Solar Panel Cost in 2026: National Prices

The median is a description, not a bid

The national median says what a large set of reported prices looked like. It does not say what your contract should say.

Berkeley Lab collects project-level data for the Department of Energy. The August 2026 update describes prices as the gross amount the system owner paid, before incentives, including dealer fees that were passed through on financed sales, and sometimes ancillary electrical or roofing work. Third-party-owned systems, meaning leases and PPAs, are excluded from those price statistics because the homeowner is not buying the system. Self-installs are excluded too. Reported prices outside $1 to $20 per watt were dropped as likely errors.

The same update says the median residential system installed in 2025 was 7.7 kW, and that most systems fell roughly between 5 and 12 kW. At $3.60 per watt, 7.7 kW is about $28,000 before incentives. At the cash median of $3.00 per watt it is about $23,000. At the loan-subset median of $4.50 per watt it is about $35,000, and that figure still excludes ongoing interest. These products are arithmetic on Berkeley Lab's medians, not a quote.

Prices fell about $0.50 per watt year over year in inflation-adjusted terms in that update, with a larger drop on cash sales. A falling median does not mean the next bid you receive will be lower than your neighbor's bid from last spring. Local labor, the main electrical panel, and the roof can dominate.

What the price is supposed to include

Modules, inverter, racking, labor, permit, and interconnection should be visible line items or clearly included. Roof replacement should not be hidden inside 'solar.'

A complete install price usually covers design, racking, modules, inverter equipment, electrical tie-in, permitting, inspection, and the utility application. A main-panel upgrade, a new roof, trenching for a detached garage, or critter guard can be extra. Ask for them as extras so you can say no.

Loan dealer fees are a quiet part of the Berkeley Lab gap between cash and loan prices. The fee is sometimes baked into the contract price rather than shown as interest. That is why you should demand a cash price for the same equipment even when you intend to borrow. Financing walks through cash, loans, leases, and PPAs.

Batteries change the price. Berkeley Lab reported about $2.10 per watt higher median prices for cash-purchase solar paired with storage than for stand-alone solar in 2025. Batteries explains the two jobs a battery can do. Do not accept a storage adder you cannot connect to one of those jobs.

Why Maryland is not Michigan is not Virginia

Labor, snow, and the tariff differ. So does the value of each kilowatt-hour, which is a separate question from the price.

A ComEd roof in Chicago, a DTE roof in Detroit, and a Dominion roof in Virginia Beach are not the same job. Snow load, tree cover, and whether exports are credited at supply only or nearer retail all move the labor and the savings. None of that is captured by dividing one national median by your ZIP code.

The 2025 EIA residential average was about 19.5 cents per kWh in Maryland, 20.0 cents in Michigan, and 15.3 cents in Virginia. A given system offsets more expensive energy where the price is higher. That is value, not cost. Savings and payback keeps the two apart. Our estimate only illustrates the value side, as a share of the bill you enter.

State pages name the usual utility so you know whose tariff to read. They do not invent a local price per watt. If we do not have a cited local median, we will not type one.

Do not subtract a credit the law no longer allows

For homeowner-owned systems, section 25D does not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and the expense counts when installation is completed.

A 2024 brochure that shows a 30 percent 'discount' is describing a prior rule. The tax credit page cites the statute and the IRS FAQ. Leases and PPAs were never the homeowner's 25D credit in the first place, because the homeowner does not own the system.

If a proposal subtracts a federal credit from a system that will be installed now, ask the salesperson to show the section of the tax code they are using. Then ask a tax professional before you rely on the answer. We will not do that subtraction for you.

How to compare two prices

Line up cash price, size in DC watts, modeled annual kilowatt-hours, and what was excluded.

Price per watt is cash price divided by module watts. It lets you compare a 6 kW bid with an 8 kW bid. It does not tell you which design will make more energy per dollar if one roof face is shaded. Put the modeled kilowatt-hours next to the price and you are closer.

Get at least two written bids. Choosing an installer is the checklist: license, insurance, equipment models, and who pulls the permit. A verbal 'about thirty thousand' is not a bid.