Best solar companies California
Start with customer-review scores, check public installation records, then get address-specific bids for your home. No paid placement anywhere in between.
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Step 1 · Reviews
Companies with fewer than 20 analyzed review texts are not scored. Not-yet-scored companies remain visible on county and city pages below the scored cohort. Install-volume columns remain sortable, but the published rank is the score rank.
Need the full scored list? Open the sortable statewide ranking with county filters and profile links.
View full ranking →Local rankings
Search city pages, compare scored installers, and then run your address for direct bids.
Step 2 · Public records
Compare county scale, active installer counts, lease share, and median installed price from public records.
| County | Systems | Active installersEvery company that filed an interconnection in 2025, including small and occasional operations. | % leasedShare of recorded systems that are third party owned: a lease or power purchase agreement. The remainder are customer owned. | Median installed price ($/W)Median reported cost per watt from owned-system California interconnection filings. Actual quotes vary with roof, equipment, battery, utility, and site conditions. | Solar.com base price ($/W)Starting price before site-specific adders such as roof complexity, electrical work, and batteries; final quotes vary. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego CountyA mature SDG&E market where high rates and the Net Billing Tariff make solar plus storage the normal design.285,020 systems548 active installers23.4% leased | 285,020 | 548all sizes, 2025 | 23.4% | $4.82/W | $2.53/W48% below median |
| Riverside CountyBig inland loads, low base pricing, and a sharp split between SCE battery economics and Riverside Public Utilities municipal rules.198,935 systems514 active installers44.6% leased | 198,935 | 514all sizes, 2025 | 44.6% | $4.13/W | $2.41/W42% below median |
| Los Angeles CountyThe largest installer field shown here, with SCE territory plus municipal pockets like LADWP, Glendale, Pasadena, and Burbank.190,760 systems744 active installers35.1% leased | 190,760 | 744all sizes, 2025 | 35.1% | $3.99/W | $2.54/W36% below median |
| San Bernardino CountyFoothill and Inland Empire homes with large summer loads, SCE exposure, and one of the highest TPO shares in the dataset.142,132 systems444 active installers45.5% leased | 142,132 | 444all sizes, 2025 | 45.5% | $4.25/W | $2.54/W40% below median |
| Orange CountyA dense coastal and inland market where SCE dominates, with Anaheim Public Utilities as the big municipal exception.129,570 systems621 active installers28.3% leased | 129,570 | 621all sizes, 2025 | 28.3% | $4.13/W | $2.54/W38% below median |
| Fresno CountyPG&E and SCE territory with 96,749 recorded home solar systems in public interconnection records.96,749 systems281 active installers34.5% leased | 96,749 | 281all sizes, 2025 | 34.5% | $3.85/W | $2.65/W31% below median |
| Kern CountyPG&E and SCE territory with 90,384 recorded home solar systems in public interconnection records.90,384 systems302 active installers39.0% leased | 90,384 | 302all sizes, 2025 | 39.0% | $3.73/W | $2.59/W31% below median |
| Contra Costa CountyPG&E territory with 89,151 recorded home solar systems in public interconnection records.89,151 systems364 active installers23.2% leased | 89,151 | 364all sizes, 2025 | 23.2% | $4.54/W | $2.57/W43% below median |
| Santa Clara CountyPG&E territory with 86,450 recorded home solar systems in public interconnection records.86,450 systems370 active installers18.7% leased | 86,450 | 370all sizes, 2025 | 18.7% | $4.58/W | $2.57/W44% below median |
| Alameda CountyPG&E territory with 75,871 recorded home solar systems in public interconnection records.75,871 systems348 active installers18.6% leased | 75,871 | 348all sizes, 2025 | 18.6% | $4.58/W | $2.59/W43% below median |
% leased counts systems recorded as third party owned, meaning a lease or power purchase agreement. The remainder are customer owned. Active installer counts include every company that filed an interconnection that year, down to small and occasional operations. Counts come from PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E interconnection records; homes served by municipal utilities like LADWP, SMUD, and city power departments interconnect through their local utility instead, so companies focused on those territories show fewer records here. Star ratings and review counts are from Google.
In SCE, SDG&E, and PG&E territory, the power you send back to the grid is credited at less than you pay for power you use. A battery fixes that: store the afternoon solar, use it during the expensive evening hours. Most new California systems now include one.
LADWP, Riverside, Anaheim, Glendale, Pasadena, and Burbank run their own utilities with their own rules, so a solar-only system can still pencil for some addresses.
High and rising electric bills make solar valuable, but the right system size depends on the local rate plan, roof, usage, and battery. That's an address-level answer, not a statewide one.
Run your address and see direct pricing for California in about two minutes. No sales call required.
It depends on your county, utility, roof, and ownership preference. California has large national operators and strong local installers, so the right answer is the best direct bid for your address, not a statewide popularity list.
Yes, but it is battery-first in investor-owned utility territory. Exports are worth less than retail, so the winning design stores afternoon solar for evening use instead of oversizing around exports.
Yes. LADWP, Riverside Public Utilities, Anaheim Public Utilities, Glendale Water & Power, Pasadena Water & Power, and Burbank Water and Power set their own rules. Some can support simpler solar-only economics than SCE or SDG&E territory.
TPO means third-party owned solar, usually a lease or power-purchase agreement. A higher TPO share means more local homeowners chose a lease-style structure instead of buying the system outright.
It anchors the market view in public interconnection filings instead of a teaser quote. Your final price still needs the address-level model because roof conditions, equipment, battery needs, utility rules, and site work can move the number.
946K+ home solar systems appear in California public utility records through May 2026. We use those records, not ads or paid reviews, to see who actually installs in each market. Reported price medians are county-level owned-system records. County comparison rows use the same CPUC public-record source for systems, active installer counts, lease share, and median installed price per watt.
Methodology: Counts are residential PV interconnections in investor-owned-utility territory (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) per CPUC Rule 21 public records through May 2026. Postal and name variants are merged. Municipal utility territory such as LADWP, Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Anaheim, and Riverside Public Utilities is not included in those CPUC counts. Counts show recorded installations, not quality ratings. Reported costs are self-reported on owned-system interconnections. No installer can pay for placement.
Who we are: Solar.com is a solar marketplace — we connect homeowners with installers and earn a fee when projects move forward. These rankings and scores are computed from public installation records and published customer reviews. No installer can pay for placement, and no installer — including those we work with — can pay to change a score.