East Palo Alto, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a East Palo Alto 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 East Palo Alto house

$18,699a year · $1,558 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $1,102,600; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$12,261
1.119% of $1,102,600, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$672
Sewer $660 · SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12
Electricity and gas$2,866
374 kWh a month $1,877 · 31.72 therms $989
Water$1,408
9 units (CCF) a month on City of East Palo Alto water system (Veolia): water $117 a month
TrashNot included
Not included in the total: every home pays Recology for trash, but East Palo Alto cart rates are not published online, so no trash price is counted and the total is understated
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A East Palo Alto house at the typical market value ($1,102,600) pays about $18,700 a year: $12,930 property tax and charges, $1,410 water, $2,870 electricity and gas, $1,490 home insurance; trash is billed separately. 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: PG&E CARE on gas20% off gas
CARE gives income-qualified customers a 20% discount on their natural gas bill.
How: Contact PG&E 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 know

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 a market value. The East Palo Alto Sanitary District sewer charge goes on the property tax bill and is counted under Sewer. The county rate book also lists an EPA Drainage Maintenance District charge that is not counted here because we could not find its per-home amount. Also not counted: the Ravenswood City School District's own per-parcel school tax (2026-27 amount not confirmed), so the property tax total is understated.

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 delivery with WestLight Energy generation bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 30in 38 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 48 daysLast day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes.
Feb 15in 115 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 East Palo Alto water system (Veolia); Rates as of March 1, 2025: $8.67 per ccf usage charge; fixed monthly charges for a single family 5/8" meter are $18.33 meter and $5.41 fire service. The rate sheet also lists capital improvement charges of $0.65 per ccf (water usage) and $9.73 fixed monthly.
Property tax: 1.12% of value; 2025-26 tax rates, San Mateo County (East Palo Alto tax rate areas 021-000 to 021-017)
Garbage: Recology San Mateo County; Recology San Mateo County collects recycling, organics and landfill in the RethinkWaste service area, which spans from Burlingame to East Palo Alto.
Sewer: East Palo Alto Sanitary District; The district charges residential customers $660 per year for each dwelling or living unit.
Electricity: WestLight Energy generation, PG&E delivery; WestLight Energy is the community electricity provider for San Mateo County.
Gas: PG&E; East Palo Alto (94303) is in PG&E’s gas service territory.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

PFAS: We did not detect PFAS in our water.

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Water: the City of East Palo Alto water system (Veolia) rates as of March 1, 2025 (the latest posted): a flat $8.67 per ccf plus a $0.65 per ccf capital improvement surcharge ($9.32), and $18.33 + $5.41 fire service + $9.73 capital improvement fixed monthly for a single-family 5/8"-1" meter. Palo Alto Park Mutual and O’Connor Tract Co-op serve about 20% of connections.
Sewer: the East Palo Alto Sanitary District’s $660 a year per dwelling unit for 2026-27; we count it as billed on the property tax roll (the district lists charges by assessor parcel).
Property tax: San Mateo County 2025-26 rates for East Palo Alto (every listed East Palo Alto tax rate area has composite rate 1.1191: 1% general, open space .0014%, Ravenswood City School District bonds .0710%, Sequoia Union High bonds .0287%, college bonds .0180%), less the $7,000 homeowners’ exemption. Flat charge: Measure AA ($12). Ravenswood City School District has its own per-parcel school tax (a Measure S renewal at $434 was on the 2026 ballot) whose 2026-27 amount we could not confirm, so it is not counted.
The starting value is the Census ACS 2020-2024 median value of owner-occupied homes ($1,102,600); an owner who bought years ago has a lower assessed value under Prop 13.
Garbage: Recology bills directly; East Palo Alto’s 2026 cart rates could not be found on any public page, so no garbage price is counted.
Electricity and gas use PG&E E-1 and G-1 rates with WestLight Energy generation as for other San Mateo County cities; insurance is the 2022 California average premium.
Water: we could not find a 2026 East Palo Alto water rate schedule (city pages returned errors), so the March 2025 rates are shown and labelled as such.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about East Palo Alto house costs

What is the property tax rate in East Palo Alto?

About 1.12% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax rates, San Mateo County (East Palo Alto tax rate areas 021-000 to 021-017)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $660, SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12).

How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in East Palo Alto?

About $6,189 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $672 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in East Palo Alto?

About $117 a month for water at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of East Palo Alto water system (Veolia).

How much does trash pickup cost in East Palo Alto?

Not included in the total: every home pays Recology for trash, but East Palo Alto cart rates are not published online, so no trash price is counted and the total is understated

Where can I get help paying utility bills in East Palo Alto?

Income-qualified households: PG&E CARE on gas: CARE gives income-qualified customers a 20% discount on their natural gas bill. Contact PG&E for an application.

How much does a house in East Palo Alto cost to run each year?

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