Downey, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Downey 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 Downey house

$11,871a year · $989 a month

Starts at $463,898 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$5,431
1.189% of $463,898, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$350
Sewer $232 · LA County Measure W Safe Clean Water tax (median single-family parcel) $89 · Greater LA County Vector Control assessment $19 · Metropolitan Water District water standby charge (Central Basin) $10
Electricity and gas$3,680
523 kWh a month $2,637 · 35 therms $869 · city utility tax $175
Water$539
12.03 units (CCF) a month on City of Downey Water: water $45 a month
Trash$379
Standard single-family service, $32 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A typical Downey house pays about $11,900 a year: $5,780 property tax and charges, $540 water, $380 trash, $3,680 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:

Low-income seniors over 62: Safe, Clean Water parcel tax exemptionNo Safe, Clean Water tax
Owners over 62 who live in the home and head a low-income household can apply for an exemption from the Safe, Clean Water Program special parcel tax; the FY 2027-28 limit is $106,600 for a 2-person household.
How: Submit the claim form to the Safe, Clean Water Program by May 1 each year; call 833-275-7297.
Low water use: reduced sewer charge
Parcels with significantly lower water usage may be eligible for a reduced rate under the Master Service Charge Ordinance of County Sanitation District No. 2.
How: See the reduced-rate terms of County Sanitation District No. 2's Master Service Charge Ordinance.
Low income: SoCalGas CARE20% off the gas bill
Customers enrolled in CARE get a 20% discount on their SoCalGas bill.
How: See SoCalGas assistance programs at socalgas.com.
Bulky item pickup
Residents can have Athens Services collect up to five bulky items per pickup, such as furniture, mattresses, carpet or bundled yard trimmings; multi-family customers pay a fee.
How: Schedule at athensservices.com or leave a message on Athens' bulky item line, (562) 259-1239 ext. 3, listing each item.

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 Downey house uses about 12.03.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Clean Power Alliance (generation) + Southern California Edison (delivery) 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 LA County (filing runs July 2 to November 30).
Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment (due Nov 1) is late after Dec 10: 10% penalty.
Feb 15in 115 daysLast day for a first-time homeowners' exemption claim to get the full exemption for the year.
Apr 10Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is late after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $10.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Downey Water; City of Downey: bills every two months; the City's water rate calculator uses the January 2026 rates.
Property tax: 1.19% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Los Angeles County
Garbage: Athens Services; Athens Services collects residential trash, recycling and yard waste in Downey under an exclusive franchise with the City.
Sewer: LA County Sanitation District No. 2; County Sanitation District No. 2 serves all or portions of Downey and collects its wastewater service charge on the property tax roll.
Electricity: Clean Power Alliance + Southern California Edison; Clean Power Alliance buys the power for Downey customers and SCE delivers it and sends the bill; the City chose the Clean Power (50% renewable) default.
Gas: SoCalGas; Southern California Gas Company lists Downey among the cities it serves.
Schools: Downey Unified + Cerritos College; Downey Unified and Cerritos Community College District bond rates are on the 2026-27 LA County tax rate resolution; Cerritos College's district serves the city of Downey.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Groundwater wells pumping from the Central Groundwater Basin provide 100 percent of the City's domestic water supply.
PFAS: In 2025 testing, PFOS had a highest quarterly running annual average of 28 ppt (range 13-42 ppt) and PFOA 11.7 ppt (range 3.9-15 ppt).
Lead: In 2023 the 90th-percentile lead result was 2.8 ppb, with 0 of 53 sites above the action level; an October 2024 inventory found no lead service lines.
Violations: The state found the City did not complete some required source-water monitoring in the 2020-2022 and 2023-2025 compliance periods; the City says it was not an emergency.

