Palm Springs, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Palm Springs 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 Springs house

$14,165a year · $1,180 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $604,000; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Palm Springs house at the typical market value ($604,000) pays about $14,200 a year: $6,830 property tax and charges, $820 water, $370 trash, $4,650 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 Desert Saver to cut your electric rate$0.36015 vs $0.43423 per kWh
Palm Springs residents are automatically enrolled in DCE's Carbon Free plan, and may opt down to its Desert Saver plan, which is a lower cost but significantly less green energy.
How: Opt down on Desert Community Energy's website.
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.
Free bulky item pickup
PSDS lists bulky item collection as free, 12 a year including 1 appliance, limit 2 items per pickup.
How: The rate sheet lists bulky item collection as free.
Income-qualified: SoCalGas CARE20% off the gas bill
You may qualify for 20% off your monthly natural gas bill through SoCalGas's CARE program if you or someone in your household receives benefits such as Medi-Cal or CalFresh, or by household income.
How: Apply with SoCalGas's online CARE application.

Adjust to match your bills

What you know

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 house uses 7–12.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Desert Community Energy (generation) and Southern California Edison (delivery) 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.
Jan 1, 2027in 70 daysDesert Water Agency's new potable water rates take effect, appearing on February 2027 bills.
Feb 15in 115 daysLast day for a first-time homeowners' exemption claim to get the full exemption for the year.

Who serves this house

Water: Desert Water Agency; DWA bills a monthly fixed water service charge by meter size ($43.27 for a 5/8 x 3/4 inch meter) plus $2.75 per 100 cubic feet (748 gallons) used; higher-elevation zones add a zone pumping charge per hcf: $0.32 in zones B, D, G and I, $0.36 in E, H and K, $0.74 in L (none in A, C, F and J).
Property tax: 1.14% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Riverside County (Palm Springs tax rate areas such as 011-003: Palm Springs Unified, Desert Community College and Desert Water Agency)
Garbage: Palm Springs Disposal Services; Palm Springs Disposal Services (PSDS) collects trash, recycling and organics once a week curbside.
Electricity: Desert Community Energy + Southern California Edison; Palm Springs residents are automatically enrolled in Desert Community Energy's Carbon Free plan; SCE delivers the power.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Most of DWA's drinking water comes from groundwater in the Indio Subbasin of the Coachella Valley Groundwater Basin; DWA also uses mountain streams.
Hardness: DWA's 2025 water quality report lists hardness of 240 mg/L (range 94 to 340) for its groundwater sources, sampled 2022-2025.
Chromium-6: DWA's 2025 water quality report lists hexavalent chromium at 1.5 µg/L (range ND to 4.4) in its groundwater sources in 2025, against an MCL of 10.

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How these numbers are made

Individual bills are confidential in California, so we calculate yours from public rates and what you tell us.
Water: Desert Water Agency serves most of Palm Springs: $43.27 a month for the 5/8 x 3/4 inch meter plus $2.75 per 100 cubic feet (rates in effect as of July 1, 2026; new potable rates start January 1, 2027), before any zone pumping charge. The 9 ccf a month default is our assumption, not a figure DWA publishes. Coachella Valley Water District serves some Palm Springs neighborhoods instead and is not modeled here.
Property tax: Riverside County 2026-27 rates (Resolution 2026-153) for the DWA-area tax rate areas of Palm Springs: the 1% levy, Palm Springs Unified (0.05644%), Desert Community College (0.035%) and Desert Water Agency (0.05%), less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, applied to the value you enter. Tax rate area 011-000 instead carries CVWD's State Water Project rate (0.11%). The starting value is the Census median market value; a Prop 13 assessed value can be far lower. Palm Springs has no city property tax on its rate-area lists.
Sewer: Palm Springs' own sewer charge is not included because we could not find a rate source we can cite; check your bill. Trash: PSDS bills basic curbside service at $31.15 a month from July 1, 2026, billed to the owner outside the tax bill. Fixed charge: the Coachella Valley mosquito assessment ($14.39 per benefit unit in Zone A for 2026-27, the rate in the district's July 2026 packet); other parcel assessments vary.
Electricity: Palm Springs homes default to DCE's Carbon Free plan, so we use its all-in $0.43423 per kWh (SCE's June 2026 and DCE's July 2026 rates, baseline region 15 profile, a year-round average) at 795 kWh plus SCE's $24.15 Base Services Charge. The 5% utility users tax on electricity and gas applies. Gas is not included, so the electricity total understates the typical bill of a home that also uses gas: we have no cited source that SoCalGas rates apply for Palm Springs specifically. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Sewer is billed separately by the city and is not in the total; no residential sewer rate was found.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Palm Springs house costs

What is the property tax rate in Palm Springs?

About 1.14% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Riverside County (Palm Springs tax rate areas such as 011-003: Palm Springs Unified, Desert Community College and Desert Water Agency)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Coachella Valley mosquito, fire ant and disease control assessment $14).

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

About $5,642 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $14 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Palm Springs?

About $68 a month for water at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Desert Water Agency.

How much does trash pickup cost in Palm Springs?

$31 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Palm Springs?

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 Springs?

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 Springs cost to run each year?

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