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2026 State Solar Permitting Rankings

Vermont posts the best median county permitting score in the country — 32.6. Delaware has the smallest share of A/B-graded counties: none of its counties are graded A or B. Every state is ranked here by median county risk score (D.C. excluded). State RPS policy tier is a modest input in the score and is shown alongside for context; as the Texas result below shows, it's a weak predictor of what counties actually do — local opposition and economics weigh far more.

Every state, ranked by the median risk score of its counties
The Texas finding: Texas has no active RPS mandate — its capacity-based standard was met back in 2009 — yet it ranks 4 in the country on median county permitting score, at 34.6, with more than half of its counties graded A or B. Texas has more A- and B-graded counties than any other state. Local economics (property tax revenue, landowner lease income, limited organized opposition) are driving permitting outcomes that state policy would not predict. This is the clearest example in the dataset of why the model weights local factors — organized opposition and county economics — far more heavily than state policy tier.

Notable patterns in the data

Where the moratoria concentrate. The Midwest holds more of the country's active solar moratoria than any other region — Kansas, Iowa and Indiana account for most of them. About half of its counties grade A or B, against more than half in the West, the most permissive region by that measure. So this is not a uniformly hostile region: it is a polarized one, where the farmland-versus-solar conflict plays out in concentrated patches rather than across a broad front.

West Virginia at the bottom. Only a handful of West Virginia's counties sit in the A/B range — the worst ratio among the contiguous 48 states. The state's coal and gas heritage and the absence of a meaningful RPS framework have produced a county-level environment that is broadly resistant, not just patchily so.

New England is more permissive than it looks. Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island all rank in the top 10 nationally. Small county count limits statistical noise, but these states have taken an ordinance path (limited municipal solar restrictions, strong state preemption) that reduces local friction even where community opposition exists.

All 50 states ranked

Sorted by median county score (lowest = most permissive). Click any state to view its full county table.

A (0–30) B (31–42) C (43–52) D (53–66) F (67+)
#StateMedian scoreGrade mixA/B countiesMoratoriaState policy
1 Vermont 32.6
100% — Favorable
2 Montana 33.1
88% — Neutral
3 New Hampshire 33.9
100% — Neutral
4 Texas 34.6
69% — Neutral
5 Colorado 35.7
72% — Favorable
6 Michigan 36.3
80% — Favorable
7 Maine 36.5
69% — Favorable
8 Minnesota 37.3
71% — Favorable
9 New Mexico 38.3
67% — Favorable
10 Nevada 38.5
59% — Favorable
11 Wisconsin 39.5
64% — Neutral
12 Iowa 40.2
62% Active Neutral
13 New York 40.4
56% — Favorable
14 Rhode Island 40.7
60% — Favorable
15 Wyoming 40.9
65% — Hostile
16 Florida 41.0
55% — Hostile
17 Louisiana 41.2
59% — Hostile
18 Kansas 41.3
67% Active Neutral
19 Nebraska 41.3
74% Active Hostile
20 Idaho 41.5
55% Active Hostile
21 New Jersey 41.6
52% — Favorable
22 Massachusetts 41.6
57% — Neutral
23 South Dakota 41.8
55% — Neutral
24 Alaska 41.9
50% — Neutral
25 Utah 42.0
52% — Neutral
26 Washington 42.3
49% — Favorable
27 Mississippi 42.5
39% — Hostile
28 Tennessee 42.8
45% — Hostile
29 Connecticut 42.9
38% — Neutral
30 North Dakota 42.9
40% — Neutral
31 Illinois 44.0
43% — Favorable
32 Hawaii 44.1
40% — Favorable
33 Virginia 44.5
41% Active Favorable
34 North Carolina 44.5
41% Active Neutral
35 South Carolina 44.5
35% — Hostile
36 Oklahoma 44.9
30% — Neutral
37 California 45.1
41% — Favorable
38 Georgia 45.5
35% Active Hostile
39 Missouri 45.6
38% — Neutral
40 Arkansas 46.4
12% — Hostile
41 Arizona 46.5
20% — Neutral
42 Kentucky 46.6
12% — Hostile
43 Delaware 48.5
0% — Neutral
44 Oregon 49.1
25% — Favorable
45 Maryland 49.5
17% — Favorable
46 Pennsylvania 49.9
21% — Neutral
47 Alabama 50.3
36% — Hostile
48 Indiana 51.6
17% Active Neutral
49 Ohio 52.2
8% Active Neutral
50 West Virginia 57.0
2% — Hostile

State policy tier reflects the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard framework: Favorable = strong RPS target; Hostile = no RPS or active anti-renewable legislation; Neutral = weak or partial RPS. This contributes a modest 10% to the score — local ordinances and organized opposition weigh much more.

What to do with this ranking

This ranking is a state-level screen, not a site-selection tool. A state in the top 10 still has counties across the full risk spectrum — the median tells you the center of gravity, not what any individual county looks like. Use it to prioritize which states' county-level data to dig into first, not to eliminate states without going deeper.

The A/B percentage is the most actionable number for early-stage screening: it tells you what fraction of a state's counties are working with, not against, a developer at the ordinance level. A state with 85% A/B counties leaves you many paths; a state with 30% leaves you a short list. The grade distribution bar shows the same thing visually — a bar that's mostly green leaves you options; significant orange or red means you'll be navigating around concentrations of risk.

How to read this ranking

Why median instead of average? A small number of very high-risk counties — moratoria, outright bans — pull the mean upward in ways that don't reflect the typical county. The median gives you the experience of the middle county, which is a better read on whether the state is broadly open.

What does the grade bar tell you? It shows the share of counties in each grade band — green (A/B) on the left, red (D/F) on the right. A bar that's mostly green means the state's counties lean permissive across the board. Significant red on the right means meaningful resistance pockets exist even if the median looks acceptable.

What's the A/B percentage for? It's the practical site-selection filter: how much of a state's county list is actually workable at the ordinance level? A state at 85% A/B gives you options; a state at 30% gives you a short list to work from.

Methodology note

Scores are computed as 30% Community Opposition + 24% Compliance Stringency + 16% Regulatory Trajectory + 12% Market Saturation + 10% State RPS + 8% Data Uncertainty. Counties with active utility-scale solar moratoria are capped at score 100 (grade F); where a county is missing a signal, that factor's weight is renormalized rather than zero-filled. State rankings use the median of county scores within the state. Full methodology →