What solar actually costs in California, from 20,000 real installs

The short answer

The median home solar system with a battery in Edison territory cost $34,655. That is the middle of 19,897 customer-owned systems approved over twelve months. The typical one had 7.7 kW of panels and 13.5 kWh of battery storage. The middle half of them cost between $24,800 and $48,100.

• Median price, solar and battery$34,655
• Middle half of systems$24,800 to $48,100
• Median panel size7.7 kW
• Median battery size13.5 kWh
• Price per watt of panels, battery included$4.73 (middle half $3.58 to $6.18)
• Systems in the sample19,897

Solar cost in the Inland Empire

In Riverside and San Bernardino counties the numbers are almost the same: a median of $33,829 across 6,842 customer-owned solar and battery systems, for 7.6 kW of panels, or $4.71 per watt with the battery included. The middle half cost between $24,300 and $48,000. Living in Fontana or Riverside rather than Orange County does not make the equipment cheaper; it mostly changes how big a system your summer bill calls for.

What about solar panels without a battery?

The same data has 9,858 customer-owned solar-only systems, at a median $3.04 per watt (middle half $2.50 to $4.25). But the typical one is small: 3.6 kW, for a median$12,000. That is well under what a three-bedroom Inland Empire home with central air uses, so we would not use it as a guide to what your house would cost.

It is also why most new systems here include a battery. Under Edison’s current rules the panels produce the most at midday, when exported power is worth the least, and the most expensive hours are 4 to 9 p.m., after the panels have stopped. We wrote that up with Edison’s published prices in SCE peak hours and what each one costs.

Why two quotes for the same house can be $20,000 apart

The spread between the cheap quarter and the expensive quarter of systems is large. Most of it comes from:

• System size. Panels are sized to your usage. A bigger bill needs a bigger array.
• Batteries. One battery or two is the single biggest swing in price.
• The roof. If the roof needs replacing first, that is a separate cost, and some quotes hide it inside the solar price. Roof and solar together.
• The equipment. Panel and inverter brands are not interchangeable on price or warranty.
• The company’s margin. Which is why price per watt, battery listed separately, is the way to compare.

The federal tax credit is gone for homeowners

Older articles still quote a 30% federal tax credit. For a homeowner buying a system now, it no longer applies: the IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and that paying before that date does not help if installation finished after it. The prices above are, for 2026 buyers, the whole price. Ask a tax professional about your own situation, and be wary of anyone still promising the credit.

Solar with no upfront cost

In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, 57% of new home systems over the same twelve months were owned by a third party rather than the homeowner (14,850 of 25,982), against 50% across all of Edison territory. That is the $0-down route: under a power purchase agreement someone else owns and maintains the system, you pay nothing upfront, and you pay for the electricity it makes at the rate written into the agreement. You do not own the panels and you cannot claim a tax credit for them. Nothing about it is free; you are buying the power instead of the equipment.

The rate varies by customer, so we do not publish one. What to ask for instead: year one and year twenty on the same page, so you can see what the rate does over the life of the agreement. How a solar power purchase agreement works, line by line.

How to compare solar quotes

1. Ask for the price per watt of panels, with the battery priced separately.
2. Ask whether roof work is included, and if so, what it costs on its own.
3. Ask who will own the system, and get the name in writing.
4. On a $0-down agreement, ask for year one and year twenty on the same page.
5. Check the installer’s licence on the CSLB licence check.

Questions people ask about solar costs

How these numbers were worked out

We downloaded the CPUC’s California DG Stats “Interconnected Project Sites” dataset (data through August 31, 2026) and used Edison’s file. We kept residential systems with solar panels approved to connect from September 2025 through August 2026, kept only customer-owned systems (third-party systems don’t report a price the homeowner paid), and removed the top and bottom 1% by cost per watt, the same trim DG Stats applies in its own installer tool. Cost per watt is total reported cost divided by the panels’ DC rating, so for solar-and-battery systems it includes the battery. All costs are self-reported by the applicant and DG Stats does not verify them. Medians, not averages, so a handful of very expensive systems can’t pull the number up.

Sources

• CPUC California Distributed Generation Statistics — Interconnected Project Sites dataset (data through August 31, 2026)
• CPUC California DG Stats — Find an installer (cost-per-watt method: self-reported, top and bottom 1% removed)
• IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit (not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025)
• IRS — FAQs on the One, Big, Beautiful Bill changes to section 25D

Published October 15, 2026. Divine Gifts Solar is a solar broker: we match homeowners with CSLB-licensed installers and do not install systems ourselves. For your own price, a quote built from your own bill beats any median.