What a Mountain View 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.
Assessed at $1,000,000, City of Mountain View, typical use.
- Property tax$11,479
1.16% of $1,000,000 assessed value, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption
- Flat charges on the tax bill$386
Whisman schools $261 · Valley Water $82 · Mosquito $31 · Bay $12
- Electricity and gas$3,151
450 kWh a month $2,197 · 31 therms $862 · city utility tax $92 · tiered E-1 plan
- Water and sewer$2,025
9 units (CCF) a month on City of Mountain View: water $107, sewer $62 a month
- Trash$1,279
64-gal, $107 a month
- Home insurance$2,489
Survey median $2,489 · same coverage costs $1,282–$5,226
A Mountain View house assessed at $1 million pays about $20,800 a year: $11,870 property tax and charges, $2,020 water and sewer, $1,280 trash, $3,150 electricity and gas, $2,490 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Water, sewer and garbage: Mountain View FY 2026–27 Master Fee Schedule (adopted June 23, 2026). Electricity and gas: PG&E tariffs, June and Oct 2026. Property tax: 2025–26 county rates. Insurance: what you enter, or the state survey median until you do. Security and internet are on their own pages; they are not in the total yet.
Ways to pay less
One change saves this house about $640 a year:
Switch your 64-gal trash cart to 32 gal
$640 a yearTrash prices double with each size step. Bigger recycling and compost carts are free, and so are your first 2 extra recycling and 3 extra yard carts.
How: Call Recology Mountain View at 650-967-3034.
Worth checking
If your household qualifies for PG&E CAREUp to $1,202 a year
CARE cuts electricity 35% plus a $12/mo SV Clean Energy credit, and gas 20%. Mountain View has no city water, sewer or garbage discount; the state LIHWAP program is the fallback for water bills. Income limit: $43,280 for 1–2 people, $66,000 for 4.
How: Apply at pge.com/care. It takes about 5 minutes.
Replace a gas water heater with a heat pump$4,500 – $5,500 rebate
SV Clean Energy pays $2,500 ($3,500 for income-qualified homes), plus a $500 bonus for reservations made by Oct 31, 2026. Mountain View adds $2,000 on top (the council doubled the program in June 2026). From 2027, Bay Area rules require replacements to be zero-emission anyway. SVCE estimates $300–400 a year in energy savings.
How: Reserve the rebate before installing: svcleanenergy.org/home-rebates.
Compare home insurance quotesUp to $1,207 a year
For the same house and coverage, the state's 2026 survey shows nearby Sunnyvale (the survey skips Mountain View) premiums from $1,282 to $5,226 a year (median $2,489). Also insure the cost to rebuild, not the sale price: land isn't insured.
How: Use the California Department of Insurance premium survey, then call an independent agent. See the Insurance page.
Deduct more property tax on your federal returnBigger federal deduction
The SALT cap rose from $10,000 to $40,000 for 2025 ($40,400 for 2026), so many owners here can itemize again. A deduction saves your tax rate times the extra amount, not the whole amount. It phases down above about $505,000 of income.
How: Tell your tax preparer, or itemize on Schedule A. See the Property tax page.
Use your 2 free On Call Plus pickupsUse by mid-December
Each takes 3 bulky items plus a 4×4×8 ft pile. Or swap one for a free SMaRT Station dump voucher (vouchers expire Dec 31). Unused pickups don't roll over.
How: Call Recology Mountain View at 650-967-3034.
Money dates
- Oct 31in 8 daysLast day for the SV Clean Energy $500 bonus on heat-pump water heater rebates.
- Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment due. After that: 10% penalty plus $20.
- Jan 1, 2027in 70 daysBay Area rule: new and replacement water heaters must be zero-emission.
- Feb 15in 115 daysLast day to file the homeowners' exemption for the full year.
Who serves this house
- Water
- Depends on your address
- 2 water systems serve Mountain View
- Property tax
- 1.16% of assessed value
- Tax rate area 005-010 (the most common here)
- Garbage
- Recology Mountain View
- City bills you, with water and sewer
- Electricity & gas
- PG&E + SV Clean Energy
- PG&E delivers and bills. SVCE buys the power.
