SunYieldMap

How much power does a solar panel make in your city?

Typical yearly and monthly output of a rooftop solar array in 100 U.S. cities — every state and DC — per kilowatt of panels, with the best direction to face them and how every city compares.

Or size a system: open the yield estimator to get yearly and monthly kWh for any size, panel direction and a second city.

Seattle, WA: 1,088 kWh per kWPortland, OR: 1,121 kWh per kWPittsburgh, PA: 1,191 kWh per kWBuffalo, NY: 1,202 kWh per kWCharleston, WV: 1,219 kWh per kWBurlington, VT: 1,222 kWh per kWCleveland, OH: 1,255 kWh per kWManchester, NH: 1,255 kWh per kWCincinnati, OH: 1,273 kWh per kWBoston, MA: 1,275 kWh per kWBridgeport, CT: 1,291 kWh per kWProvidence, RI: 1,294 kWh per kWDetroit, MI: 1,295 kWh per kWColumbus, OH: 1,296 kWh per kWFargo, ND: 1,304 kWh per kWJersey City, NJ: 1,305 kWh per kWNewark, NJ: 1,306 kWh per kWMadison, WI: 1,314 kWh per kWPortland, ME: 1,316 kWh per kWSt. Paul, MN: 1,325 kWh per kWIndianapolis, IN: 1,332 kWh per kWMinneapolis, MN: 1,333 kWh per kWChicago, IL: 1,333 kWh per kWBillings, MT: 1,334 kWh per kWMilwaukee, WI: 1,338 kWh per kWNashville, TN: 1,338 kWh per kWLexington, KY: 1,342 kWh per kWLouisville, KY: 1,344 kWh per kWPhiladelphia, PA: 1,348 kWh per kWNew York, NY: 1,353 kWh per kWDurham, NC: 1,360 kWh per kWWilmington, DE: 1,364 kWh per kWDes Moines, IA: 1,367 kWh per kWRaleigh, NC: 1,370 kWh per kWLittle Rock, AR: 1,370 kWh per kWHuntsville, AL: 1,387 kWh per kWSt. Louis, MO: 1,388 kWh per kWCharlotte, NC: 1,391 kWh per kWWashington, DC: 1,392 kWh per kWBaltimore, MD: 1,392 kWh per kWSioux Falls, SD: 1,409 kWh per kWAtlanta, GA: 1,416 kWh per kWHouston, TX: 1,421 kWh per kWJackson, MS: 1,428 kWh per kWOmaha, NE: 1,431 kWh per kWVirginia Beach, VA: 1,434 kWh per kWMemphis, TN: 1,439 kWh per kWGreensboro, NC: 1,444 kWh per kWKansas City, MO: 1,445 kWh per kWCharleston, SC: 1,455 kWh per kWJacksonville, FL: 1,455 kWh per kWBoise, ID: 1,468 kWh per kWTulsa, OK: 1,470 kWh per kWLincoln, NE: 1,471 kWh per kWAustin, TX: 1,483 kWh per kWSalt Lake City, UT: 1,485 kWh per kWDallas, TX: 1,500 kWh per kWSan Antonio, TX: 1,504 kWh per kWOrlando, FL: 1,507 kWh per kWNew Orleans, LA: 1,521 kWh per kWWichita, KS: 1,526 kWh per kWPlano, TX: 1,527 kWh per kWFort Worth, TX: 1,535 kWh per kWOklahoma City, OK: 1,542 kWh per kWCorpus Christi, TX: 1,542 kWh per kWArlington, TX: 1,545 kWh per kWSan Francisco, CA: 1,548 kWh per kWCheyenne, WY: 1,554 kWh per kWMiami, FL: 1,558 kWh per kWTampa, FL: 1,568 kWh per kWOakland, CA: 1,582 kWh per kWDenver, CO: 1,602 kWh per kWAurora, CO: 1,612 kWh per kWSacramento, CA: 1,614 kWh per kWSan Jose, CA: 1,624 kWh per kWStockton, CA: 1,624 kWh per kWColorado Springs, CO: 1,629 kWh per kWFresno, CA: 1,654 kWh per kWIrvine, CA: 1,664 kWh per kWReno, NV: 1,667 kWh per kWAnaheim, CA: 1,673 kWh per kWSanta Ana, CA: 1,676 kWh per kWLong Beach, CA: 1,678 kWh per kWLos Angeles, CA: 1,679 kWh per kWSan Diego, CA: 1,682 kWh per kWBakersfield, CA: 1,684 kWh per kWRiverside, CA: 1,719 kWh per kWChula Vista, CA: 1,728 kWh per kWGilbert, AZ: 1,750 kWh per kWMesa, AZ: 1,751 kWh per kWChandler, AZ: 1,753 kWh per kWLas Vegas, NV: 1,754 kWh per kWPhoenix, AZ: 1,755 kWh per kWHenderson, NV: 1,769 kWh per kWAlbuquerque, NM: 1,779 kWh per kWNorth Las Vegas, NV: 1,784 kWh per kWTucson, AZ: 1,788 kWh per kWEl Paso, TX: 1,835 kWh per kWNew York 1,353Los Angeles 1,679Phoenix 1,755Dallas 1,500Seattle 1,088Denver 1,602El Paso 1,835Boston 1,275Portland 1,121Atlanta 1,416Miami 1,558Minneapolis 1,333Anchorage, AK: 951 kWh per kWAnchorage 951Honolulu, HI: 1,586 kWh per kWHonolulu 1,586

