Chico, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Chico 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 Chico house

$11,619a year · $968 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $468,100; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Chico house at the typical market value ($468,100) pays about $11,600 a year: $5,320 property tax and charges, $970 water and sewer, $460 trash, $3,380 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:

Switch to the 32-gallon garbage cart (includes recycling & organics) cartUp to $137 a year
Your cart costs $38 a month; the smallest costs $27. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your garbage hauler.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartChico's residential service has three carts: garbage, recycling and organics.

Value before exemptionsEnter the assessed value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often well below what the house would sell for. Other Chico tax rate areas (002-003, 002-004 and others) list the same rates; some neighborhoods also have extra direct charges such as Chico Area Recreation & Park District or City maintenance districts.

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, units a month

On your water bill. 1 unit (CCF) is 748 gallons. A typical house uses 7–12.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your PG&E bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Dec 10in 48 daysDecember 10 is the last day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes without penalty.
Apr 10April 10 is the last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes without penalty.

Who serves this house

Water: Cal Water Chico District; Cal Water residential metered service, Chico tariff area, effective 7/1/2026; 5/8 x 3/4-inch meter service charge per month.
Property tax: 1.15% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Butte County (tax rate area 002-001)
Garbage: North Valley Waste Management; Franchise for residential garbage, recycling and organics within the city limits.
Sewer: City of Chico; The City of Chico bills sewer service through Util360.
Electricity: PG&E; Residential schedule E-1 (bundled service).
Gas: PG&E; Residential schedule G-1; the PG&E gas service area map lists Chico.
Schools: Chico Unified School District; CUSD election bond rates are listed for tax rate area 002-001.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Cal Water uses 57 wells to pump an average of 15.9 million gallons of groundwater per day in the Chico area.
Hardness: The water quality table for the service area shows an average hardness of 124 ppm.

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Property tax uses the 2026-27 Butte County Multi-Rate Taxes bill rates for tax rate area 002-001 (1% general levy plus Chico Unified and Butte-Glenn Community College bond rates), with the $7,000 homeowners' exemption.
The starting value is the Census median market value; assessed values under Prop 13 are often lower.
Water uses Cal Water's July 1, 2026 Chico tariff (service charge plus tiered quantity rates); Cal Water's per-bill surcharges and surcredits are not included.
Sewer uses the City's FY 2026/2027 master fee schedule. The City's Sewer Rate Study page says the council approved a multi-year schedule (Option 4b) on June 16, 2026; news coverage describes it as 55% increases in each of the first two years, then 3% a year. The page also says final adoption was set for a September 15, 2026 public hearing and no result was found, so these figures may rise soon, possibly from about November 2026. The per-HCF charge uses average winter (Dec-Mar) water use, which the slider only approximates.
Electricity uses PG&E E-1 bundled rates with a seasonal-weighted baseline (summer 15.0, winter 10.2 kWh/day, territory S); gas uses G-1 plus the public purpose surcharge.
Insurance is the 2022 California statewide average (the newest state table the Insurance Information Institute publishes), not Chico-specific and older than the other figures. Typical gas use of 31.72 therms a month is an estimate from EIA California residential gas deliveries divided by residential customers.
Property tax base is assessed value under Prop 13 (modelling remark, not source-quoted). Sewer hearing outcome was not found when checked.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Chico house costs

What is the property tax rate in Chico?

About 1.15% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Butte County (tax rate area 002-001)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Butte County Mosquito & Vector Control assessment (Zone A, 1 SFE) $14).

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

About $5,686 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $14 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Chico?

About $81 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Cal Water Chico District.

How much does trash pickup cost in Chico?

$27 to $46 a month, depending on the trash cart size (32-gallon garbage cart (includes recycling & organics), 64-gallon garbage cart (includes recycling & organics), 96-gallon garbage cart (includes recycling & organics)).

When is property tax due in Chico?

Dec 10: December 10 is the last day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes without penalty. Apr 10: April 10 is the last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes without penalty.

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

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