The solar industry in the US has grown significantly in the last ten years. This is largely because solar power has become more accessible, efficient, and affordable. The cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is down by almost 50% since 2014. There are over 2 million solar PV installations in the US which have the capacity to power approximately 12 million homes.

These 10 cities have been claimed by the researchers at Porch to have the largest solar investments in the US. The data was gathered by Google’s Project Sunroof. Only cities with population above 350,000 were considered for this list. 

The percentage share of solar-powered buildings averaged at 3.4% in these cities when the national average is just 1.2%. In addition, they have a larger percentage of solar-viable building. Annual potential per solar-viable roof is 17,581 kilowatt-hours as compared to the national median of 12,570 kilowatt-hours.

1. San Jose, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 6.4%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 13,557
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 96.6%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 210,786
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 21,543 kilowatt-hours

2. San Diego, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 5.8%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 17,281
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 94.5%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 300,390
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 19,511 kilowatt-hours

3. Fresno, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 5.1%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 6,945
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 95.6%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 135,515
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 21,795 kilowatt-hours

4. Bakersfield, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 4.5%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 4,607
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 97.4%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 101,638
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 24,811 kilowatt-hours

5. New Orleans, LA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 3.4%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 4,322
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 94.3%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 126,208
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 17,876 kilowatt-hours

6. Anaheim, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 3.3%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 2,133
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 96.5%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 64,663
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 23,004 kilowatt-hours

7. Oakland, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 2.9%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 2,617
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 90.2%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 89,195
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 12,450 kilowatt-hours

8. Tucson, AZ

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 2.8%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 4,437
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 94.7%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 155,813
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 22,212 kilowatt-hours

9. Denver, CO

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 2.8%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 3,582
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 72.1%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 129,386
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 9,023 kilowatt-hours

10. Los Angeles, CA

• Percentage share of solar-powered buildings: 2.7%
• Number of solar-powered viable buildings: 17,231
• Percentage share of solar-viable buildings: 82.0%
• Number of buildings that are solar-viable: 647,621
• Median value of annual potential per solar-viable roof: 12,356 kilowatt-hours