Palm Desert, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Palm Desert 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 Palm Desert house

$12,965a year · $1,080 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $542,000; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Palm Desert house at the typical market value ($542,000) pays about $13,000 a year: $6,950 property tax and charges, $480 water, $310 trash, $3,740 electricity, $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:

Switch to the 32-gallon refuse cart (with recycling and organics carts) cartUp to $78 a year
Your cart costs $26 a month; the smallest costs $19. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your garbage hauler.
Income-qualified: SCE CARE rate32.5% off the electric bill
Through SCE's CARE program, qualifying households receive 32.5% off their electric bills and a Base Services Charge of about $6 a month.
How: Apply with SCE's CARE/FERA online application; no additional documentation is required.
Bigger household? Indoor water budgets can be increased
CVWD's default indoor water budget for homeowners is 8 ccf, based on four people; indoor budgets can be increased for homes with more than four people.
Free bulky item pickup
Palm Desert's residential rate schedule lists single-family bulky item pick-ups of four items at no charge.
How: Call Burrtec at (760) 340-2113 or complete the online request.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartPalm Desert's maximum residential rate for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 is $25.94 a month for the 96-gallon cart, $22.71 for the 64-gallon cart and $19.47 for the 32-gallon cart.

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 Palm Desert house uses about 20.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Southern California Edison bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Money dates

Nov 30, 2026in 38 daysLast day to file a 2026 regular assessment appeal in Riverside County (filing period July 2 to November 30, 2026).
Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment is due Nov 1 and becomes delinquent Dec 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 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 is due Feb 1 and becomes delinquent Apr 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 10% penalty.

Who serves this house

Water: Coachella Valley Water District; CVWD bills a monthly fixed charge by meter size plus water budget-based tiers per ccf: Tier 1 up to 8 ccf, Tier 2 up to 100% of your water budget, Tier 3 from 101% up to 175%, Tier 4 from 176% up to 300%, and Tier 5 at 300% or more of the budget.
Property tax: 1.22% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Riverside County (tax rate area 018-000, Palm Desert: Desert Sands Unified, Desert Community College and CVWD State Water Project)
Garbage: Burrtec Waste & Recycling Services; The City of Palm Desert contracts with Burrtec Waste and Recycling Services to provide waste and recycling services; the City's residential rate schedule lists individually billed customers as tax roll billed.
Sewer: Coachella Valley Water District; CVWD charges residential sewer service per Equivalent Sewer Unit, and most residential customers are billed for sewer on their property tax bills.
Electricity: Southern California Edison; Palm Desert appears on the SCE Service Territory Cities list.
Schools: Desert Sands Unified + Desert Community College; Palm Desert's tax rate area 018-000 includes Desert Sands Unified School District and Desert Community College.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: CVWD delivers water to customers from wells drilled into the Coachella Valley's groundwater basin; its Cove Communities system includes portions of Cathedral City.
Chromium-6: Chromium-6 was detected in the Cove Communities system at levels that exceed California's Cr-6 MCL (10 µg/L); the system is not considered in violation until after October 1, 2026, and CVWD submitted a compliance plan to the State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Drinking Water (DDW) on October 13, 2025.
Lead: CVWD has determined it has no lead or galvanized pipes requiring replacement service lines in its distribution system, including privately-owned or customer-owned service lines.

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: Palm Desert is in Coachella Valley Water District's Cove Communities system, so the page uses CVWD's domestic rates effective July 1, 2025 ($14.71 monthly fixed charge for the 3/4-inch meter, Tier 1 $1.09 up to 8 ccf, Tier 2 $1.36 up to 100% of the water budget) and models CVWD's own typical residential customer at 20 ccf a month as 100% of budget. Sewer is CVWD's $1.91 a month plus $31.96 per ESU, $406.44 a year for a 1-ESU home, billed on the property tax bill.
Trash: the City's Exhibit 3A maximum residential rates for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 for tax roll billed customers. The exhibit says these rates are subject to a special rate adjustment phase-in, so the amount actually placed on your tax bill may be lower; check your bill.
Property tax: Riverside County's 2026-27 rates for tax rate area 018-000, the area named Palm Desert: the 1% levy, Desert Sands Unified (0.075%), Desert Community College (0.035%) and CVWD's State Water Project rate (0.11%), about 1.22% in total, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, applied to the value you enter. The starting value is the Census median market value; under Prop 13 a home's assessed value can be far lower. The $14.39 mosquito and vector control assessment is on every parcel in Zone A. Not included: Mello-Roos or other special taxes on some tracts, HOA dues, and any Desert Recreation District parcel tax that voters approve.
Electricity: SCE's Domestic rate with SCE generation (about 36.1 cents per kWh) plus the $24.15 Base Services Charge, at SCE's comparison usage of 795 kWh a month. The City's page also lists Imperial Irrigation District, so some addresses may be served by IID at different rates. Natural gas is not included in the total, so the total is understated for homes that use gas; we could not quote a current source that names the gas utility for Palm Desert homes. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Palm Desert compares

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

Per year	Palm Desert	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.22%	1.13%	higher than 90 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$477	$955	lower than 105 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Trash	$311	$438	lower than 96 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,737	$3,556	higher than 84 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	$12,965	$15,240	lower than 83 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: Palm Desert's property tax rate is 1.22%, higher than 90 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 Palm Desert is 1.22%, higher than 90 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. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $477 a year at typical use, lower than 105 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $477 a year at typical use, lower than 105 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $311 a year for the standard cart, lower than 96 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 $311 a year for the standard cart, lower than 96 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 $3,737 a year, higher than 84 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 $3,737 a year for a typical house, higher than 84 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 Palm Desert house costs

What is the property tax rate in Palm Desert?

About 1.22% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Riverside County (tax rate area 018-000, Palm Desert: Desert Sands Unified, Desert Community College and CVWD State Water Project)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $406, Coachella Valley mosquito, fire ant and disease control assessment $14).

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

About $6,435 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $421 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Palm Desert?

About $40 a month for water at typical use (20 units, or 14,960 gallons a month) on Coachella Valley Water District.

How much does trash pickup cost in Palm Desert?

$19 to $26 a month, depending on the trash cart size (96-gallon refuse cart (with recycling and organics carts), 64-gallon refuse cart (with recycling and organics carts), 32-gallon refuse cart (with recycling and organics carts)).

When is property tax due in Palm Desert?

Dec 10: First property tax installment is due Nov 1 and becomes delinquent Dec 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment is due Feb 1 and becomes delinquent Apr 10; taxes not paid by the delinquent date get a 10% penalty.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Palm Desert?

Income-qualified: SCE CARE rate: Through SCE's CARE program, qualifying households receive 32.5% off their electric bills and a Base Services Charge of about $6 a month. Apply with SCE's CARE/FERA online application; no additional documentation is required.

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

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