La Mesa, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a La Mesa 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 La Mesa house

$16,614a year · $1,384 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $812,000; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A La Mesa house at the typical market value ($812,000) pays about $16,600 a year: $10,350 property tax and charges, $1,320 water, $350 trash, $3,110 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:

CARE households: 20% off gas20% off gas
Customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program receive a 20% discount on their SDG&E natural gas bill.
How: See SDG&E discount programs at sdge.com/assistance.

Money dates

Nov 30in 38 daysAn appeal is filed with the Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Boards. The filing period is July 2nd through November 30th of each year.
Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment delinquent after close of business; 10% penalty after that.
Feb 15in 115 daysHomeowners' exemption deadline for the full exemption (about $70); late filings through December 10 get 80%.
Apr 10Second property tax installment payment deadline; 10% penalty plus $10 cost added to payments made after this date.

Who serves this house

Water: Helix Water District; Rates on bills from July 1, 2026: a bimonthly fixed charge by meter size and a charge per unit (one unit is 748 gallons), each the Helix charge plus the San Diego County Water Authority charge; for the single-family class the tiers are 0-12, 13-26 and 27 or more units per bimonthly bill.
Property tax: 1.20% of value; 2025-26 tax year, San Diego County (tax rate area 05002)
Garbage: EDCO; EDCO provides solid waste disposal and recycling services in the City of La Mesa under an exclusive franchise agreement
Sewer: City of La Mesa; Sewer charges are collected by the county of San Diego and are incorporated into your property taxes
Electricity: SDG&E, with San Diego Community Power as the default generation provider; One SDG&E bill; Community Power's generation charge replaces SDG&E's
Gas: SDG&E; Bundled residential average gas rate about $2.768 a therm (March 2026)

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Service area: The district distributes water to 279,000 people in the cities of La Mesa, El Cajon and Lemon Grove, and unincorporated areas including Spring Valley, Mt. Helix and Lakeside.
Treatment: In 2025, 99.4% of the water Helix customers received was treated at the R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant in Lakeside.
Lead: Helix does not have any lead pipes or service lines within its distribution system.

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How these numbers are made

Individual bills are not public, so we calculate yours from public rates and what you tell us.
Garbage (EDCO): $28.84 a month, the rate EDCO's two-year schedule set from July 2025 through June 2027, as reported by Times of San Diego; the City does not publish the schedule on its franchise page.
Water (Helix Water District, rates on bills from July 1, 2026): the bimonthly fixed charge of $79.15 (Helix $36.81 plus San Diego County Water Authority $42.34) for a 3/4-inch meter is halved to a monthly figure; the per-unit charge adds Helix and SDCWA ($3.78 + $3.91 = $7.69 for the first tier). Helix bills every two months, so its 12 and 26 unit tier limits are halved to 6 and 13 a month. Some La Mesa addresses are served by the City of San Diego or others; we model Helix, which serves most of the city.
Sewer: the City of La Mesa's sewer rate schedule for FY 2027 (effective July 1, 2026) shows $4.77 per unit plus a $51.09 bimonthly base charge; the City's own average of 14 units per bimonthly bill gives $117.87 a bill, times 6 bills is $707.22 a year, which the County collects on the property tax bill. The schedule's FY 2027 column is headed 'Proposed' and we found no adoption record we could read. Your own charge depends on your winter water use (capped at 28 units per bimonthly bill), so check the sewer line on your tax bill.
Property tax: tax rate area 05002 in the County's FY 2025-26 rate book (total 1.19599, shared by many La Mesa tax rate areas). Some areas pay different totals (such as 1.28664, 1.26114). Mello-Roos or other special taxes are not included; check the direct charges on your bill.
Electricity and gas: 400 kWh and 24 therms a month, as for the other San Diego Community Power cities in these pages. The electric rate is SDG&E's April 2026 TOU-DR1 bundled average bill ($194, which includes SDG&E's own generation) less the $24.13 monthly base charge, divided by 400 kWh; it is a benchmark, and Community Power customers' generation charge is priced differently, so their bills differ. The gas rate is SDG&E's March 2026 rate-change alert typical non-CARE monthly bill of $65.08 less the $0.13-a-day fixed charge ($3.95 a month), divided by 24 therms, which is $2.5469 a therm; it is a March rate, and commodity prices change monthly.
Insurance: $1,492 is the 2022 California average, the latest figure we found; current premiums may differ.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How La Mesa compares

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

Per year	La Mesa	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.20%	1.13%	higher than 82 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$1,319	$955	higher than 96 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Trash	$346	$438	lower than 87 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,109	$3,556	lower than 91 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	$16,614	$15,240	higher than 68 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: La Mesa's property tax rate is 1.20%, higher than 82 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 La Mesa is 1.20%, higher than 82 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 $1,319 a year at typical use, higher than 96 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $1,319 a year at typical use, higher than 96 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $346 a year for the standard cart, lower than 87 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 $346 a year for the standard cart, lower than 87 of the other 101 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

4. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $3,109 a year, lower than 91 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 $3,109 a year for a typical house, lower than 91 of the other 109 California cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

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Common questions about La Mesa house costs

What is the property tax rate in La Mesa?

About 1.20% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax year, San Diego County (tax rate area 05002)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $707, County vector control assessment $13).

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

About $6,617 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $720 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in La Mesa?

About $110 a month for water at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Helix Water District.

How much does trash pickup cost in La Mesa?

$29 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in La Mesa?

Dec 10: First property tax installment delinquent after close of business; 10% penalty after that. Apr 10: Second property tax installment payment deadline; 10% penalty plus $10 cost added to payments made after this date.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in La Mesa?

CARE households: 20% off gas: Customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program receive a 20% discount on their SDG&E natural gas bill. See SDG&E discount programs at sdge.com/assistance.

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

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