Yearly output, kWh per kW of panels

1,0001,2001,4001,6001,800

Each dot is a city: tap one to open it. Alaska and Hawaii are shown below the map.

Sunniest

  1. El Paso, TX1,835
  2. Tucson, AZ1,788
  3. North Las Vegas, NV1,784
  4. Albuquerque, NM1,779
  5. Henderson, NV1,769

Least sunny

  1. Anchorage, AK951
  2. Seattle, WA1,088
  3. Portland, OR1,121
  4. Pittsburgh, PA1,191
  5. Buffalo, NY1,202

The sunniest city makes 1.93× what the least sunny does

The median of the 100 cities is 1,450 kWh per kW a year — a 6 kW array makes about 8,700 kWh.

1,0001,2001,4001,6001,800Anchorage, AK: 951Seattle, WA: 1,088Portland, OR: 1,121Pittsburgh, PA: 1,191Buffalo, NY: 1,202Charleston, WV: 1,219Burlington, VT: 1,222Cleveland, OH: 1,255Manchester, NH: 1,255Cincinnati, OH: 1,273Boston, MA: 1,275Bridgeport, CT: 1,291Providence, RI: 1,294Detroit, MI: 1,295Columbus, OH: 1,296Fargo, ND: 1,304Jersey City, NJ: 1,305Newark, NJ: 1,306Madison, WI: 1,314Portland, ME: 1,316St. Paul, MN: 1,325Indianapolis, IN: 1,332Minneapolis, MN: 1,333Chicago, IL: 1,333Billings, MT: 1,334Milwaukee, WI: 1,338Nashville, TN: 1,338Lexington, KY: 1,342Louisville, KY: 1,344Philadelphia, PA: 1,348New York, NY: 1,353Durham, NC: 1,360Wilmington, DE: 1,364Des Moines, IA: 1,367Raleigh, NC: 1,370Little Rock, AR: 1,370Huntsville, AL: 1,387St. Louis, MO: 1,388Charlotte, NC: 1,391Washington, DC: 1,392Baltimore, MD: 1,392Sioux Falls, SD: 1,409Atlanta, GA: 1,416Houston, TX: 1,421Jackson, MS: 1,428Omaha, NE: 1,431Virginia Beach, VA: 1,434Memphis, TN: 1,439Greensboro, NC: 1,444Kansas City, MO: 1,445Charleston, SC: 1,455Jacksonville, FL: 1,455Boise, ID: 1,468Tulsa, OK: 1,470Lincoln, NE: 1,471Austin, TX: 1,483Salt Lake City, UT: 1,485Dallas, TX: 1,500San Antonio, TX: 1,504Orlando, FL: 1,507New Orleans, LA: 1,521Wichita, KS: 1,526Plano, TX: 1,527Fort Worth, TX: 1,535Oklahoma City, OK: 1,542Corpus Christi, TX: 1,542Arlington, TX: 1,545San Francisco, CA: 1,548Cheyenne, WY: 1,554Miami, FL: 1,558Tampa, FL: 1,568Oakland, CA: 1,582Honolulu, HI: 1,586Denver, CO: 1,602Aurora, CO: 1,612Sacramento, CA: 1,614San Jose, CA: 1,624Stockton, CA: 1,624Colorado Springs, CO: 1,629Fresno, CA: 1,654Irvine, CA: 1,664Reno, NV: 1,667Anaheim, CA: 1,673Santa Ana, CA: 1,676Long Beach, CA: 1,678Los Angeles, CA: 1,679San Diego, CA: 1,682Bakersfield, CA: 1,684Riverside, CA: 1,719Chula Vista, CA: 1,728Gilbert, AZ: 1,750Mesa, AZ: 1,751Chandler, AZ: 1,753Las Vegas, NV: 1,754Phoenix, AZ: 1,755Henderson, NV: 1,769Albuquerque, NM: 1,779North Las Vegas, NV: 1,784Tucson, AZ: 1,788El Paso, TX: 1,835U.S. median 1,450

