Oakland, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Oakland 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 Oakland house

$15,496a year · $1,291 a month

Starts at $450,000 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$5,661
1.278% of $450,000, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$2,009
Oakland Measure Q parks, litter & homelessness tax $201 · Oakland Measure NN violence reduction & emergency response tax $202 · Oakland Measure AA children's initiative tax $279 · Oakland Measure C library services tax $137 · Oakland Measure D library tax $110 · Oakland Measure Y zoo tax $78 · Oakland Measure M emergency medical services tax $19 · Oakland Measure N paramedic services tax $15 · Oakland Landscaping & Lighting Assessment District (Zone 1) $103 · OUSD Measure G parcel tax $195 · OUSD Measure G1 parcel tax $120 · OUSD Measure H parcel tax $126 · Peralta Community College Measure E parcel tax $48 · AC Transit Measure VV parcel tax $96 · EBMUD wet weather facilities charge (lot up to 5,000 sq ft) $173 · County paramedic service charge (CSA EM-1983-1) $41 · SF Bay Restoration Authority Measure AA $12 · East Bay Regional Park District special tax (CFD A/C-3) $12 · County lead abatement charge (pre-1978 homes) $10 · Household hazardous waste fee $8 · Vector control (CSA VC-1984-1) $6 · Vector & disease control assessment $7 · East Bay regional trails assessment $5 · Mosquito abatement assessment (2008) $3 · Mosquito abatement special tax (Measure K) $2
Electricity and gas$3,767
499.9 kWh a month $2,515 · 31.72 therms $989 · city utility tax $263
Water and sewer$1,791
5 units (CCF) a month on East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD): water $71, sewer $79 a month
Trash$776
32-gal trash, $65 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A typical Oakland house pays about $15,500 a year: $7,670 property tax and charges, $1,790 water and sewer, $780 trash, $3,770 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

Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:

Switch to the 20-gal trash cartUp to $92 a year
Your cart costs $65 a month; the smallest costs $57. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call Waste Management at 510-613-8710 or email csnorthbay@wm.com; the first trash cart size exchange is free.
Seniors: exemption from OUSD Measures G1 and H parcel taxes$120 (G1) + $126 (H) a year
Single-family homes owned and occupied by senior citizens can be exempted from Oakland Unified's Measure G1 ($120 a year) and Measure H ($126 a year from July 1, 2026) parcel taxes. Seniors do not need to renew the exemption each year.
How: Apply to Oakland Unified School District, Parcel Tax Exemption, 1011 Union Street, Oakland, CA 94607; the 2026-27 deadline was July 13, 2026.
Very low income or disability: OUSD parcel tax exemptionsMeasures G, G1 or H
Owner-occupied single-family homes with very low family income can be exempted from OUSD's Measures G and G1; owners receiving SSI for a disability, or SSDI with income up to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines, can be exempted from Measure H. These owners must apply each year.
How: Apply to Oakland Unified School District, Parcel Tax Exemption, 1011 Union Street, Oakland, CA 94607.
Low-income households: EBMUD Customer Assistance Program50% off water service charge
Eligible single-family customers can get 50% off the standard bimonthly water service charge and 50% off home water use (up to 1,050 gallons per person a month), plus 35% off EBMUD wastewater charges. A household of 1-2 qualifies with income of $67,900 or less. Enrollment lasts up to two years. The City of Oakland's Customer Assistance Program, maintained by EBMUD, gives low-income homeowners a 35 percent discount on the City's Sewer Services Charge.
How: Apply online through EBMUD's CAP application, or pick one up at EBMUD's Customer Information Desk, 375 11th St., Oakland.
Low-income seniors on PG&E CARE: 12.5% off trash and compost12.5% off
Oakland's single-family rate schedule gives a Low Income Senior discount of 12.5% on trash and compost to customers enrolled in PG&E's CARE program.
How: Contact Waste Management of Alameda County at 510-613-8710.
Bulky junk pickup included with trash serviceIncluded
Every Oakland household can schedule a curbside pickup or a drop-off of up to four cubic yards of bulky waste, included with trash service. Single-family homes can get a second curbside pickup each year at no additional cost 45 days after using one bulky drop-off and one curbside pickup.
How: Call 1-888-WM-BULKY (1-888-962-8559) or request an appointment online.
EBMUD lawn conversion rebateUp to $2.00 per sq. ft.
EBMUD pays up to $2.00 per square foot to convert a lawn to a water-wise garden; landscape rebates for a home are capped at $2,000 in any 24-month period.
How: Apply through EBMUD's rebates page.
100% disabled veterans: property tax exemption$175,298 off assessed value (2025-26)
The Disabled Veterans' Exemption reduces property tax on the principal residence of veterans rated 100% disabled because of a service-connected injury or disease (or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability). For the 2025-2026 assessment year the basic exemption amount is $175,298; a larger low-income exemption also exists.
How: See the Alameda County Assessor's exemptions page.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartThe price is set by the size of your trash cart (curbside collection) and includes one compost cart, one recycling cart and bulky pickups.

