWh a month on average. 861,211 of its customers ran net-metered rooftop solar, 17.1% of its homes against 14.71% statewide.
Among the 26 California utilities with at least 5,000 residential customers and a full-service price, the price ran from 16.34¢ at Turlock Irrigation District to 43.63¢ at San Diego Gas & Electric Company.
At the California average of 6,039 kWh a year, that 27.29¢ gap is worth about $1,648 a year (our arithmetic), so the same system offsets more money in one territory than the other.
Price a quote on your own utility’s rate, not the 31.97¢ California average.
Rooftop solar is concentrated: Pacific Gas & Electric Company alone accounts for 861,211 net-metered residential systems, about 41% of the 2,090,983 counted in California, and 29 California utilities reported any at all. The highest adoption among the larger utilities was at San Diego Gas & Electric Company, where 23.9% of homes had a system.
What does power cost in California, and why does it matter?
Residential electricity in California averaged 31.97¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, the 2nd-highest of 51 and above the national 16.48¢. That is one of the highest residential prices in the country.
Each kilowatt-hour a system covers on site is one not bought at that price, so self-consumption carries more value in California than in all but a handful of states.
The average California household bill was $160.86 a month ($1,930 a year), the 8th-highest of 51, against $142.26 nationally. That $1,930 is the ceiling on what solar could save a typical California home, before fixed monthly charges.
In California, 36.1% of homes were on a time-varying rate in 2024.
On those rates the hour you use or export power changes its value, so ask for a proposal modeled on your own tariff.
86.6% of California residential meters were smart meters (83.8% nationally), and a time-varying rate needs one. How time-of-use changes solar.
How many California homes have solar?
California had 2,090,983 rooftop systems on net metering in 2024, across 14,217,180 residential accounts: 14.71% of homes, the 2nd-highest of 51. California is one of the most established rooftop markets in the country. A market this size can mean more installers to compare and permit offices used to solar applications.
The California market counted 164,524 more systems in 2024 than in 2023 and has grown 14.4% a year over five years, the 9th-lowest of 51. Where growth has turned nationally.
How has California solar changed since 2014?
California counted 324,529 net-metered rooftop systems in 2014 and 2,090,983 in 2024, 6.4 times as many. The share of homes with one moved from 2.45% to 14.71%. The biggest one-year addition came in 2023, with 278,068 more systems than the year before.
| Year | Rooftop systems | Share of homes | Average size | Residential price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 324,529 | 2.45% | 4.9 kW | 16.25¢ |
| 2016 | 644,904 | 4.80% | 5.2 kW | 17.39¢ |
| 2018 | 911,178 | 6.70% | 5.4 kW | 18.84¢ |
| 2020 | 1,217,078 | 8.80% | 5.5 kW | 20.45¢ |
| 2022 | 1,648,391 | 11.82% | 5.8 kW | 25.84¢ |
| 2024 | 2,090,983 | 14.71% | 6.1 kW | 31.97¢ |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 annual files 2014–2024, net-metered residential systems, retrieved 2 September 2026. California shares and sizes are HyreSolar calculations.
What does the California trend mean for a savings estimate?
Over the same years the California residential price went from 16.25¢ to 31.97¢ per kWh, up 97%, and the average system from 4.9 kW to 6.1 kW. A rate that has risen that far makes a 2024 bill a conservative base for a California savings estimate only if the trend continues, which nobody can promise.
How big is a typical California system?
The average California system was 6.07 kW in 2024, the 8th-lowest of 51, against 6.74 kW nationally. California homes used 6,039 kilowatt-hours a year each, the 2nd-lowest of 51.
A California home using 6,039 kWh is an average, not a design input: size from your own twelve months of bills and usable roof with cost by system size and the system size calculator.
Who owns the systems in California?
In California, 32.0% of systems were third-party owned in 2024: leased, or on a power purchase agreement (PPA), rather than owned by the household. That is the 11th-highest of 38, against 29.1% nationally.
Leases and power purchase agreements are a large share of the California market, so expect one to be offered alongside a purchase. Whoever owns a California system claims any tax credit on it: Section 48E explained.
Do California homes add batteries?
In California, 10.58% of solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024 (221,123 systems), the 6th-highest of 47. That is one of the highest attachment rates in the country, and 1.8 times the national share of 5.86%.
On reliability, the average California customer went 285 minutes without power in 2024 counting major storms, and 164 minutes without them. The median state saw 297. Outages in every state.
Whether a battery pays in California turns on your utility’s export credit and your own outage history: what a home battery does.
Which California solar laws have we read?
California statutes we read ourselves. Any rule not listed here is one we have not read, not one that does not exist.
How long you have to cancel a contract
5 business days if you are 65 or over, otherwise 3, from receipt of a signed and dated copy of the contract. This is the general home solicitation rule, which reaches solar sales.
Civ. Code §§ 1689.5–1689.7; B&P § 7151. Read at source September 2, 2026. Solar sales rules by state
Property tax on the added value
Exclusion from assessed value, residential and commercial, storage included. The exclusion expires January 1, 2027 for new systems, and also ends on a change in ownership.
Rev. & Tax. Code § 73. Read at source September 2, 2026. Property tax exemptions
What an HOA can and cannot block
The California access statute tests an association’s restriction two ways. On cost: for PV, a restriction that adds a flat $1,000. On output: more than a 10% efficiency decrease. The association must respond within 45 days, in writing, or the application is deemed approved.
Civ. Code §§ 714 and 714.1. Read at source September 2, 2026. Solar access rights by state
How do you check a solar company’s license in California?
We checked 560 California solar companies from June to August 2026 against the state license register. 28.4% of those did not hold a current license when checked (134 expired, 25 revoked).
The license classes we found on California solar work are C10, B, C46, C39. Ask which one a company holds, then confirm the number with the issuing authority yourself.
These counts describe the companies we checked on those dates, not every company in California, and a license current then may have lapsed since. How to verify a solar license.
Which states are closest to California on adoption?
The six jurisdictions nearest to California’s 14.71% share of homes with rooftop solar.
Where do the California numbers come from?
The California figures are HyreSolar calculations from the Form EIA-861 annual files: 2,090,983 net-metered residential systems counted against 14,217,180 residential accounts, sizes as means, and 32 utility-level rows for the utility table, matched to net-metering records by EIA utility number.
The method and limits cover all 51; the California row is in the data as a CSV.
No California figure here is an estimate for one home: your roof, usage, utility tariff and tax position decide that.
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Questions
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