Mission Viejo, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Mission Viejo 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 Mission Viejo house

$17,112a year · $1,426 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $1,009,600; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$10,111
1.008% of $1,009,600, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$21
Metropolitan Water District water standby charge $10 · OC Mosquito and Vector Control District: mosquito, fire ant and disease control assessment (District No. 2) $9 · OC Mosquito and Vector Control District: vector surveillance and control assessment (District No. 1) $2
Electricity and gas$3,556
523 kWh a month $2,729 · 35 therms $827
Water and sewer$1,551
12.83 units (CCF) a month on Santa Margarita Water District: water $79, sewer $51 a month
Trash$381
Standard cart service (trash, recycling, organics), $32 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Mission Viejo house at the typical market value ($1,009,600) pays about $17,100 a year: $10,130 property tax and charges, $1,550 water and sewer, $380 trash, $3,560 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

One change saves this house about $33 a year:

Bring water use down to 8 units
$33 a year
Above 8 units a month, Santa Margarita Water District charges $4.12 a unit instead of $3.55.
How: Most of the top tier is outdoor watering: fix leaks and water less often in summer.

Worth checking

Low income: CARE discount on SCE and SoCalGas30-35% off electric, 20% off gas
Low-income customers enrolled in CARE get a 30-35% discount on their electric bill and 20% on their natural gas bill.
How: Contact SCE or SoCalGas, or apply on their websites.
Income slightly above CARE limits: FERA electric discount18% off electric
Families whose income slightly exceeds the CARE limits may qualify for FERA, an 18% discount on electricity bills.
How: To request an application form, contact your utility company or visit its website.
Seniors 62+: lower trash rate$25.43 instead of $31.78
Seniors 62 years of age or older are eligible for a discount off the residential trash rate: the 2026-27 single-family senior citizen rate is $25.43, compared with $31.78 for standard cart service. The applicant must own the home (or lease it and pay the waste bill) and live there full time.
How: Return the City of Mission Viejo senior discount form with proof of age to Waste Management of Orange County, or email it to cslosangeles@wm.com.
Three free bulky item pickups a year
WM collects up to five large items at the curb three times per year at no additional charge, on your regular trash day; extra bulky pickups beyond the three cost $35.32.
How: Schedule at least 48 hours before your trash day: WM at 949-642-1191, wmservice@wm.com or WM's website.
Water-saving rebates from SMWD$125 smart timer; $2 per sq ft of turf
Santa Margarita Water District offers rebates through partners, including $125 for a smart sprinkler timer, $100 for a clothes washer, $40 for a toilet and $2 per square foot for residential turf removal.
How: See the SMWD rebate programs page before you buy or remove turf.

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 Mission Viejo house uses about 12.83.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Southern California Edison 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 Orange County (filing runs July 2 to November 30 at 5:00 p.m.).
Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent 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 delinquent after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $23 per bill.

Who serves this house

Water: Santa Margarita Water District; Santa Margarita Water District rates effective March 1, 2026: a monthly fixed base charge of $30.09 for a residential 3/4-, 5/8- or 1-inch meter, then $3.55 per CCF for Tier 1 (the indoor budget), $4.12 for Tier 2 (up to 100% of the total indoor and outdoor water budget) and $5.16 for Tier 3 (use above the total budget).
Property tax: 1.01% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Orange County (tax rate area 27-001)
Garbage: Waste Management (WM) of Orange County; The City's solid waste provider; each household has a three-cart system (trash, mixed recyclables, organics), with carts in 35, 64 and 96 gallons.
Gas: Southern California Gas Company; The City lists Southern California Gas Company among its gas and electric providers.
Schools: Capistrano Unified / Saddleback Valley Unified; The City lists Capistrano Unified and Saddleback Valley Unified as the school districts serving Mission Viejo.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Imported treated surface water from the Metropolitan Water District (Colorado River and State Water Project) and treated surface water from Irvine Ranch Water District's Baker Water Treatment Plant (2026 report on 2025).
Hardness: Distribution system average 256 ppm total hardness as CaCO3 (15 grains per gallon), range 210 to 300, tested in 2025.
Lead: Lead was not detected in any of 52 homes sampled in 2024; 0 of 52 sites exceeded the 15 ppb action level.
Standards: The District reports that the water delivered to homes meets or surpasses federal and state quality standards.

About a third of Mission Viejo homes get water and sewer from Moulton Niguel Water District, and about 6% from El Toro Water District. Their rates and water quality differ and are not shown here; check the provider on your water bill.

