Iowa 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 | Iowa | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Households with a metered rooftop system16,392 systems across 1,448,818 residential accounts | 1.13% | 31st of 51 |
| Average system sizeNational average 6.74 kW | 8.33 kW | 10th of 51 |
| Residential priceDerived average across the state, not a tariff | 13.40¢/kWh | 36th of 51 |
| Consumption per accountWhat a system here is typically sized against | 9,987 kWh/yr | 31st of 51 |
| Systems with a battery22 paired systems | 0.13% | 41st of 51 |
| Third-party ownedLeased or under a power purchase agreement | — | 40th of 51 |
| Five-year growth2,488 systems added in 2024 | 30.1%/yr | 17th of 51 |
| Installed capacityResidential net-metered capacity | 136.5 MW | — |
What the adoption figure means
A middling market — neither early nor late. Expect a reasonable choice of installers without the depth of the coastal markets.
Residential electricity in Iowa averaged 13.40¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, 36th of 51 and below the national average of 16.48¢. Retail electricity is cheaper than most of the country, which lengthens payback because each kilowatt-hour you avoid buying is worth less. Prices and adoption across all 51.
System size and consumption
The average Iowa system was 8.33 kW in 2024, ranking 10th of 51. Households consumed an average of 9,987 kilowatt-hours a year (31st 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
Form EIA-861 records no third-party-ownership split for the 16,392 systems counted in Iowa in 2024. With a market this size the schedule frequently suppresses the split, so we publish nothing rather than infer it. Ask any company directly whether it is selling you ownership or a lease or PPA — the distinction decides who claims the incentives.
Battery attachment
0.13% of Iowa solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024, 41st of 51 — 22 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
Iowa added 2,488 systems in 2024 and has grown at 30.1% a year over five years, 17th of 51. Where growth has turned.
Solar companies and licensing in Iowa
We found no dedicated state licence register for solar work in Iowa, so we publish no company counts rather than guessing. That is not evidence of light regulation — electrical work is frequently licensed at state or local level even where solar is never named separately.
It does have a practical consequence here. With 16,392 systems in the state and adoption 31st of 51, you are working in a market where a search for "Iowa solar licence" will often return nothing useful, and where the company quoting you may be travelling in from out of state. Ask which licence they hold, in which state, and confirm it with that issuing authority rather than accepting a licence number on a proposal. What to do when the search comes back empty.
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 Iowa have solar?
16,392 residential net-metered systems were recorded in Iowa in 2024, against 1,448,818 residential electricity accounts — 1.13% of households, 31st of 51 jurisdictions. That is a HyreSolar calculation from Form EIA-861.
What size solar system is typical in Iowa?
The average net-metered residential system in Iowa was 8.33 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 Iowa add batteries to solar?
0.13% of Iowa systems were paired with storage in 2024, 41st of 51. Battery attachment tracks outage frequency and export rules more than it tracks sunshine.
Is Iowa a good state for solar?
On the measures we can compute: residential electricity averages 13.40¢/kWh (36th of 51), households use 9,987 kWh a year (31st of 51), and 1.13% have installed a system (31st 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.