- Schools
- Mountain View Whisman · MVLA HSD
- One parcel tax: Whisman, by square foot
- City utility tax
- 3%
- On electricity, gas and phone (2.5% mobile)
Your water
- Comes from
- About 87–90% Hetch Hetchy (SFPUC, Yosemite snowmelt), about 10% Valley Water, a little from city wells.
- Hardness
- Soft. About 3.3 grains/gal from Hetch Hetchy. Valley Water and well water are harder.
- Disinfectant
- Chloramine. Treat it before using in fish tanks or dialysis.
- PFAS and lead
- No PFAS detected. Lead not detected (40 homes tested, none over). No lead service lines.
Go deeper
How these numbers are made
- Individual bills are confidential in California, so we calculate yours from public rates and what you tell us.
- Garbage per month: 24 gal $40.00 · 32 gal $53.30 · 64 gal $106.60 · 96 gal $159.90, recycling and compost included.
- Water per month: $22.55 meter charge, $8.53 per unit for 0–3, $9.85 for 3–13, $15.36 above 13. Sewer: $61.50 a month. The city bills every 2 months.
- Property tax rate 1.1560% (tax rate areas 005-000 and 005-010, FY 2025–26), plus a 0.0039% Valley Water charge not shown. Fixed charges: Mountain View Whisman about $261 (depends on square footage), Valley Water $82.41, mosquito control $30.86, Bay restoration $12. MVLA has no parcel tax.
- Electricity: PG&E tiered plan E-1 (June 2026), 32.6¢/kWh up to about 297 kWh a month and 40.7¢ above, plus the $24.13 monthly base charge ($6.00 with CARE). SV Clean Energy's default plan costs about the same as PG&E's. Gas: $2.42 per therm up to the seasonal baseline and $2.93 above (Oct 2026), minus the $46.26 yearly climate credit. City utility tax: 3% (2.5% on mobile phones), with no senior exemption.
- Not yet included: phone, solar and other plan comparisons.
- Home insurance starts at the median of 34 insurers in the California Department of Insurance 2026 premium survey for nearby Sunnyvale (the survey skips Mountain View) (policies from May 1, 2026; excludes wildfire surcharges).
- Your tax rate area comes from the county parcel file, and its rate and school districts from the county's 2025–26 tax rate book. School parcel taxes are counted only where your rate area is in that district.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
Common questions about Mountain View house costs
What is the property tax rate in Mountain View?
About 1.16% of assessed value a year (2025-26, the most common tax rate area), plus flat charges on the same bill (Whisman schools $261, Valley Water $82, Mosquito $31, Bay $12).
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Mountain View?
About $6,085 a year on $500,000 of assessed value with the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, including $386 of flat charges.
How much is the water bill in Mountain View?
About $169 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of Mountain View.
How much does trash pickup cost in Mountain View?
$40 to $160 a month, depending on the trash cart size (24 gallon, 32 gallon, 64 gallon, 96 gallon).
When is property tax due in Mountain View?
Dec 10: First property tax installment due. After that: 10% penalty plus $20. Apr 10: Second property tax installment due. Same 10% + $20 penalty.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Mountain View?
Yes. Senior exemption from the Whisman school parcel tax ($261 a year): Measure AA charges $0.15 per square foot of building (about $261 for the average 1,734 sq ft home, up to $1,750). Owners 65+ in a single-family home they live in, or on SSI/SSDI, can be exempted. Apply once.
Where can I get help paying utility bills in Mountain View?
Your household qualifies for PG&E CARE: CARE cuts electricity 35% plus a $12/mo SV Clean Energy credit, and gas 20%. Mountain View has no city water, sewer or garbage discount; the state LIHWAP program is the fallback for water bills. Income limit: $43,280 for 1–2 people, $66,000 for 4. Apply at pge.com/care. It takes about 5 minutes.
How much does a house in Mountain View cost to run each year?
A Mountain View house assessed at $1 million pays about $20,800 a year: $11,870 property tax and charges, $2,020 water and sewer, $1,280 trash, $3,150 electricity and gas, $2,490 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.