Market Index · Solar edition · updated 2026-08-12
The Best Door-to-Door Solar Markets in the US (2026)
The Door-to-Door Market Index, read for solar: US market areas scored on public Census affordability and finishing-trade data — the two slow-moving signals that decide whether a setter’s day produces appointments — plus a transparent home-value re-sort for financing-sensitive programs.
Reading the index for solar
This edition applies the Door-to-Door Market Index — 250 US markets scored on public Census affordability and contractor-activity data — to one vertical. There is no separate solar score: the analysis below explains how this vertical’s economics map onto the published index, and the only data manipulation is a transparent re-sort of a published column, labeled as exactly that.
Residential solar is still sold at the door more than almost any other big-ticket home product, and its team structure — setters knocking, closers running the design consult — maps exactly onto what the index measures. The score predicts the setter’s outcome: appointments booked. It says nothing about close rates, financing approvals, or install timelines, because the person at the door controls none of those.
The affordability finding matters double in solar. The industry’s default instinct is to send setters to the wealthiest zip codes, and the analysis behind this index — more than 350,000 real door-to-door leads — found that instinct backwards for appointment rates. Homeowners in modest-value neighborhoods book at the door at meaningfully higher rates. A solar program whose products serve ordinary households has no reason to fight for saturated luxury doors.
Finishing-trade density is the second signal, and it is worth being precise about what it is. It counts Census NAICS 238350, Finish Carpentry Contractors, per 10,000 residents — not solar installers, who sit in an entirely different code. Read it as how much residential home-improvement work a market already sustains: where that runs high, those doors have been pitched before by someone. Fewer such firms per capita reads as fresher porches.
The strongest solar door-knocking markets in 2026
The index top ten. These are the markets where door-to-door home-services offers — solar included — face the most receptive combination of housing affordability and unsaturated doors.
| Rank | Market | Score | Median home value | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McAllen, TX | 97.0 | $109,919 | $109,919 |
| 2 | Brownsville, TX | 96.7 | $109,600 | $109,600 |
| 3 | Gulfport, MS | 95.7 | $176,928 | $176,928 |
| 4 | Laredo, TX | 95.7 | $157,234 | $157,234 |
| 5 | Evansville, IN | 95.5 | $165,980 | $165,980 |
| 6 | Corpus Christi, TX | 95.0 | $173,582 | $173,582 |
| 7 | Lawton, OK | 94.8 | $139,639 | $139,639 |
| 8 | Huntington, WV | 94.7 | $135,061 | $135,061 |
| 9 | Sioux City, IA | 94.1 | $169,677 | $169,677 |
| 10 | Memphis, TN | 93.8 | $200,721 | $200,721 |
Strong markets, higher-value doors first
Some solar financing programs weigh property value, and some sales organizations simply run a higher-value floor. If that describes yours, this is the same top 50 from the index — re-sorted by median home value, highest first. A transparent re-sort of a published column, not a different scoring model.
| Index rank | Market | Score | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| #31 | Bakersfield, CA | 91.0 | $282,800 |
| #40 | Fort Worth, TX | 89.9 | $277,400 |
| #18 | Houston, TX | 92.0 | $253,133 |
| #37 | Gillette, WY | 90.2 | $246,131 |
| #47 | Bowling Green, KY | 88.4 | $241,907 |
| #43 | New Orleans, LA | 89.4 | $240,851 |
| #30 | San Antonio, TX | 91.1 | $237,181 |
| #27 | College Station, TX | 91.3 | $231,001 |
| #44 | Knoxville, TN | 89.1 | $228,130 |
| #36 | Baton Rouge, LA | 90.2 | $220,968 |
| #29 | Odessa, TX | 91.2 | $219,233 |
| #21 | Midland, TX | 91.9 | $212,987 |
| #26 | Birmingham, AL | 91.3 | $210,703 |
| #25 | Yuma, AZ | 91.5 | $208,148 |
| #13 | Southaven, MS | 93.4 | $203,681 |
What this edition does not capture
Utility rates and rate design, net-metering and export-compensation rules, state and local incentives, interconnection queues, permitting friction, roof stock age and orientation, and HOA prevalence. All of these move on policy timelines — some change mid-year — while housing stock and contractor mix move slowly. The index deliberately scores only the slow-moving public signals; verify the current solar policy picture in any market on this page before committing a team.
Solar markets, answered
Is this a solar-specific score?
No — and that is stated rather than hidden. The Door-to-Door Market Index scores markets for door-to-door home-services offers generally, on housing affordability and residential finishing-trade density from public Census data. This edition explains how solar’s setter/closer economics map onto that score, and adds one transparent re-sort of a published column. A NeuroKnock engagement layers offer-specific factors on top; a public index that pretended to score "solar fit" from Census data alone would be overclaiming.
What solar-specific factors does the index leave out?
Utility rates, net-metering and export-compensation policy, state and local incentives, interconnection timelines, permitting friction, and roof stock. These vary by state and utility territory and change frequently — some mid-year. Treat the index as the durable half of the decision and verify the current policy half before entering any market.
Why would affordable markets beat wealthy ones for solar knocking?
Because the thing a setter controls is the appointment, and appointment rates were measured: the analysis behind the index — more than 350,000 real door-to-door leads — found homeowners in modest-value neighborhoods book at the door at meaningfully higher rates than homeowners at the top of the market. Closing and financing are a different funnel stage with different variables; at the door, the "knock rich neighborhoods" assumption tested backwards.
Can I cite or republish this ranking?
Yes — cite "the NeuroKnock Door-to-Door Market Index" and link this page or the full index. Every number derives from public US Census data with a documented method, so the ranking can be checked.
The index picks the market. NeuroKnock picks the blocks.
Inside a chosen market, NeuroKnock scores every neighborhood block on the same public-data discipline and routes your reps to the strongest ones — offline, in the field.