Cathedral City, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Cathedral City 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 Cathedral City house

$12,863a year · $1,072 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $453,100; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$5,360
1.201% of $453,100, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$421
Sewer $406 · Coachella Valley mosquito, fire ant and disease control assessment $14
Electricity and gas$4,701
795 kWh a month $3,737 · 35 therms $827 · city utility tax $137
Water$477
20 units (CCF) a month on Coachella Valley Water District: water $40 a month
Trash$413
Basic service (96-gallon trash, recycling and organics carts), $34 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Cathedral City house at the typical market value ($453,100) pays about $12,900 a year: $5,780 property tax and charges, $480 water, $410 trash, $4,700 electricity and gas, $1,490 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 21, 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:

Seniors 65+ on CARE: utility users tax exemptionNo 3% utility users tax
Cathedral City residents who are 65 or over and on the California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) program are exempt from the City's 3% utility users tax, but must apply to the City.
How: Get on SCE's CARE program first, then apply to the City of Cathedral City for the exemption.
Income-qualified: SCE CARE rate32.5% off the electric bill
Through SCE's CARE program, qualifying households receive 32.5% off their electric bills and a Base Services Charge of about $6 a month.
How: Apply with SCE's CARE/FERA online application; no additional documentation is required.
Income-qualified: SoCalGas CARE20% off the gas bill
You may qualify for 20% off your monthly natural gas bill through SoCalGas's CARE program if you or someone in your household receives benefits such as Medi-Cal or CalFresh, or by household income.
How: Apply with SoCalGas's online CARE application.
Free bulky item pickup
Cathedral City's Burrtec service includes the Bulky Large Item Collection Program, up to four items per week, at no additional cost.
How: Included with Burrtec's Cathedral City service; Burrtec Customer Service: 760-340-2113.
Disabled residents: free walk-in collection
Any disabled person who meets the DMV requirements for an N-1 permanent disabled placard is entitled to walk-in backyard or side yard collection of trash, recyclables and green waste at no charge.
How: Contact Burrtec's Customer Service Department at (760) 340-2113.
Bigger household? Indoor water budgets can be increased
CVWD's default indoor water budget for homeowners is 8 ccf, based on four people; indoor budgets can be increased for homes with more than four people.
How: CVWD Customer Service: 1-800-262-2651.

Adjust to match your bills

What you know

Value before exemptionsUnder Prop 13 your assessed value starts at your purchase price and can rise at most 2% a year, so it is often far below market: use the assessed value on your tax bill.

I live here and have the Homeowners' exemption

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $1,492, NAIC data via 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, units a month

On your water bill. 1 unit (CCF) is 748 gallons. A typical Cathedral City house uses about 20.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Southern California Edison bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 30, 2026in 38 daysLast day to file a 2026 regular assessment appeal in Riverside County (filing period July 2 to November 30, 2026).
Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment is due Nov 1 and becomes delinquent Dec 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 10% penalty.
Jan 1, 2027in 70 daysCathedral City's residential tax-roll trash rate rises from $32.43 to $34.44 a month for calendar year 2027.
Jan 1, 2027in 70 daysDesert Water Agency's new potable water rates and wastewater service charge take effect, appearing on February 2027 bills.

Who serves this house

Water: Depends on your address; Coachella Valley Water District or Desert Water Agency
Property tax: 1.20% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Riverside County (tax rate area 019-000, Cathedral City: Palm Springs Unified, Desert Community College and CVWD State Water Project)
Garbage: Burrtec Waste & Recycling; Burrtec collects trash, recycling and organics in Cathedral City under a franchise agreement with the City. Single-family residents pay for their garbage service with their property tax bill.
Sewer: Coachella Valley Water District; CVWD charges residential sewer service per Equivalent Sewer Unit, and most residential customers are billed for sewer on their property tax bills. For Cathedral City residences in its area, Desert Water Agency lists a monthly DWA sewer service charge plus a monthly treatment cost passed through from the City of Palm Springs or CVWD.
Electricity: Southern California Edison; The City lists Southern California Edison as the contact for electricity connection, service, repair and billing.
Gas: SoCalGas (The Gas Company); The City lists The Gas Company as the contact for gas connection, service, repair and billing; the City partners with Southern California Gas Company (socalgas.com) on energy programs.
Schools: Palm Springs Unified + Desert Community College; Cathedral City's tax rate areas include Palm Springs Unified School District and Desert Community College.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: CVWD delivers water to customers from wells drilled into the Coachella Valley's groundwater basin; its Cove Communities system includes portions of Cathedral City.
Chromium-6: Chromium-6 was detected in the Cove Communities system at levels that exceed California's Cr-6 MCL (10 µg/L); the system is not considered in violation until after October 1, 2026, and CVWD submitted a compliance plan to the State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Drinking Water (DDW) on October 13, 2025.
Lead: CVWD has determined it has no lead or galvanized pipes requiring replacement service lines in its distribution system, including privately-owned or customer-owned service lines.

