diff --git a/docs/sphinx/source/whatsnew/v0.16.2.rst b/docs/sphinx/source/whatsnew/v0.16.2.rst
index f704525a12..1466710b5f 100644
--- a/docs/sphinx/source/whatsnew/v0.16.2.rst
+++ b/docs/sphinx/source/whatsnew/v0.16.2.rst
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ Deprecations
 
 Bug fixes
 ~~~~~~~~~
-
+* :py:func:`pvlib.tracking.calc_surface_orientation` returns scalar when input
+  is scalar (:issue:`2881`, :pull:`2882`)
 
 Enhancements
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
@@ -42,4 +43,4 @@ Maintenance
 
 Contributors
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
+* Cliff Hansen (:ghuser:`cwhanse`)
diff --git a/pvlib/tracking.py b/pvlib/tracking.py
index e234887cd0..a591c9da36 100644
--- a/pvlib/tracking.py
+++ b/pvlib/tracking.py
@@ -299,6 +299,11 @@ def calc_surface_orientation(tracker_theta, axis_tilt=0, axis_azimuth=0):
     surface_azimuth = np.degrees(
         np.arctan2(unit_normal[..., 0], unit_normal[..., 1]))
 
+    # above always returns a np.array
+    # return scalar if `tracker_theta` is a scalar
+    if np.isscalar(tracker_theta):
+        surface_azimuth = surface_azimuth.item()
+
     surface_azimuth = np.where(surface_tilt == 0., axis_azimuth - 90.,
                                surface_azimuth)
     # constrain angles to [0, 360)
diff --git a/tests/test_tracking.py b/tests/test_tracking.py
index 903cf11d1d..5e9b09f25f 100644
--- a/tests/test_tracking.py
+++ b/tests/test_tracking.py
@@ -511,6 +511,9 @@ def test_calc_surface_orientation_types():
         out = tracking.calc_surface_orientation(rotation)
         assert out['surface_tilt'] == pytest.approx(expected_tilt)
         assert out['surface_azimuth'] == pytest.approx(expected_azimuth)
+        # confirm scalar output when input is scalar
+        assert np.isscalar(out['surface_tilt'])
+        assert np.isscalar(out['surface_azimuth'])
 
 
 def test_calc_surface_orientation_kwargs():