Backup generator statistics span several different populations: manufacturer sales, utility-scale generating equipment, and aggregate distributed-generation capacity. The figures below focus on the United States and use 2023–2024 observations, with each measure labeled so company revenue is not confused with household adoption or retail pricing.
Key Backup Generator Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, Generac reported $4.296 billion in consolidated net sales worldwide.
- In 2023, Generac reported $4.023 billion in consolidated net sales worldwide.
- In 2024, Generac residential product sales reached $2.433 billion in its consolidated business.
- In 2024, Generac commercial and industrial product sales totaled $1.389 billion in its consolidated business.
- In 2024, Generac domestic sales totaled $3.599 billion in the United States segment.
- In 2024, Generac international sales totaled $696.7 million outside its domestic segment.
- From 2023 to 2024, Generac total net sales increased 6.8% on a consolidated basis.
- From 2023 to 2024, Generac residential product sales grew 18.0% on a consolidated basis.
- From 2023 to 2024, Generac commercial and industrial product sales fell 7.0% on a consolidated basis.
- In 2024, Generac gross profit margin was 38.8% on a consolidated basis.
- In 2024, Generac net income attributable to shareholders was $316.3 million.
- In 2024, U.S. natural-gas generators installed in the EIA dataset averaged $1,004 per kW in capacity-weighted construction cost.
- In 2024, U.S. petroleum-liquid generators installed in the EIA dataset averaged $1,066 per kW in capacity-weighted construction cost.
- In 2024, new natural-gas generators at U.S. plants represented 1,061 MW in the reported new-plant subset.
- In 2024, natural-gas generators added at existing U.S. plants represented 805 MW in the reported subset.
- In 2024, the U.S. South had an average reported generator construction cost of $1,463 per kW across technologies.
- In 2024, the U.S. West had an average reported generator construction cost of $1,642 per kW across technologies.
- In 2024, new natural-gas combustion-turbine capacity totaled 699 MW in the U.S. utility-scale dataset.
- In 2024, new natural-gas internal-combustion-engine capacity totaled 362 MW in the U.S. utility-scale dataset.
- In 2024, projects larger than 100 MW averaged $1,496 per kW in capacity-weighted construction cost across reported technologies.
Contents
- Backup generator market scale and product-class sales
- Backup generator domestic and international sales data
- Backup generator company profitability and operating trends
- Generator construction costs and capacity additions by energy source
- Generator statistics by U.S. region and leading states
- Natural-gas generator statistics by prime mover and project scale
- Definitions and scope for backup-generator data
Backup Generator Market Scale and Product-Class Sales
Generac’s audited 2024 annual report provides a transparent manufacturer-level proxy for market scale. It does not measure the whole backup-generator market, and its product classes include equipment beyond standby generators.
| Generac consolidated product class | 2023 sales | 2024 sales | Reported 2024 change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential products | $2.063 billion | $2.433 billion | $370.5 million increase; 18.0% growth |
| Commercial and industrial products | $1.495 billion | $1.389 billion | $105.3 million decrease; 7.0% decline |
| Other products | $464.9 million | $472.9 million | — |
| Total net sales | $4.023 billion | $4.296 billion | 6.8% increase |
Source: Generac Holdings Inc. 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Residential products include more than standby generators, commercial and industrial includes applications beyond backup use, and “other” is not a pure generator category.
The product mix shows why sales totals should be read as business measures rather than installed-unit counts. A rise in residential product sales does not establish that the same percentage increase occurred in household generator ownership.
Backup Generator Domestic and International Sales Data
Generac reported separate domestic and international sales for 2024 and 2023. The domestic segment is not synonymous with household backup generators, while the international segment includes multiple generator applications.
| Segment or product class | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic sales | $3.276 billion | $3.599 billion |
| International sales | $746.3 million | $696.7 million |
| Domestic residential products | — | $2.353 billion |
| International residential products | — | $80.8 million |
| Domestic commercial and industrial products | — | $828.6 million |
| International commercial and industrial products | — | $560.9 million |
Source: Generac Holdings Inc. 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In the company’s year-over-year comparison, domestic sales increased 9.9% in 2024 versus 2023, while international sales decreased 6.7%. The domestic and international product figures are manufacturer sales proxies, not measures of generator adoption, operating hours, or household stock.
Backup Generator Company Profitability and Operating Trends
Company profitability gives context for the economics of a major generator manufacturer, but it should not be substituted for the ownership economics of a backup system. Generac’s consolidated gross profit margin was 33.9% in 2023 and 38.8% in 2024.
