How much do solar panels cost in Florida?

There is no honest single price for solar panels in Florida. Berkeley Lab's August 2026 data update put the median up-front price of host-owned, stand-alone U.S. residential systems installed in 2025 at about $3.60 per watt before incentives. In the subset where financing was clear, cash purchases were about $3.00 per watt and loan-financed systems about $4.50 per watt. A Florida roof can land on either side of those medians.

What the median leaves out

The median system in that dataset was 7.7 kW. At $3.60 per watt that is roughly $28,000 before any incentive. Florida wind design, tile roofs, and main-panel upgrades move the number. A tile roof in Miami is more labor than an asphalt roof in Tallahassee. Coastal hardware is not the same bill of materials as an inland Lakeland roof.

Leases and power-purchase agreements are not in that median. Berkeley Lab excludes third-party-owned systems from the price statistics because the homeowner is not buying the equipment. Compare a lease by its payment schedule, not by dollars per watt.

Do not subtract a credit the law no longer allows

The federal residential credit under section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. The IRS says the expenditure is made when installation is completed. A Florida proposal that shows a 30 percent federal discount on a 2026 install is using an expired shortcut. Read the federal tax credit page and ask a tax professional if a prior year is actually in play.

The bill is the other half

The 2025 EIA residential average for Florida was 15.21 cents per kWh. That is not a Tampa Electric, FPL, Duke, or JEA rate. Our estimate uses the state average on purpose and labels the result an estimate. Export credits differ by utility. A savings chart that ignores the rider on your bill is not a Florida price. It is a story.

Start with the utility name, the cash price, the system size, and whether the roof needs replacing first. City notes for Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and Jacksonville name the usual company so you do not mix them up.