Modesto, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Modesto 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 Modesto house

$11,781a year · $982 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $442,700; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Modesto house at the typical market value ($442,700) pays about $11,800 a year: $5,100 property tax and charges, $1,250 water and sewer, $710 trash, $3,220 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:

Homeowners' exemption: file the claim$7,000 off assessed value
The California Constitution provides a $7,000 reduction in the taxable value for a qualifying owner-occupied home.
How: File the claim with the county assessor where the property is located if you do not already have it.
100% disabled veterans: property tax exemption$100,000+ off assessed value
The basic exemption, also referred to as the $100,000 exemption, is available to all qualifying claimants; the exemption amount is compounded annually by an inflation factor.
How: File BOE-261-G, Claim for Disabled Veterans' Property Tax Exemption, with the county assessor.
Low-income MID customers: MID CARES60% off the fixed charge, 23.1% off the first 850 kWh
A discount of 60% is applied to the Fixed Monthly Charge and a discount of 23.1% to the first 850 kWh of Electric Usage for low income customers who meet eligibility requirements and are enrolled in the MID CARES program.
How: Enroll in MID CARES.

Adjust to match your bills

What you know

Value before exemptionsUnder Prop 13 an owner who bought years ago has an assessed value below this market figure and pays less. Some Modesto neighborhoods are in other tax rate areas (other school districts) with slightly different bond rates, and some bills carry Mello-Roos or assessment charges that are not included here.

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 Modesto Irrigation District bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 30in 38 daysApplications for changed assessment (appeals) of secured property are accepted July 2 to November 30.
Dec 10in 48 daysLast day to avoid the 10% late penalty for the first installment of secured property taxes.
Feb 15in 115 daysDeadline for timely filing of all exemption claims, including Homeowners'.
Apr 10Last day to avoid the 10% late penalty for the second installment of secured property taxes.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Modesto; Metered rates from October 1, 2026 (city rate schedule): $30.16 a month for a 5/8 through 3/4 inch meter plus $2.40 per hundred cubic feet (CCF), non-drought rate.
Property tax: 1.17% of value; 2025-26 tax year, Stanislaus County (tax rate area 002-001)
Garbage: City of Modesto; The City of Modesto adjusts the Maximum Rate Schedule for Solid Waste Services on an annual basis.
Sewer: City of Modesto; The current Sewer Rates effective July 1, 2026 are shown on the City's sewer rates page.
Electricity: Modesto Irrigation District; The MID electric service area includes the greater Modesto area (north of the Tuolumne River).
Gas: PG&E; PG&E's gas service territory includes Modesto (ZIP codes 95353, 95355, 95357, 95358).

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: In 2025, approximately 40% of the water supplied was from groundwater wells and 60% was from surface water.
Hardness: The 2025 report lists hardness (as CaCO3) at an average of 199 ppm, range 33-388.
Lead: Lead 90th percentile was ND in 2024 sampling of 52 samples (action level 15 ppb).
PFAS: PFOA averaged 0.96 ppt (range 0-7.6) and PFOS averaged 1.76 ppt (range 0-22) in 2025 (UCMR5/notification-level monitoring).

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Property tax: Stanislaus County's 2025-26 secured rates for tax rate area 002-001 (Modesto, Modesto City Schools), 1.169445% in all: the 1% general tax plus Modesto Elementary (0.088316%), Modesto High (0.057301%) and Yosemite Community College District (0.023828%) bond rates, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. TRAs 002-003, 002-004 and 002-005 carry the same rate; other Modesto areas (for example 002-002, in Ceres Unified) differ slightly. The 2026-27 rate book was not yet published.
Water: City of Modesto rate schedule effective October 1, 2026, $30.16 a month for a 5/8 to 3/4 inch meter plus a flat $2.40 per CCF (non-drought rate); the city's Metered Water Rates page still lists the January 2026 figures ($28.86 and $2.30). Sewer: the single-family rate $43.97 plus the $5.60 per-account charge, effective July 1, 2026, folded into one fixed monthly amount. Storm drain is the $3.23 rate for lots of 3,501 to 7,000 sq ft; the schedule dates from 1995 and the other lot-size rates are $1.65 and $4.85. Garbage is the $59.51 residential rate effective July 1, 2026.
Electricity: most Modesto homes are served by Modesto Irrigation District on Schedule D; some addresses may be served by PG&E instead. Tier rates are a year-round weighted average of summer (5 months) and winter (7 months) rates plus the EEA ($0.0120) and CIA ($0.0028) per-kWh adjustments; the Power Cost Adjustment is currently $0.00000 but was $0.01300-$0.01348 in Jan-Mar 2026, so winter bills may be higher. The 2025 Schedule D is the latest posted. Typical use is MID's 2024 residential sales per customer from EIA.
Gas: PG&E schedule G-1 baseline and excess rates plus the public purpose surcharge, territory S; typical use is the California residential average from EIA.
Insurance is the California average premium for 2022; it is not specific to Modesto.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Modesto house costs

What is the property tax rate in Modesto?

About 1.17% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax year, Stanislaus County (tax rate area 002-001)), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $5,765 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption.

How much is the water bill in Modesto?

About $105 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of Modesto.

How much does trash pickup cost in Modesto?

$60 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Modesto?

Dec 10: Last day to avoid the 10% late penalty for the first installment of secured property taxes. Apr 10: Last day to avoid the 10% late penalty for the second installment of secured property taxes.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Modesto?

Low-income MID customers: MID CARES: A discount of 60% is applied to the Fixed Monthly Charge and a discount of 23.1% to the first 850 kWh of Electric Usage for low income customers who meet eligibility requirements and are enrolled in the MID CARES program. Enroll in MID CARES.

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

All California cities All cities