Bakersfield, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Bakersfield house pays

Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.

Sent only to free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a Bakersfield house

$14,973a year · $1,248 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $406,500; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Bakersfield house at the typical market value ($406,500) pays about $15,000 a year: $4,650 property tax and charges, $6,220 water and sewer, $260 trash, $2,350 electricity, $1,490 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 22, 2026. Insurance: what you enter, or a typical premium until you do. Sources are listed at the bottom.

Ways to pay less

Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:

Homeowners' exemption: $7,000 off assessed value$7,000 off value
A qualifying owner-occupied home gets a $7,000 reduction in taxable value.
How: To claim the exemption, the homeowner must make a one-time filing with the county assessor where the property is located.

Money dates

Nov 1in 9 daysFirst property tax installment due; delinquent Dec 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty.
Feb 1in 101 daysSecond installment due; delinquent April 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty plus a $10.00 advertising cost.

Who serves this house

Water: California Water Service (Bakersfield); Cal Water customers only. Residential metered service, effective 1/1/2026: a monthly service charge for the 5/8 x 3/4-inch meter plus a charge per CCF
Property tax: 1.16% of value; 2025–26 tax year, Kern County
Garbage: Citywide refuse and recycling service; The new rates are absorbed into the property tax bill.
Sewer: City sewer service; The city's annual sewer rates will increase from $247 to $475 starting on July 1.
Electricity: PG&E; PG&E customers in Bakersfield.
Schools: Bakersfield City, Kern High, KCCD; The county rate book lists bond charges for these districts.

Pay or manage your bills

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How these numbers are made

Property tax: Kern County 2025–26 rates for tax rate area 001-003 (Bakersfield inside; the Bakersfield area with the most homeowners' exemptions in the rate book): 1% countywide, 0.052224% Kern County Water Agency zone debt, 0.036929% Bakersfield City School bonds, 0.043065% Kern High bonds and 0.031567% Kern CCD bonds, 1.163785% in all, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. Other parts of the city have other rate areas, some with extra debt rates.
Water: Cal Water's Bakersfield tariff area (CWS-Bakersfield) serves the larger share; the City of Bakersfield's own domestic water system (PWSID CA1510031) serves other homes at different rates that we did not find. The water total assumes a typical-use figure of about 9 CCF a month, a modelling default rather than a measured Bakersfield average; the Cal Water tariff was read line by line (effective 1/1/2026) and no later step was found.
Sewer: the City Council’s adopted $475 annual rate for 2026–27 (rising $100 a year to $875). We did not confirm how it is billed; the page does not assume the property tax bill. Homes in unincorporated Kern County service areas pay different amounts.
Trash: the single-family refuse rate was $264 a year in 2022–23 and the Council approved further increases through 2026–27 whose amounts we did not find, so the figure used is likely low. It is on the tax bill, so it is not also counted as a flat tax charge.
Gas: not included. Gas service in Bakersfield is split between SoCalGas and PG&E depending on address, and the rate was not confirmed. Direct charges on the tax bill other than refuse were not found.
Energy: PG&E E-1 at the Territory W baseline, weighted 4 summer and 8 winter months; typical use is PG&E's EIA 2024 residential average. The starting value is the Census market median; under Prop 13 assessed values are usually lower.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Bakersfield house costs

What is the property tax rate in Bakersfield?

About 1.16% of the value before exemptions a year (2025–26 tax year, Kern County), plus flat charges on the same bill.

How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Bakersfield?

About $5,737 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption.

How much is the water bill in Bakersfield?

About $518 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on California Water Service (Bakersfield).

How much does trash pickup cost in Bakersfield?

$22 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Bakersfield?

Nov 1: First property tax installment due; delinquent Dec 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty. Feb 1: Second installment due; delinquent April 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty plus a $10.00 advertising cost.

How much does a house in Bakersfield cost to run each year?

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