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 and sewer: Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) rates effective March 1, 2026, for the roughly 62% of Mission Viejo homes it serves. Shares are our count: of the 34,869 housing units in 2020 Census blocks whose centroids fall inside the city limits, 21,479 (61.6%) lie inside the EPA boundary of Santa Margarita Water District, 11,236 (32.2%) Moulton Niguel Water District, 2,070 (5.9%) El Toro Water District and 84 (0.2%) Trabuco Canyon Water District; those other districts' rates are not included here. Water is $30.09 a month for a standard residential meter plus $3.55 per CCF up to the indoor budget, which we take as SMWD's standard 4 persons x 47 gallons a day = about 7.6 CCF a month, and $4.12 per CCF above it. Each home's outdoor budget depends on its own landscaped area, so we don't model where Tier 3 ($5.16 per CCF above the total budget) starts, nor SMWD's pumping-zone power surcharge ($0.16 to $0.72 per CCF in zones 2-5). Sewer is SMWD's $38.32 a month single-family charge plus $1.61 per CCF on use up to the same indoor budget. The page starts at 12.83 CCF a month, the average single-family use in SMWD's 2025 rate study (FY 2025 single-family consumption divided by single-family meters and 12 months), which covers the whole district, not only Mission Viejo.
Trash: WM's 2026-27 single-family standard cart service rate of $31.78, from the City's rate schedule; the schedule lists residential rates without a period and the county's trash rate survey reports Mission Viejo's residential rate as a monthly fee.
Property tax: tax rate area 27-001, 1.00850% for 2026-27 from the Orange County tax rate book (the 1% general levy plus the Metropolitan Water District's 0.0085%). That is the rate of Mission Viejo tax rate areas in Capistrano Unified, which by our count of 2020 Census housing units covers about 52% of the city's homes; homes in Saddleback Valley Unified (about 48%) pay 1.02720% (tax rate areas such as 27-013), because of that district's 2004 bonds. The $7,000 homeowners' exemption comes off the value you enter. Flat charges: the Metropolitan Water District standby charge ($10.09 per parcel under an acre in MWDOC territory) and the two countywide Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District assessments ($9.34 and $1.92 for a single-family home). Mello-Roos or other special taxes that only some parcels carry are not included; Capistrano Unified's CFD No. 87-1, which covered part of Mission Viejo, levied its last special tax in 2015-16, and a few tax rate areas add an SMWD improvement district bond rate on land only. The starting value is the Census median market value; under Prop 13 a home's assessed value can be far lower.
Electricity: Mission Viejo is not an OCPA member city, so we use SCE's standard Domestic rate with SCE generation from SCE's joint rate comparison with OCPA ($0.38865 per kWh in total, SCE rates as of June 1, 2026; its $203.26 average bill at 523 kWh is that rate times the usage), plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge. By our count of 2020 Census housing units against the California Energy Commission's electric service-territory map, 25,926 of 34,869 (74.4%) are in SCE territory and 8,943 (25.6%, in the south of the city) in San Diego Gas & Electric territory, whose rates are not included here. Gas: SoCalGas's August 2026 average non-CARE bill ($68.91 at 35 therms), taken as including the $0.16-a-day customer charge (about $4.87 a month), so $4.87 a month plus $1.830 per therm. Both are averages; real bills vary by season and time of use.
Insurance starts at the 2022 California average; Mission Viejo homes are worth more than average, so quotes are likely higher.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Mission Viejo compares

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

Per year	Mission Viejo	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.01%	1.13%	lower than 107 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$943	$955	lower than 59 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$608	$584	higher than 43 of the other 76 California cities we cover
Trash	$381	$438	lower than 75 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,556	$3,556	lower than 54 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	$17,112	$15,240	higher than 76 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: Mission Viejo's property tax rate is 1.01%, lower than 107 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 Mission Viejo is 1.01%, lower than 107 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. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $381 a year for the standard cart, lower than 75 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 $381 a year for the standard cart, lower than 75 of the other 101 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

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Common questions about Mission Viejo house costs

What is the property tax rate in Mission Viejo?

About 1.01% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Orange County (tax rate area 27-001)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Metropolitan Water District water standby charge $10, OC Mosquito and Vector Control District: mosquito, fire ant and disease control assessment (District No. 2) $9, OC Mosquito and Vector Control District: vector surveillance and control assessment (District No. 1) $2).

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

About $4,993 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $21 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Mission Viejo?

About $129 a month for water and sewer at typical use (12.83 units, or 9,597 gallons a month) on Santa Margarita Water District.

How much does trash pickup cost in Mission Viejo?

$32 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Mission Viejo?

Dec 10: First property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after Dec 10: 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is delinquent after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $23 per bill.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Mission Viejo?

Yes. Seniors 62+: lower trash rate: Seniors 62 years of age or older are eligible for a discount off the residential trash rate: the 2026-27 single-family senior citizen rate is $25.43, compared with $31.78 for standard cart service. The applicant must own the home (or lease it and pay the waste bill) and live there full time.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Mission Viejo?

Low income: CARE discount on SCE and SoCalGas: Low-income customers enrolled in CARE get a 30-35% discount on their electric bill and 20% on their natural gas bill. Contact SCE or SoCalGas, or apply on their websites.

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

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