- Generac operating expenses were $149.7 million higher in 2024 than in 2023, an increase of 15.3%.
- Generac net income attributable to shareholders was $214.6 million in 2023 and $316.3 million in 2024.
- Generac total adjusted EBITDA was $637.9 million in 2023 and $789.1 million in 2024.
- In 2024, domestic adjusted EBITDA was $693.2 million, while international adjusted EBITDA was $95.9 million.
- Generac operating cash flow reached $741 million in 2024, described by the company as a record.
Source: Generac Holdings Inc. 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Adjusted EBITDA is non-GAAP; the company states it should not substitute for GAAP net income or operating cash flow.
These measures describe Generac Holdings consolidated performance and segment results. They do not identify profit per backup generator, homeowner payback, fuel cost, maintenance cost, or the profitability of installers.
Generator Construction Costs and Capacity Additions by Energy Source
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s construction-cost data cover generators installed in 2024. The figures are reported electric-generator construction costs, not retail purchase or installation prices for residential standby equipment.
| Energy source and installation context | Included capacity in 2024 | Capacity-weighted average cost |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas, new plants | 1,061 MW | $1,004/kW |
| Natural gas, additions at existing plants | 805 MW | $1,004/kW |
| Petroleum liquid, new plants | 5 MW | $1,066/kW |
| Petroleum liquid, additions at existing plants | 28 MW | $1,066/kW |
Source: Electricity: Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2024. Included capacity is the EIA-reported subset, and construction-cost categories should not be read as household equipment prices.
The same EIA dataset counted 672 new solar plants and 9 existing solar plants with additions in 2024. Solar is included here as generator context; these counts do not measure backup-generator adoption.
Generator Statistics by U.S. Region and Leading States
Regional and state construction costs vary within the EIA’s 2024 reported generator table. These are capacity-weighted averages across all reported generator technologies in the relevant regional or state table.
| Geography | 2024 capacity-weighted average construction cost |
|---|---|
| U.S. South | $1,463/kW |
| U.S. West | $1,642/kW |
| U.S. Midwest | $2,764/kW |
| U.S. Northeast | $2,465/kW |
| Texas | $1,260/kW |
| California | $1,759/kW |
| Florida | $1,556/kW |
Source: Electricity: Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2024. The regional and state values include all reported generator technologies in their respective tables and are not residential standby quotations.
The state figures should not be interpreted as a ranking of backup-generator ownership. They describe the reported construction-cost mix and capacity weighting for generator installations in 2024.
Natural-Gas Generator Statistics by Prime Mover and Project Scale
The EIA’s utility-scale natural-gas data distinguish combustion turbines from internal-combustion engines. This distinction matters because project counts, average plant size, and reported cost differ substantially between prime movers.
| Natural-gas prime mover | New plants | New generators | New capacity | Average plant capacity | Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combustion turbine | 3 | — | 699 MW | 233 MW | $841/kW |
| Internal-combustion engine | 12 | 54 | 362 MW | 30 MW | $1,522/kW |
Source: Electricity: Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2024. The counts and costs are for reported utility-scale projects, not residential standby generators or sizing recommendations.
The EIA reported total construction costs of $1.2 billion for new natural-gas combustion-turbine projects and $0.7 billion for new natural-gas internal-combustion-engine projects in 2024. By project-size category, 2024 projects larger than 100 MW had a capacity-weighted average cost of $1,496/kW, while projects of 1–5 MW averaged $8,062/kW; those size categories include all reported technologies in the table.
Definitions and Scope for Backup-Generator Data
“Backup generator” is not a single statistical population in the sources used here. Generac reports audited company financial measures, EIA construction-cost tables report generators installed in 2024, and EIA Form EIA-861 separately distinguishes non-net-metered distributed generators under 1 MW and reports backup capacity in aggregate by state, sector, and balancing authority.
EIA Form EIA-861 backup-capacity reporting is not interchangeable with EIA-860 utility-scale generator inventory. Likewise, Generac sales do not measure the entire market or installed household stock, and EIA construction costs omit some technologies or projects where disclosure could identify individual companies.
For readers comparing a home standby purchase with utility-scale statistics, the key limitation is scale: utility construction cost per kW is not a retail quote, while manufacturer sales are not a unit count. These distinctions keep sales, capacity, costs, and adoption from being treated as interchangeable measures.