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: the City of Downey's single-family rates effective January 14, 2026 (Resolution 26-8329, adopted January 13, 2026) ($29.03 every two months for a 5/8-inch meter, and $2.464, $2.636, $2.805 and $3.830 per HCF above bimonthly breakpoints of 15, 30 and 70 HCF), halved to monthly figures ($14.52, with breakpoints at 7.5, 15 and 35 HCF). The City's water calculator shows the January 2026 rate year and the rate consultant (Raftelis) reports the Council adopted the new rates unanimously; the next scheduled step is January 2027 ($32.22 meter charge). The page starts at 12 HCF a month, the City's 'about 9,000 gallons' typical single-family use.
Sewer and other charges on the property tax bill for 2026-27: LA County Sanitation District No. 2's $232 wastewater charge per single-family home (a few eastern parts of Downey are in District No. 18 instead, at $226), Measure W at 2.5 cents per square foot of impermeable area, where we use the median for Downey single-family parcels in the county's Safe Clean Water tax layer ($88.77), the Greater LA County Vector Control assessment ($18.97 for parcels of an acre or less) and the Metropolitan Water District's $10.44 standby charge for Central Basin MWD lands. Not included because they vary by parcel or we found no published 2026-27 amount: Downey's lighting and landscaping district zones, Central Basin MWD's own standby charge, the LA County flood control assessment, the trauma and emergency services tax and the county park district assessment. The City of Downey also bills its own sanitary sewer charge on the bimonthly water bill; we could not find its current rate online, so it is not included.
Property tax: 1% plus the 2026-27 Downey Unified and Cerritos Community College District bond rates from the LA County tax rate resolution and the Metropolitan Water District's 0.0085% (about 1.1886% in total), less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, applied to the value you enter. The starting value is the median 2026 roll value of Downey's 13,739 single-family parcels; long-held homes are often assessed far below market.
Trash: Downey's Athens Services rates reset each January 1; the latest published single-family rate we found is $31.57 a month (January 2025, from the City of Cerritos's February 2025 survey of neighboring cities), so the 2026 rate is likely a little higher.
Electricity: the SCE/CPA joint rate comparison's Domestic rate with Clean Power Alliance Clean Power generation, Downey's default ($0.37392 per kWh in total, which equals its $195.56 average bill at 523 kWh), plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge. Gas: SoCalGas's March 2026 average non-CARE bill ($72.39 at 35 therms), taken as including the $0.16-a-day customer charge (about $4.87 a month), so $4.87 a month plus $1.929 per therm. Both are averages; real bills vary by season. Downey's 5% utility users tax (State Controller data for 2024) is added to electricity and gas. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Not included: the City of Downey sewer surcharge (about $1.6 million a year citywide in the 2026-27 budget, roughly $5 to $6 a month per account on average); we found no published per-home rate.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Downey compares

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

Per year	Downey	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.19%	1.13%	higher than 80 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$539	$955	lower than 104 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Trash	$379	$438	lower than 79 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,680	$3,556	higher than 73 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	$11,871	$15,240	lower than 91 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. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $539 a year at typical use, lower than 104 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $539 a year at typical use, lower than 104 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $379 a year for the standard cart, lower than 79 of the other 101 California cities we cover. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.

Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $379 a year for the standard cart, lower than 79 of the other 101 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Downey house costs

What is the property tax rate in Downey?

About 1.19% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Los Angeles County), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $232, LA County Measure W Safe Clean Water tax (median single-family parcel) $89, Greater LA County Vector Control assessment $19, Metropolitan Water District water standby charge (Central Basin) $10).

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

About $6,210 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $350 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Downey?

About $45 a month for water at typical use (12.03 units, or 8,998 gallons a month) on City of Downey Water.

How much does trash pickup cost in Downey?

$32 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Downey?

Dec 10: First property tax installment (due Nov 1) is late after Dec 10: 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is late after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $10.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Downey?

Yes. Low-income seniors over 62: Safe, Clean Water parcel tax exemption: Owners over 62 who live in the home and head a low-income household can apply for an exemption from the Safe, Clean Water Program special parcel tax; the FY 2027-28 limit is $106,600 for a 2-person household.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Downey?

Low-income seniors over 62: Safe, Clean Water parcel tax exemption: Owners over 62 who live in the home and head a low-income household can apply for an exemption from the Safe, Clean Water Program special parcel tax; the FY 2027-28 limit is $106,600 for a 2-person household. Submit the claim form to the Safe, Clean Water Program by May 1 each year; call 833-275-7297.

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

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