Typical home: Worth it

Solar in Cathedral City, CA

With Southern California Edison (SCE)'s electricity at about 33.8¢ per kWh and 1,785 kWh of sun per kW, solar is worth it for a typical Cathedral City home today: about a 10.4-year payback.

Payback, typical home
10.4 yrsCalifornia: 10.9 yrs
25-year net
$23,501after paying $10,700
Sun
1,785kWh per kW per year
Electricity
33.8¢88% above U.S. average

A typical Cathedral City home, by the numbers

UtilitySouthern California Edison (SCE)
Electricity use468 kWh a month
Best-value system3 kW, about 7 panels, 5,355 kWh a year (95% of use)
Cost$10,700
First-year savings$955
Payback10.4 years
Exported power4.6¢/kWh (Southern California Edison (SCE))

Cash purchase, no federal credit, 4.0% yearly rate increases. Run it with your own numbers.

Solar production per kW in Cathedral City

kWh per kW each month, south-facing at 20° tilt. PVWatts v8 with local typical-year weather.

Show as a table
PeriodValue
Jan117
Feb123
Mar158
Apr170
May180
Jun173
Jul164
Aug163
Sep154
Oct147
Nov123
Dec114

Homes in Cathedral City

Owner-occupied homes
66%
Single-family detached
56%
Median home value
$453k
Median year built
1988
Population
52,267
Solar installs, last 3 years*
1,989
Roofs suitable for solar†
97%

Census ACS 2020–2024. *Installations in public records for this area's ZIP codes. †Share of 16,445 buildings Google Project Sunroof rated technically suitable (2019 snapshot).

Installers working in Cathedral City

Companies with the most installations in Cathedral City's ZIP codes over the last 3 years, from public records. We don't take payment for placement.

  1. Sunrun 560 installs
  2. Renova Energy 256 installs
  3. Freedom Forever 76 installs
  4. EXO Energy 74 installs
  5. Sunlogix Energy 70 installs
  6. SunPower 68 installs
  7. Bright Planet 55 installs
  8. Current Home INC DBA Current Home Solar 48 installs
  9. Bright OPS 45 installs
  10. Energy Service Partners INC DBA ESP Contracting 40 installs

Always verify the license and get at least three quotes. Compare quotes side by side.

Questions about solar in Cathedral City

Is solar worth it in Cathedral City, CA?

For a typical home in Cathedral City, solar is worth it at 2026 prices: a 3 kW system costs about $10,700 after state incentives, saves about $955 in year one and pays back in about 10.4 years. Enter your address for an estimate based on your roof and bill.

How much solar power does a system produce in Cathedral City?

About 1,785 kWh per year for each kW of panels on a south-facing roof, based on PVWatts and local weather. That's 8% more than the California average. East- or west-facing roofs produce roughly 10–20% less.

Who is the electric utility in Cathedral City?

Most homes in Cathedral City are served by Southern California Edison (SCE), at about 33.8¢ per kWh on average.

How much do solar panels cost in Cathedral City?

A fair cash price is around $2.90 per watt before incentives, so about $10,700 for a 3 kW system. There's no federal tax credit for homeowners who buy in 2026.

Nearby

Data: PVWatts (National Laboratory of the Rockies), EIA-861 2025 adjusted to 2026, U.S. Census ACS, LBNL Tracking the Sun, state policy research as of October 2026.