Residential solar in the United States spans rooftop photovoltaic systems, small-scale generation, batteries, and community-solar participation. The statistics below distinguish installed capacity from technical potential, and household outcomes from modeled, estimated, regression-based, or industry-summary measures.
Key Residential Solar Statistics
These highlights summarize the most broadly useful residential solar measures for the United States and named subgroups:
- In 2024, 560,000 residential rooftop systems were installed in the United States.
- In 2024, 4.7 GW of residential rooftop capacity was installed in the United States.
- In 2024, 5.26 million U.S. homeowners had solar on their roofs.
- In 2024, cumulative U.S. residential rooftop capacity reached 40.9 GW.
- In 2024, U.S. residential small-scale solar generation was 57,547 thousand MWh.
- In July 2024, U.S. residential small-scale solar generation was 5,991 thousand MWh.
- In 2023, the median U.S. residential PV system size was 7.4 kW DC.
- In 2023, the 20th-to-80th-percentile U.S. residential system-size range was 5–11 kW DC.
- In 2023, typical residential PV covered 20–40% of roof space.
- In 2023, new U.S. residential PV installations included batteries 12% of the time.
- In 2023, California’s residential storage attachment rate was 14%.
- In 2023, Hawaii’s residential storage attachment rate was 95%.
- From 2023 to 2024, U.S. residential third-party ownership increased from 26% to 43%.
- In 2023, the median income of U.S. solar adopters was $115,000 per year.
- In 2023, 49% of U.S. solar adopters were below 120% of area median income.
- In a 500,000-household study, 76% of households had a reduced energy burden.
- In that study, median net savings after off-bill impacts were $691 per year.
- In that study, median energy burden after complete accounting was 2.6% of income.
Contents
- U.S. market scale and installations
- Residential solar generation trends
- System size, rooftops, and technical potential
- Costs, prices, and household savings
- Batteries, financing, and ownership
- Adoption demographics, access, and energy burden
U.S. Residential Solar Market Scale and Installations
The clearest market-scale measures describe U.S. rooftop deployment in 2024. These are estimates associated with the source’s stated population and caveats, so they should not be read as a universal count of every household solar arrangement.
| 2024 measure | U.S. estimate | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Residential rooftop systems installed | 560,000 systems | Systems installed during 2024 |
| Residential rooftop capacity installed | 4.7 GW | Capacity installed during 2024 |
| Homeowners with solar on roofs | 5.26 million homeowners | Homeowners with rooftop solar |
| Cumulative residential rooftop capacity | 40.9 GW | Installed capacity through 2024 |
Source: Home Solar and Batteries: Energy and Economic Security for American Families, which presents these 2024 U.S. estimates.
The installation count and capacity measure describe additions during the year, while the homeowner and cumulative-capacity measures describe the installed base. That distinction matters when comparing annual market activity with total residential solar presence.
Residential Solar Generation Statistics and Long-Term Trends
EIA’s Electric Power Monthly reports residential small-scale solar generation for the United States. The series is estimated from EIA-861 data, and “small-scale” is a defined population that should not automatically be treated as identical to every rooftop or residential system.
| Year or month | Residential small-scale generation |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 10,595 thousand MWh |
| 2017 | 13,942 thousand MWh |
| 2018 | 17,105 thousand MWh |
| 2019 | 20,914 thousand MWh |
| 2020 | 25,179 thousand MWh |
| 2021 | 30,182 thousand MWh |
| 2022 | 39,510 thousand MWh |
| 2023 | 49,273 thousand MWh |
| 2024 | 57,547 thousand MWh |
| July 2024 | 5,991 thousand MWh |
Source: Electric Power Monthly Table 1.2.E. EIA generation is estimated from EIA-861 data, so the values retain that estimation basis.
The annual series rises from 10,595 thousand MWh in 2016 to 57,547 thousand MWh in 2024. The July 2024 figure is a monthly observation and is not directly comparable with the annual totals.
Residential Solar System Size, Rooftops, and Technical Potential
System size has increased over time in the Berkeley Lab tracking data. The median residential system was 2.4 kW DC in 2000 and 7.2 kW DC in 2022, while the 2023 median reached 7.4 kW DC.
- The 2023 U.S. median residential PV system size was 7.4 kW DC.
- The 2023 20th-to-80th-percentile range was 5–11 kW DC, showing variation around the median.
- The median residential system size was 2.4 kW DC in 2000 and 7.2 kW DC in 2022.
Sources: Tracking the Sun 2024 Edition and Updated report and data illustrate distributed solar pricing and design trends.
