Orinda, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Orinda 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 Orinda house

$24,649a year · $2,054 a month

Starts at $1,392,695 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$15,818
1.142% of $1,392,695, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$2,143
Sewer $784 · Orinda Union School District parcel tax (Measure A) $385 · Orinda Union School District parcel tax (Measure B) $124 · Orinda Union School District parcel tax (Measure Z) $295 · Acalanes high school parcel tax (Measures G & A) $301 · Orinda zone fire tax (ORINDA ZN FIRE TAX) $93 · Orinda library parcel tax (ORINDA LIBRARY TAX) $69 · County stormwater charge (FED STORMWATER A10) $60 · SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12 · East Bay regional trails assessment $5 · Mosquito & vector control $5 · Emergency medical services charge (EMERGENCY MED B) $10
Electricity and gas$3,421
500 kWh a month $2,442 · 31.72 therms $979
Water$927
5 units (CCF) a month on East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD): water $77 a month
Trash$848
32-gal landfill, $71 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A typical Orinda house pays about $24,700 a year: $17,960 property tax and charges, $930 water, $850 trash, $3,420 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

One change saves this house about $295 a year:

Seniors 65+: Orinda school parcel tax exemption (Measure Z)
$295 a year
The Orinda Union School District's Measure Z parcel tax ($295 per parcel) provides an optional exemption for homeowners age 65 and over, as well as low-income homeowners with disabilities who qualify for SSI or SSDI benefits.
How: The district's parcel tax page lists a May 31, 2027 filing deadline for 2027-28 exemptions and has the application form.

Worth checking

Switch to the 20-gal landfill cartUp to $106 a year
Your cart costs $71 a month; the smallest costs $62. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Republic Services handles all service requests (925-685-4711). If you do not regularly fill your landfill cart you can downsize, for example from the standard 32-gallon cart to a 20-gallon cart.
Low-income seniors: Orinda school Measures A and B exemptionExempts the $385 and $124 parcel taxes
The Orinda Union School District's Measures A and B provide exemptions for low-income seniors, age 65 or older as of July 1, 2027 for the 2027-28 exemption.
How: The district's page says the parcel must be your primary residence, household income may not exceed the limit on the application, and the application must be filed by May 31, 2027.
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). A household of 1-2 qualifies with income of $67,900 or less. Enrollment lasts up to two years.
How: Apply online through EBMUD's CAP application.
Income-qualified households: PG&E CARE or FERA30–35% off electricity
Electric utilities with 100,000+ customer accounts in California offer CARE discounts of 30–35%; FERA applies an 18% discount for families whose income slightly exceeds CARE limits.
How: Apply with PG&E; application forms are also available through community agencies.
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.
Free extra pickups and Reuse & Clean-up Days5 on-call pickups + 2 clean-up days a year
The residential rate includes 4 on-call collections of yard trimmings and/or recyclables and 1 on-call landfill collection per rate year at no additional cost, plus two pre-scheduled Reuse and Clean-up Days a year.
How: For questions about your recycling, organics, and landfill services, contact Republic Services at (925) 685-4711.
Seniors, blind or disabled: postpone property taxesDefer this year's taxes
The State Controller's Property Tax Postponement program lets eligible homeowners postpone payment of current-year property taxes on their primary residence.
How: Go to www.ptp.sco.ca.gov, call (800) 952-5661 or email postponement@sco.ca.gov.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartThe price is set by the size of your landfill (garbage) cart; weekly recycling and organics collection are included. 32 gallons is the standard cart.

Value before exemptionsEnter the assessed (net) value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often well below what the house would sell for. The Orinda zone fire tax (ORINDA ZN FIRE TAX) varies by home, from $68.08 to $120.70 on the three bills we sampled. A home with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) may pay Central San's ADU charge on top of the $784.00 single-family sewer charge (one sampled bill showed $1,132.00). About 900 of Orinda's single-family parcels are in other tax rate areas (such as 18012 and 18007) that can carry other charges.

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 Orinda house uses about 5.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your PG&E bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 1in 9 daysFirst property tax installment due; pay by Dec 10, 2026 to avoid a 10% late-payment penalty.
Nov 30, 2026in 38 daysLast day of Contra Costa County's 2026 assessment appeal filing period (opened July 2).
Feb 1in 101 daysSecond-installment coupon date (Feb 1, 2027); after April 12, 2027 a 10% late-payment penalty and a $20 cost are added.
Feb 15in 115 daysLast day for a first-time homeowners' exemption claim to get the full exemption for that year.

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. Bills for services in Elevation Band 2 add an elevation surcharge of $1.33 per unit, and Elevation Band 3 adds $2.84; the surcharge pays for pumping water to locations 200 or more feet above sea level
Property tax: 1.14% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Contra Costa County (Orinda tax rate area 18001)
Garbage: Republic Services (RecycleSmart); Republic Services provides Orinda's recycling, organics and landfill service under an exclusive franchise with RecycleSmart, and Orinda residents are billed quarterly (March, June, September and December).
Sewer: Central San; For most property owners, Central San's annual sewer service charge is billed on the Contra Costa County property tax bill and labeled CCCSD SEWER CHG.
Electricity: PG&E; The City of Orinda lists Pacific Gas & Electric as its gas and electric provider.
Gas: PG&E; Orinda is in PG&E's gas service territory.
Schools: Orinda Union School District; Orinda voters approved Measure A ($385 per parcel) in 2003, Measure B ($124) in 2009 and Measure Z ($295) in 2023 for the Orinda Union School District.

