Malibu, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Malibu 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 Malibu house

$30,912a year · $2,576 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $2,000,001; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$23,923
1.200% of $2,000,001, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$180
Malibu Garbage Disposal District fee (one refuse unit; East Malibu, inside the MGDD) $180
Electricity and gas$3,670
523 kWh a month $2,801 · 35 therms $869
Water$1,647
9 units (CCF) a month on LA County Waterworks District 29 (Malibu): water $137 a month
TrashNot included
Trash services in the MGDD are provided under a contract managed by the County of Los Angeles.
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Malibu house at the typical market value ($2,000,001) pays about $30,900 a year: $24,100 property tax and charges, $1,650 water, $3,670 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:

Low-income electric customers: discount rate
Low-income customers enrolled in discount programs such as CARE and FERA will receive 100% Green Power at the same rates as offered by SCE.
How: Be enrolled in CARE or FERA.

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 house uses 7–12.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Southern California Edison (delivery) with Clean Power Alliance generation bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Who serves this house

Water: LA County Waterworks District 29 (Malibu); District 29 non-tiered rates effective 03/01/2026: monthly service charge, quantity charge and surcharges.
Property tax: 1.20% of value; 2025-26 tax year, Los Angeles County
Garbage: Universal Waste Systems contact in the MGDD (East Malibu); Waste Management outside it; Waste Management (WM) services the portion of the City outside the MGDD.
Sewer: Onsite septic (most homes); Onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) are subject to a discharge prohibition order in a specific zone.
Electricity: Southern California Edison / Clean Power Alliance; Clean Power Alliance serves Malibu and 30 other communities; SCE delivers.
Gas: SoCalGas; SoCalGas lists Malibu among the cities it serves.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: The District purchases nearly all its water from the Metropolitan Water District through West Basin Municipal Water District.

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.
Tax: 1% levy plus Santa Monica-Malibu Unified bond rates (summing every non-SFID-1 line, which includes Malibu SFID No. 2) and Santa Monica College bonds from the county's FY 2025-26 tax rate resolution; rates per $100 are divided by 100. Not included: school and county flat charges, fire and lighting charges, and any Metropolitan Water District levy, which vary by parcel.
Water: Waterworks District 29 non-tiered sheet effective 03/01/2026, bill code I03 (East Malibu non-pumped zone): $51.95 monthly service charge plus $2.42 service surcharge, and $8.53 + $0.68 per hcf. Other zones and meter sizes differ; the sheet doesn't say which code applies to a single-family home. The county also publishes an older tiered sheet (effective 05/01/2025); we don't know whether tiers still apply to some customers. Pumped zones (I05, I07, I09) have different per-hcf rates. The 9 ccf typical use is an assumption, not a District 29 average.
Garbage: East Malibu (MGDD) is billed by the county as a $180 per refuse unit fee on the tax bill (FY 2026-27), counted under property tax and served by Universal Waste Systems; West Malibu is served by Waste Management, whose rates are not published, so it is not counted for that area.
Electric: SCE Base Services Charge $24.15 plus CPA 100% Green Power total $0.40019 per kWh at the 523 kWh typical use. Gas: SoCalGas March 2026 typical bill; many Malibu homes use propane. Gas: a March 2026 average bill may be stale.
Sewer: most Malibu homes use septic, so no sewer charge is counted; the Civic Center has a wastewater assessment. Septic pumping and maintenance costs are not counted.
Starting value: the Census median is top-coded at $2,000,001, so the true median is at least that; Prop 13 assessed values are usually below market, so the tax shown is an upper-end illustration.
Insurance: a 2022 California statewide average; Malibu is a high-wildfire-risk area and its actual premiums may differ widely.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Malibu compares

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

Per year	Malibu	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.20%	1.13%	higher than 85 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$1,647	$955	higher than 103 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,670	$3,556	higher than 70 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	$30,912	$15,240	higher than 108 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: Malibu's property tax rate is 1.20%, higher than 85 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 Malibu is 1.20%, higher than 85 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 $1,647 a year at typical use, higher than 103 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $1,647 a year at typical use, higher than 103 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Malibu house costs

What is the property tax rate in Malibu?

About 1.20% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax year, Los Angeles County), plus flat charges on the same bill (Malibu Garbage Disposal District fee (one refuse unit; East Malibu, inside the MGDD) $180).

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

About $6,098 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $180 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Malibu?

About $137 a month for water at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on LA County Waterworks District 29 (Malibu).

How much does trash pickup cost in Malibu?

Trash services in the MGDD are provided under a contract managed by the County of Los Angeles.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Malibu?

Low-income electric customers: discount rate: Low-income customers enrolled in discount programs such as CARE and FERA will receive 100% Green Power at the same rates as offered by SCE. Be enrolled in CARE or FERA.

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

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