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Individual bills are confidential in California, so we calculate yours from public rates and what you tell us.
Water: about nine in ten Cathedral City homes (by 2020 Census block population inside the EPA service-area map) are in Coachella Valley Water District's Cove Communities system, so the page starts with CVWD's domestic rates effective July 1, 2025 (still CVWD's posted rates; CVWD's 2026 board agendas show no new domestic water or sewer rate action): a $14.71 monthly fixed charge for the 3/4-inch meter most single-family homes use, Tier 1 ($1.09) up to 8 ccf, Tier 2 ($1.36) up to 100% of the water budget. Budgets are set for each home, so we model CVWD's own typical residential customer at 20 ccf a month (from CVWD's June 2024 rate report) as 100% of budget: Tier 3 ($4.18) up to 35 ccf (175%), Tier 4 ($4.90) up to 60 ccf (300%), Tier 5 ($7.49) above. Homes west and south of Whitewater Wash are on Desert Water Agency instead ($43.27 a month plus $2.75 per hcf, before any zone pumping charge).
Sewer: CVWD's residential sewer charge, $1.91 a month plus $31.96 per ESU, is $406.44 a year for a 1-ESU home, collected on the property tax bill. DWA customers pay sewer on their DWA bill instead ($8.03 plus a $20.00 to $31.96 treatment pass-through), and some Cathedral City neighborhoods are still on septic (the City and CVWD are working on a septic-to-sewer project). Trash: Burrtec's single-family tax-roll rate for calendar 2027, $34.44 a month ($413.28 a year), adopted June 10, 2026 and billed on the 2026-27 tax bill; it already includes the City's 3% utility users tax and franchise fees.
Property tax: Riverside County's 2026-27 rates (Resolution 2026-153, adopted August 25, 2026) for tax rate area 019-000, the area named Cathedral City, whose districts are listed in the Auditor-Controller's tax rates by district: the 1% levy, Palm Springs Unified (0.05644%), Desert Community College (0.035%) and CVWD's State Water Project rate (0.11%), about 1.201% in total, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, applied to the value you enter. Homes in Desert Water Agency's area pay DWA's 0.05% instead of CVWD's 0.11%. The starting value is the Census median market value; under Prop 13 a home's assessed value can be far lower.
Fixed charges: the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District's assessment ($14.39 per single-family home in Zone A, FY 2026-27) and CVWD's sewer charge. Not included because they apply only to some parcels: Cathedral City CFD 2006-1 improvement areas (newer tracts), Landscape and Lighting District benefit zones, assessment districts (Cove 2004-2, Dream 2004-01, 35th Avenue 2003-01) and Palm Springs USD CFD No. 1. Your tax bill lists them.
Electricity: Cathedral City is not in Desert Community Energy (which serves Palm Springs), so we use SCE's standard Domestic rate with SCE generation from SCE's comparison for neighboring Palm Springs ($0.36133 per kWh in total, SCE rates as of June 1, 2026, built from baseline region 15 desert load profiles, so a year-round average); its 795 kWh is the typical monthly use we start at, plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge. Gas: SoCalGas's August 2026 average non-CARE bill ($68.91 at 35 therms), taken as including the $0.16-a-day customer charge (about $4.87 a month), so $4.87 a month plus $1.830 per therm. Cathedral City's 3% utility users tax is added to electricity and gas. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Cathedral City compares

A typical Cathedral City house against the 110 California cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Cathedral City	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.20%	1.13%	higher than 86 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$477	$955	lower than 105 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Trash	$413	$438	lower than 60 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$4,701	$3,556	higher than 108 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,492	$1,492	in the middle of 108 other California cities we cover
Total	$12,863	$15,240	lower than 84 of the other 109 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. Property tax rate

The fact: Cathedral City's property tax rate is 1.20%, higher than 86 of the other 109 California cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Cathedral City is 1.20%, higher than 86 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $477 a year at typical use, lower than 105 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $477 a year at typical use, lower than 105 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $4,701 a year, higher than 108 of the other 109 California cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $4,701 a year for a typical house, higher than 108 of the other 109 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 Cathedral City house costs

What is the property tax rate in Cathedral City?

About 1.20% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Riverside County (tax rate area 019-000, Cathedral City: Palm Springs Unified, Desert Community College and CVWD State Water Project)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $406, Coachella Valley mosquito, fire ant and disease control assessment $14).

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

About $6,344 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $421 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Cathedral City?

About $40 a month for water at typical use (20 units, or 14,960 gallons a month) on Coachella Valley Water District.

How much does trash pickup cost in Cathedral City?

$34 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Cathedral City?

Dec 10: First property tax installment is due Nov 1 and becomes delinquent Dec 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment is due Feb 1 and becomes delinquent Apr 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 10% penalty.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Cathedral City?

Yes. Seniors 65+ on CARE: utility users tax exemption: Cathedral City residents who are 65 or over and on the California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) program are exempt from the City's 3% utility users tax, but must apply to the City.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Cathedral City?

Seniors 65+ on CARE: utility users tax exemption: Cathedral City residents who are 65 or over and on the California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) program are exempt from the City's 3% utility users tax, but must apply to the City. Get on SCE's CARE program first, then apply to the City of Cathedral City for the exemption.

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

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