Burlingame, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Burlingame home costs each year

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

Suggestions as you type come from Google; the lookup uses free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a Burlingame house

$29,348a year · $2,446 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $2,000,001; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Burlingame house at the typical market value ($2,000,001) costs about $29,400 a year: $22,330 property tax and charges, $2,200 water and sewer, $460 trash, $2,870 electricity and gas, $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:

Income-qualified households: CARE on gas20% off gas
CARE gives income-qualified customers a 20% discount on their natural gas bill.
How: Contact your utility company for an application.
100% disabled veterans: property tax exemptionUp to $180,671 off assessed value (2026)
Veterans with 100% disability, or partially disabled and unemployable, or their unmarried surviving spouses, can get a basic exemption of up to $180,671 for lien date 2026.
How: See the San Mateo County Assessor's Disabled Veterans' Exemption page.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartMonthly rate by cart size from the RethinkWaste 2026 Bay Area rate survey; it covers weekly garbage, recycling and compost collection.

Value before exemptionsEnter the assessed value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often far below market value, and the starting figure here is the Census figure, not an assessed value. The county lists Burlingame School District parcel taxes (Measure L and Measure GG) as charges on the secured bill, but they are not counted here because no per-parcel amount could be sourced; Measure GG is based on building square footage, so check your bill. Tax rate area 004-004 and a few others have slightly different rates.

I live here and have the Homeowners' exemption

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $1,492, California statewide average, NAIC data for 2022 as published by the Insurance Information Institute (California figures from the California Department of Insurance).

Earthquake insurance, a yearSeparate from home insurance. Most owners don't have it.

Your use

Water, thousands of gallons a month

On your water bill. A typical house uses 5,000–8,000 gallons.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your PG&E delivery with WestLight Energy generation bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 30in 37 daysLast day to file an appeal of an annual assessment with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (the filing period is July 2 to November 30).
Dec 10in 47 daysLast day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes.
Feb 15in 114 daysDeadline for first-time homeowners' exemption claims to get the full exemption for the year.
Apr 10Last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Burlingame; Single-family residential rates per 1,000 gallons: $9.79 for 0-4,000 gallons, $10.98 for 4,001-8,000, $12.18 for 8,001-16,000, $13.38 for 16,001-24,000 and $14.58 above 24,000; the bimonthly fixed charge for a 3/4" meter is $84.03.
Property tax: 1.12% of value; 2025-26 tax rates, San Mateo County (Burlingame tax rate area 004-001)
Garbage: Recology San Mateo County; The City of Burlingame contracts with Recology San Mateo County for residential and commercial solid waste pickup.
Sewer: City of Burlingame; The City's sewer utility rates are volumetric rates billed based on water consumption, subject to a minimum charge.
Electricity: WestLight Energy generation, PG&E delivery; WestLight Energy is the community electricity provider for San Mateo County and Los Banos.
Gas: PG&E; Burlingame (94010, 94011) is in PG&E's gas service territory.

Pay or manage your bills

Other CA cities

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How these numbers are made

Garbage: the monthly total for 32-, 64- and 96-gallon carts from the RethinkWaste 2026 Bay Area rate survey (the survey's 30-35, 60-65 and 90-96 gallon columns); the City's own rate table is an image, so it could not be quoted.
Water: the City's Master Fee Schedule FY 2026-27 tiers per 1,000 gallons and $84.03 bimonthly 3/4\" meter charge ($42.015 a month). The schedule does not say whether tier breakpoints apply to a month or a two-month bill; we treat them as per bimonthly bill, so the monthly breakpoints are half the listed gallons.
Sewer: $16.25 per 1,000 gallons for single-family homes, billed on a 3-year average of winter use; the City's own example is 4.1 kgal of monthly winter use, which we use as the cap on billed units.
Property tax: San Mateo County's 2025-26 rates for tax rate area 004-001 (1% general tax, Burlingame Elementary bonds 0.0596%, San Mateo Union High bonds 0.0420%, college bonds 0.0180%: 1.1196% in all) less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption; 10 of the 16 Burlingame tax rate areas listed in the rate book have the same 1.1196% composite (others 1.1171% or 1.1185%); we did not count homes per area; 2026-27 rate book not yet posted. Burlingame School District parcel taxes (Measures L and GG) are on the bill but not counted for lack of a sourced amount; the Measure AA $12 charge is.
The starting value is the Census ACS 2020-2024 median value of owner-occupied homes in Burlingame ($2,000,001; the Census typically reports a top-coded figure like this for '$2,000,000 or more', so the true median is likely higher and the property tax shown is only illustrative); an owner who bought years ago has a lower assessed value under Prop 13. Electricity and gas use PG&E E-1 and G-1 rates with WestLight Energy generation, as for neighboring San Mateo County cities; insurance is the 2022 California statewide average premium, which likely understates a home of this value."] | Modelling: rate = 1% general tax plus the bond rates for Burlingame tax rate area 004-001, assumed same composite as most Burlingame areas (not verified per area).
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Burlingame compares

A typical Burlingame house against the 207 California cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Burlingame	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.12%	1.13%	lower than 119 of the other 206 California cities we cover
Water	$1,402	$944	higher than 184 of the other 206 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$800	$582	higher than 100 of the other 136 California cities we cover
Trash	$463	$443	higher than 110 of the other 187 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$2,866	$3,463	lower than 171 of the other 206 California cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,492	$1,492	in the middle of 201 other California cities we cover
Total	$29,348	$14,973	higher than 195 of the other 206 California cities we cover

Cities bill differently (some put trash on the tax bill, some cover more services), so a higher number isn't necessarily worse. The property tax rate is compared instead of dollars because house values differ.

Questions to ask your candidates

Each one starts from a number above. Any candidate can answer them.

1. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $1,402 a year at typical use, higher than 184 of the other 206 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $1,402 a year at typical use, higher than 184 of the other 206 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,866 a year, lower than 171 of the other 206 California cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,866 a year for a typical house, lower than 171 of the other 206 California cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Burlingame house costs

What is the property tax rate in Burlingame?

About 1.12% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax rates, San Mateo County (Burlingame tax rate area 004-001)), plus flat charges on the same bill (SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12).

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

About $5,532 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $12 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Burlingame?

About $183 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Burlingame.

How much does trash pickup cost in Burlingame?

$39 to $115 a month, depending on the trash cart size (32-gal trash, 64-gal trash, 96-gal trash).

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Burlingame?

Income-qualified households: CARE on gas: CARE gives income-qualified customers a 20% discount on their natural gas bill. Contact your utility company for an application.

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

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