Technical potential is different from installed capacity. The Department of Energy and NREL describe 8 billion square meters of suitable U.S. rooftop area and 1 TW of U.S. rooftop technical solar potential; residential and small rooftops account for 65% of national rooftop potential.
The same source reports that 42% of residential rooftops are associated with low-to-moderate-income households. It also estimates 3.3 million homes per year are built or need roof replacement, representing 30 GW per year of solar potential on new or replacement roofs.
Source: Consumer Guide to Residential Solar Rooftop Potential. These are technical-potential and modeled figures, not measures of installed residential capacity or universal household adoption.
Residential Solar Costs, Prices, and Household Savings
Pricing data shows both a long-run decline and meaningful design-related variation. Berkeley Lab reports a real residential installed-price decline of $0.10/W from 2022 to 2023, alongside an approximate prior-decade decline of $0.10–$0.20 per real W per year.
| Pricing or outcome measure | Reported value | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Real installed-price decline, 2022–2023 | $0.10/W | Residential systems |
| Approximate prior-decade annual decline | $0.10–$0.20 per real W | Residential installed prices |
| Regression-associated battery-storage price increase | $1.40/W | Residential systems including storage |
| Regression-associated new-construction price difference | $0.70/W lower | Residential new construction |
| Estimated average homeowner bill savings | $1,500/home/year | U.S. homeowners |
| Estimated collective homeowner bill savings in 2024 | $2.3 billion | U.S. homeowners |
Sources: Tracking the Sun 2024 Edition, Updated report and data illustrate distributed solar pricing and design trends, and Home Solar and Batteries: Energy and Economic Security for American Families.
The battery and new-construction figures are regression-associated price differences, not universal price tags for every project. The savings figures are estimates and should be kept distinct from installed-price measures.
Residential Solar Batteries, Financing, and Ownership Trends
Battery attachment varies sharply by geography. In 2023, batteries accompanied 12% of new residential PV installations overall in the reported population, compared with 14% in California, 95% in Hawaii, and 4–10% in most other states.
The 2024 update reports 6% residential storage attachment outside Hawaii and California. Because the measures cover different years and geographic groupings, they should not be combined into a single national trend.
Third-party ownership also changed between 2023 and 2024:
| Measure | Reported value | Period or population |
|---|---|---|
| Residential third-party ownership | 26% to 43% | Change from 2023 to 2024 |
| State-level third-party ownership range | Under 10% to over 60% | States in 2024 |
| Third-party ownership among adopters earning under $50,000 | 33% | 2023 adopters |
Sources: Updated report and data illustrate distributed solar pricing and design trends, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage Data: 2025 Update, and Residential Solar-Adopter Income and Demographic Trends: 2024 Update.
The ownership range shows why financing structure is not uniform across states. Income-related ownership also describes adopters, not all households that could technically host solar.
Residential Solar Adoption Demographics, Access, and Energy-Burden Outcomes
Income and access measures show a broader participation picture than rooftop ownership alone. For 2023 adopters, the median income was $115,000 per year, compared with $75,000 per year for all U.S. households; the current median also declined from $141,000 for the 2010 cohort to $115,000 for the 2023 cohort.
| Adoption or access measure | Reported value | Population or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 solar-adopter median income | $115,000/year | U.S. solar adopters |
| Median income of all U.S. households | $75,000/year | U.S. comparison |
| Adopters below 120% of AMI | 49% | 2023 adopters |
| Adopters below 80% of AMI | 26% | 2023 adopters |
| Third-party ownership below $50,000 income | 33% | 2023 adopters |
Source: Residential Solar-Adopter Income and Demographic Trends: 2024 Update. These income figures retain the source’s adopter definitions and comparison population.
Community solar reaches households who are not represented by rooftop ownership in the same way. Community-solar adopters were 6.1 times as likely to live in multifamily housing, 4.4 times as likely to rent, and had incomes 23% lower than rooftop adopters.
Source: Berkeley Lab finds that community solar expands access to solar adoption. These are relative or derived comparisons between reported adopter populations, not universal probabilities for every renter or multifamily resident.
A separate 500,000-household study measured energy-burden outcomes. 76% of households had a reduced energy burden, median bill savings before off-bill impacts were $1,987 per year, and median net savings after off-bill impacts were $691 per year.
The study also reported median bill-only energy burden falling from 3.3% to 1.3% of income, while median energy burden after complete accounting was 2.6% of income. These are study-derived outcomes, and “bill-only,” “off-bill,” and “complete accounting” are different measurement frames.
Source: New Berkeley Lab study quantifies rooftop solar’s impact on energy burden.