About Solar States

Solar States is an independent guide to residential solar in the United States — written for the homeowner on the other side of the sales call.

We cover all 50 states: what solar costs, what your state's incentives and net-metering rules actually are, and how to compare installer quotes in $/W instead of vibes. Every calculator on this site runs in your browser; we do not harvest leads.

Who writes this

Guides are produced by the Solar States research desk — an independent editorial project, not a utility, installer network or equipment brand. We are not paid to rank installers or to steer you toward a particular financing product. Contact: hello@solarstate.info.

How we research

• Primary sources first. State utility commissions, utility tariffs, DSIRE program records, EIA electricity data, SEIA market notes, and IRS publications for the federal Residential Clean Energy Credit.
• Every figure is dated. Facts show a source line and a last-verified date. When we cannot stand behind a number, it is labeled in review — never dressed up as fact.
• City pages are gated. Until local primary data is verified, city guides stay honest about gaps and are not pushed into search indexes.
• Tools are transparent. Estimators expose their assumptions (yield rule of thumb, credit eligibility window, market $/W frame) so you can override them.

What we are not

• Not an installer, manufacturer or utility.
• Not a lead-gen marketplace. No kickbacks for “matched” quotes.
• Not tax, legal or engineering advice — use a licensed professional for decisions that bind you.

Corrections

If a figure is wrong or stale, tell us via the contact form. We date-check rolling updates across the 50-state set and the buyer tools. Editorial standards beat growth hacks: a smaller set of true pages beats a large set of thin ones.

Reuse

Short quotations with a link back to the source page are fine for media and education. Bulk scraping or republishing entire guides needs written permission — email us.