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: RecycleSmart's Orinda single-family rates effective March 1, 2026 (rate year 12), per month: $61.86 for a 20-gallon landfill cart, $70.68 for the standard 32-gallon cart, $132.60 for 64 gallons and $199.05 for 96 gallons, each including weekly recycling and organics collection. Republic Services bills them quarterly. Hard-to-serve rates are higher and not shown.
Water: EBMUD Schedule A from July 1, 2026, monthly-billing column: $28.60 service charge for a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter and $8.40, $9.74 and $11.49 per unit (to 7, to 16 and above 16 units a month), plus the $1.33 Elevation Band 2 surcharge on every unit ($9.73, $11.07, $12.82). EBMUD sets the band by pressure zone; we assume Band 2 because the surcharge covers pumping to places 200 feet or more above sea level, which includes much of Orinda; homes in Band 3 pay $1.51 more per unit than shown. The page starts at 5 units a month, EBMUD's median single-family use.
Sewer: Central San's $784.00 single-family charge (Ordinance 339, from July 1, 2026), on the tax bill as CCCSD SEWER CHG and counted with the tax bill's flat charges. It was on two of the three Orinda single-family bills we sampled; the third showed $1,132.00. There is no sewer charge on the EBMUD bill.
Property tax: Contra Costa County 2026-27 rates for tax rate area 18001, which holds 5,685 of Orinda's 6,603 single-family parcels (use codes 11 and 19). All three bills we sampled in 18001 had the same 1.1415% rate: 1% countywide tax, BART 0.0044% and its 2016 bond 0.0119%, East Bay Regional Park District 0.0018%, Orinda roads bonds 0.0160% and 0.0111%, Acalanes bond 0.0273%, Orinda elementary bonds 0.0269% twice and community college bonds 0.0006%, 0.0072% and 0.0074%, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. Flat charges on the sampled bills ($2,142.68 to $2,465.76 a year with sewer): Orinda school parcel taxes of $385, $124 and $295, Acalanes Measure G & A $301, Orinda zone fire tax $93.00 (the median of $68.08, $93.00 and $120.70), library tax $69, county stormwater $59.50, Measure AA $12, regional trails $5.44, mosquito and vector control $4.74 and emergency medical services $10. Seniors can be exempt from some school parcel taxes (see tips). About 900 other single-family parcels are in other tax rate areas and are not modelled.
The starting value is the median 2026 assessed value of single-family parcels with an Orinda address in tax rate area 18001, $1,392,695; under Prop 13 recent buyers have higher assessed values.
Electricity: PG&E schedule E-1 for a non-CARE (Income Tier 3) home, bundled service: $0.32561 per kWh up to the baseline and $0.40702 above, plus PG&E's $0.79343 a day base services charge ($24.13 a month). Orinda is not on MCE's list of member communities, so PG&E generation is assumed. Baseline: territory X, 9.8 kWh a day for 4 summer months and 9.7 for 8 winter months, about 296 kWh a month. Gas: PG&E G-1 (Oct. 1, 2026) $2.42480 and $2.92792 per therm plus the $0.12103 public purpose surcharge, territory X baseline weighted 7 summer, 3 off-peak and 2 on-peak months (about 30.1 therms a month). We found no town tax on Orinda electricity or gas bills, so none is added. Typical use is PG&E's 2024 residential average (EIA, about 500 kWh a month) and California's 2024 residential gas 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

Common questions about Orinda house costs

What is the property tax rate in Orinda?

About 1.14% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Contra Costa County (Orinda tax rate area 18001)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $784, Orinda Union School District parcel tax (Measure A) $385, Orinda Union School District parcel tax (Measure B) $124, Orinda Union School District parcel tax (Measure Z) $295).

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

About $7,770 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $2,143 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Orinda?

About $77 a month for water 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 Orinda?

$62 to $199 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20-gal landfill, 32-gal landfill, 64-gal landfill, 96-gal landfill).

When is property tax due in Orinda?

Nov 1: First property tax installment due; pay by Dec 10, 2026 to avoid a 10% late-payment penalty. Feb 1: Second-installment coupon date (Feb 1, 2027); after April 12, 2027 a 10% late-payment penalty and a $20 cost are added.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Orinda?

Yes. Seniors 65+: Orinda school parcel tax exemption (Measure Z) ($295 a year): The Orinda Union School District's Measure Z parcel tax ($295 per parcel) provides an optional exemption for homeowners age 65 and over, as well as low-income homeowners with disabilities who qualify for SSI or SSDI benefits.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Orinda?

Seniors 65+: Orinda school parcel tax exemption (Measure Z): The Orinda Union School District's Measure Z parcel tax ($295 per parcel) provides an optional exemption for homeowners age 65 and over, as well as low-income homeowners with disabilities who qualify for SSI or SSDI benefits. The district's parcel tax page lists a May 31, 2027 filing deadline for 2027-28 exemptions and has the application form.

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

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