Value before exemptionsEnter the assessed value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often well below what the house would sell for, and a recent buyer's is about the price paid. Hill homes pay more: the Measure MM wildfire tax ($103.95 a year for a single-family parcel in 2026-27) is on bills in the wildfire district, and the landscaping and lighting assessment is $111.54 in residential Zone 2 instead of $102.64. Not included: the county flood control Zone 12 benefit assessment, which is set by lot size and land use, and EBMUD's higher wet weather charge for lots over 5,000 sq ft ($270.94).

I live here and have the Homeowners' exemptionSomeone on the title is 65 or older

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 Oakland house uses about 5.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Ava Community Energy (Bright Choice generation) with PG&E delivery bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Dec 10in 48 daysLast day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes without penalty; also the deadline for late homeowners' and veterans' exemption claims.
Feb 15in 115 daysDeadline to file the homeowners', veterans' and disabled veterans' exemption claims.
Apr 10Last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes without penalty.
Jul 2 – Sep 15Window to file an assessment appeal with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.

Who serves this house

Water: East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD); EBMUD rates effective July 1, 2026: a $28.60 monthly service charge for a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter ($57.20 on a bimonthly bill) plus $8.40 per unit (CCF) for the first 7 units a month, $9.74 from 7 to 16 units and $11.49 above 16 units. Homes in Elevation Bands 2 and 3 pay an elevation surcharge of $1.33 or $2.84 per unit
Property tax: 1.28% of value; 2025-26 tax year, Alameda County tax rate area 17-001 (City of Oakland); flat charges are 2026-27
Garbage: Waste Management of Alameda County; Provides trash, compost and bulky pickup in Oakland and does the billing; California Waste Solutions collects recycling. The monthly rate is set by your trash cart size and includes weekly compost collection, recycling for one dwelling unit and bulky pickups.
Sewer: City of Oakland and EBMUD; The City of Oakland's Sewer Service Charge is billed on your EBMUD water bill; EBMUD treats the wastewater and bills its own wastewater charges.
Electricity: Ava Community Energy generation, PG&E delivery; Oakland homes are automatically enrolled in Ava's Bright Choice service. Ava generates the electricity; PG&E delivers it and handles billing.
Gas: PG&E; Oakland is in PG&E's gas service territory.
Schools: Oakland Unified School District; Oakland Unified and Peralta Community College bonds are part of the property tax rate, and OUSD also levies the Measure G, G1 and H parcel taxes.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: EBMUD's main supply is snow and rain in the Mokelumne River watershed in the Sierra Nevada, carried 90 miles by aqueduct to East Bay treatment plants and reservoirs.
Lead: EBMUD says its treatment plants supply no lead; in its tap sampling, 0 of 53 sites were above the lead action level.
PFAS: EBMUD has finished its initial PFAS monitoring under the new rules, and all results so far have met the standards.