Least: Anchorage, AK 951Most: El Paso, TX 1,835

Sunniest cities

  1. 1El Paso, TX1,835
  2. 2Tucson, AZ1,788
  3. 3North Las Vegas, NV1,784
  4. 4Albuquerque, NM1,779
  5. 5Henderson, NV1,769
  6. 6Phoenix, AZ1,755
  7. 7Las Vegas, NV1,754
  8. 8Chandler, AZ1,753
  9. 9Mesa, AZ1,751
  10. 10Gilbert, AZ1,750

Least sunny cities

  1. 100Anchorage, AK951
  2. 99Seattle, WA1,088
  3. 98Portland, OR1,121
  4. 97Pittsburgh, PA1,191
  5. 96Buffalo, NY1,202
  6. 95Charleston, WV1,219
  7. 94Burlington, VT1,222
  8. 93Cleveland, OH1,255
  9. 92Manchester, NH1,255
  10. 91Cincinnati, OH1,273

All rankings · All 100 cities

50100150January: 88.8 kWh per kWJan89February: 97.1 kWh per kWFeb97March: 125.2 kWh per kWMar125April: 135.0 kWh per kWApr135May: 143.1 kWh per kWMay143June: 146.1 kWh per kWJun146July: 149.4 kWh per kWJul149August: 142.0 kWh per kWAug142September: 127.2 kWh per kWSep127October: 117.2 kWh per kWOct117November: 95.7 kWh per kWNov96December: 82.8 kWh per kWDec831,450kWh per kWU.S. median

Across the year

Median output of the 100 cities per month: July is the strongest (149.4 kWh per kW) and December the weakest (82.8).

Best month, number of cities

December is the weakest month in 82 of the 100 cities. Month by month

By region

Average monthly profile of the listed cities in each Census region.

January: 94.2 kWh per kWFebruary: 102.9 kWh per kWMarch: 139.9 kWh per kWApril: 153.3 kWh per kWMay: 164.2 kWh per kWJune: 164.7 kWh per kWJuly: 164.6 kWh per kWAugust: 159.0 kWh per kWSeptember: 142.6 kWh per kWOctober: 127.3 kWh per kWNovember: 101.8 kWh per kWDecember: 91.3 kWh per kW1,606West36 cities · average 1,606 kWh per kWJanuary: 97.1 kWh per kWFebruary: 98.1 kWh per kWMarch: 125.7 kWh per kWApril: 135.3 kWh per kWMay: 142.5 kWh per kWJune: 140.3 kWh per kWJuly: 143.0 kWh per kWAugust: 138.2 kWh per kWSeptember: 125.4 kWh per kWOctober: 117.6 kWh per kWNovember: 100.0 kWh per kWDecember: 89.5 kWh per kW1,453South34 cities · average 1,453 kWh per kWJanuary: 75.8 kWh per kWFebruary: 91.1 kWh per kWMarch: 119.3 kWh per kWApril: 130.2 kWh per kWMay: 139.6 kWh per kWJune: 146.2 kWh per kWJuly: 151.5 kWh per kWAugust: 140.5 kWh per kWSeptember: 123.0 kWh per kWOctober: 99.6 kWh per kWNovember: 75.9 kWh per kWDecember: 65.0 kWh per kW1,358Midwest18 cities · average 1,358 kWh per kWJanuary: 73.7 kWh per kWFebruary: 88.0 kWh per kWMarch: 115.6 kWh per kWApril: 120.3 kWh per kWMay: 137.4 kWh per kWJune: 133.2 kWh per kWJuly: 140.5 kWh per kWAugust: 129.1 kWh per kWSeptember: 116.0 kWh per kWOctober: 93.8 kWh per kWNovember: 70.8 kWh per kWDecember: 61.3 kWh per kW1,280Northeast12 cities · average 1,280 kWh per kW

Which way should panels face?

Median change in yearly output against a south-facing 20° roof, across all 100 cities.

Panel direction, city by city