Illinois solar in numbers, 2024
Every figure below is computed by us from the Form EIA-861 annual files. Ranks are out of 51 jurisdictions, highest first.
| Measure | Illinois | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Households with a metered rooftop system103,145 systems across 5,392,477 residential accounts | 1.91% | 22nd of 51 |
| Average system sizeNational average 6.74 kW | 7.74 kW | 17th of 51 |
| Residential priceDerived average across the state, not a tariff | 15.87¢/kWh | 19th of 51 |
| Consumption per accountWhat a system here is typically sized against | 8,317 kWh/yr | 36th of 51 |
| Systems with a battery28 paired systems | 0.03% | 42nd of 51 |
| Third-party ownedLeased or under a power purchase agreement | 47.0% | 6th of 51 |
| Five-year growth30,401 systems added in 2024 | 57.0%/yr | 3rd of 51 |
| Installed capacityResidential net-metered capacity | 798.2 MW | — |
What the adoption figure means
Adoption sits comfortably above the national middle, so there is generally a working installer market to choose between.
Residential electricity in Illinois averaged 15.87¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, 19th of 51 and below the national average of 16.48¢. Retail prices sit above the national middle, which tilts the arithmetic toward using production on site rather than exporting it. Prices and adoption across all 51.
System size and consumption
The average Illinois system was 7.74 kW in 2024, ranking 17th of 51. Households consumed an average of 8,317 kilowatt-hours a year (36th of 51) — the figure a system here is sized against.
Size your own system from your own kilowatt-hours, not from this average — how to do that.
Who owns the systems
47.0% of Illinois systems were third-party owned in 2024 — leased or under a power purchase agreement rather than owned by the householder. That is 6th of 51.
Leases and power purchase agreements are the default way solar is sold here. Read any agreement closely before assuming you will own what goes on your roof. Who claims the federal credit · ownership across all 51.
Battery attachment
0.03% of Illinois solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024, 42nd of 51 — 28 paired systems.
Attachment is below average, which usually means exports still pay well enough that storing surplus is not the better trade. Attachment across all 51 · does a battery belong in your project.
Where the market is going
Illinois added 30,401 systems in 2024 and has grown at 57.0% a year over five years, 3rd of 51. Where growth has turned.
Solar companies and licensing in Illinois
We checked 26 Illinois solar companies against the state licence register. 0.0% did not hold a current licence at the time of checking .
How to verify a licence before you sign.
Method
Figures are computed by HyreSolar from the Form EIA-861 2024 annual files — net-metered residential systems only, penetration counted against residential accounts, sizes as means. EIA publishes the inputs, not these ratios. Full methodology and the underlying CSV.
None of these figures is an estimate for your property. What to work through before you talk to anyone.
Common questions
How many homes in Illinois have solar?
103,145 residential net-metered systems were recorded in Illinois in 2024, against 5,392,477 residential electricity accounts — 1.91% of households, 22nd of 51 jurisdictions. That is a HyreSolar calculation from Form EIA-861.
What size solar system is typical in Illinois?
The average net-metered residential system in Illinois was 7.74 kW in 2024, against a national average of 6.74 kW. Your own system should be sized from twelve months of your kilowatt-hours and your usable roof, not from a state average.
Do people in Illinois add batteries to solar?
0.03% of Illinois systems were paired with storage in 2024, 42nd of 51. Battery attachment tracks outage frequency and export rules more than it tracks sunshine.
Is Illinois a good state for solar?
On the measures we can compute: residential electricity averages 15.87¢/kWh (19th of 51), households use 8,317 kWh a year (36th of 51), and 1.91% have installed a system (22nd of 51). Retail price and export rules move the answer far more than sunshine does, and both are set by your specific utility rather than by the state.
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. Figures marked as a HyreSolar calculation are derived by us and are not official EIA statistics.