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Garbage: Oakland's single-family rates for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, curbside collection: $57.02 a month for a 20-gallon trash cart, $64.66 for 32, $113.53 for 64 and $170.26 for 96, with one compost cart, recycling ($20.11 of the rate) and bulky pickups included. Waste Management bills quarterly. Backyard collection costs more.
Water: EBMUD Schedule A from July 1, 2026, monthly-billing column: $28.60 service charge for a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter, $8.40 per unit for the first 7 units, $9.74 to 16 units and $11.49 above. We assume Elevation Band 1 (no surcharge); hill homes in Bands 2 and 3 pay $1.33 or $2.84 more per unit (EBMUD lists the North Oakland hill area among its pumped zones). The page starts at 5 units a month, EBMUD's median single-family use. Sewer: EBMUD wastewater (July 1, 2026) $10.94 service + $11.38 strength + $0.20 Bay pollution prevention fee, plus $1.97 per unit of water up to 9 units, and the City of Oakland's Sewer Service Charge, which EBMUD bills on the water bill: we use the $555.60 a year ($46.30 a month) Oakland community collection charge in EBMUD's May 2025 rate comparison, so $68.82 a month in fixed sewer charges. The City adjusts its charge each January by the Bay Area CPI, so the 2026 charge is likely a little higher. Oakland's 7.5% utility consumption tax is applied to electricity and gas only.
Property tax: Alameda County's 2025-26 rates for tax rate area 17-001, where about 58% of Oakland's single-family parcels are: 1% general levy plus County GO bond 0.0084%, Oakland Unified bonds 0.0900%, Peralta bonds 0.0432%, BART 0.0152%, East Bay Regional Park 0.0011% and City of Oakland 0.1200%, 1.2779% in all, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. The county's online rate search shows 2026-27 for 17-001 at 1.2849% (Oakland Unified 0.0990%, Peralta 0.0395%, BART 0.0163%, park district 0.0018%, County 0.0083%, City 0.1200%), about $32 more a year on a $450,000 home; we could not cite it because that service answers only search-form requests. The other big Oakland tax rate areas (17-045, 17-003, 17-032) have the same rates.
Flat charges on the tax bill ($2,009.10 a year in all, from the list of direct charges the county shows for single-family parcels in tax rate area 17-001): City parcel taxes for 2026-27 from Ordinance 13884 C.M.S. (Measure AA $279.38, NN $202.36, Q $201.10, C $136.63, D $109.96, Y $78.33, M $19.16, N $15.28), the Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District at $102.64 (residential Zone 1, the flatlands; $111.54 in Zone 2), OUSD Measures G $195, G1 $120 and H $126, EBMUD wet weather $173.48 (lots up to 5,000 sq ft), AC Transit $96, Peralta Measure E $48 (runs through 2027-28), county paramedic $41.40 and vector charges $5.92 and $6.57 (2025-26, the latest we could download), Measure AA $12, park district CFD $12, lead abatement $10 (homes built before 1978), household hazardous waste $7.80, regional trails $5.44 and mosquito $2.90 and $1.75. Not included: Measure MM wildfire tax ($103.95, hill parcels in the wildfire district), the flood control Zone 12 benefit assessment (by lot size; we found no published rate) and occasional liens.
The starting value is about $450,000, the Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector's approximate median assessed value of Oakland single-family homes (our count of the county's 2025-26 secured roll puts the median at about $474,000). Under Prop 13, owners who bought long ago have lower assessed values and recent buyers much higher ones: enter the assessed value from your bill.
Electricity: PG&E schedule E-1 (June 1, 2026) for a non-CARE (Income Tier 3) home on Ava Community Energy's Bright Choice service. We take PG&E's E-1 total ($0.32561 Tier 1, $0.40702 Tier 2) and take off 0.5% of its net generation cost ($0.12855 generation less the ($0.01011) bundled PCIA), Ava's Bright Choice discount, for $0.32502 and $0.40643 per kWh. The actual Ava charges depend on the year an account moved to Ava (Oakland began in 2018). PG&E's $0.79343 a day base services charge is $24.13 a month; the baseline is territory T, 6.5 kWh a day for 4 summer months and 7.5 for 8 winter months, about 218 kWh a month. Typical use is PG&E's 2024 residential average from EIA (about 500 kWh a month). Not included: PG&E's semi-annual California Climate Credit.
Gas: PG&E G-1 (Oct. 1, 2026) $2.42480 and $2.92792 per therm plus the $0.12103 public purpose surcharge, territory T baseline weighted 7 summer, 3 off-peak and 2 on-peak months, about 28.4 therms a month; typical use is California's 2024 residential average (EIA, about 32 therms a month). Insurance is the 2022 California average homeowners premium (NAIC via the Insurance Information Institute) until you enter your own.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Oakland compares

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

Per year	Oakland	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.28%	1.13%	higher than 101 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$847	$955	lower than 68 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$944	$584	higher than 65 of the other 76 California cities we cover
Trash	$776	$438	higher than 97 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,767	$3,556	higher than 88 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	$15,496	$15,240	higher than 58 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: Oakland's property tax rate is 1.28%, higher than 101 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 Oakland is 1.28%, higher than 101 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. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $944 a year, higher than 65 of the other 76 California cities we cover. Some cities bill sewer on the property tax bill instead, which is not counted here.

Ask: "Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here cost about $944 a year, higher than 65 of the other 76 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $776 a year for the standard cart, higher than 97 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 $776 a year for the standard cart, higher than 97 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 $3,767 a year, higher than 88 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 $3,767 a year for a typical house, higher than 88 of the other 109 California cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Oakland house costs

What is the property tax rate in Oakland?

About 1.28% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax year, Alameda County tax rate area 17-001 (City of Oakland); flat charges are 2026-27), plus flat charges on the same bill (Oakland Measure Q parks, litter & homelessness tax $201, Oakland Measure NN violence reduction & emergency response tax $202, Oakland Measure AA children's initiative tax $279, Oakland Measure C library services tax $137).

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

About $8,309 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $2,009 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Oakland?

About $149 a month for water and sewer at typical use (5 units, or 3,740 gallons a month) on East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD).

How much does trash pickup cost in Oakland?

$57 to $170 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20-gal trash, 32-gal trash, 64-gal trash, 96-gal trash).

When is property tax due in Oakland?

Dec 10: Last day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes without penalty; also the deadline for late homeowners' and veterans' exemption claims. Apr 10: Last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes without penalty.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Oakland?

Yes. Switch to the 20-gal trash cart (up to $92 a year): Your cart costs $65 a month; the smallest costs $57. Worth it if you rarely fill it.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Oakland?

Low-income households: EBMUD Customer Assistance Program: Eligible single-family customers can get 50% off the standard bimonthly water service charge and 50% off home water use (up to 1,050 gallons per person a month), plus 35% off EBMUD wastewater charges. A household of 1-2 qualifies with income of $67,900 or less. Enrollment lasts up to two years. The City of Oakland's Customer Assistance Program, maintained by EBMUD, gives low-income homeowners a 35 percent discount on the City's Sewer Services Charge. Apply online through EBMUD's CAP application, or pick one up at EBMUD's Customer Information Desk, 375 11th St., Oakland.

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

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