San Marino, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a San Marino home costs each year

Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.

Suggestions as you type come from Google; the lookup uses free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a San Marino house

$25,491a year · $2,124 a month

Starts at $1,578,148 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$16,781
1.068% of $1,578,148, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$1,938
Sewer $321 · San Marino Unified School District parcel taxes (Measure E $1,084 plus Measure R $415, as reported by the San Marino Tribune) $1,499 · LA County Measure W Safe Clean Water tax (median single-family parcel) $118
Electricity and gas$3,637
523 kWh a month $2,637 · 35 therms $827 · city utility tax $173
Water$927
7,000 gallons a month on California American Water (San Marino system): water $77 a month
Trash$717
Standard: one 96-gallon trash and recycling cart plus one 96-gallon organics cart (all sizes the same rate), $60 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A typical San Marino house costs about $25,500 a year: $18,720 property tax and charges, $930 water, $720 trash, $3,640 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

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

Two free bulky-item pickups a year
Single-family residents are eligible for two complimentary bulky item pickup appointments per year, up to ten items each.
How: Call Valley Vista Services at (626) 325-6508.

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, thousands of gallons a month

On your water bill. A typical house uses 5,000–8,000 gallons.

Electricity, kWh a month

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

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 30, 2026in 37 daysLast day to file a 2026 regular assessment appeal in LA County (filing runs July 2 to November 30).
Dec 10in 47 daysFirst property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after Dec 10; a 10% penalty applies to each installment.
Feb 15in 114 daysLast day for a first-time homeowners' exemption claim to get the full exemption for the year.
Apr 10Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is late after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $10.

Who serves this house

Water: California American Water (San Marino system); California American Water, Southern Division Schedule SOU-1: a $25.95 monthly service charge for a 5/8 x 3/4-inch meter and residential quantity rates per 100 gallons for the first 85, next 50, next 163 and over 298 hundred gallons a month, purchased water and power surcharges of $0.0680 and $0.0029 per 100 gallons from July 1, 2026, two 12-month surcharges of $0.0096 and $0.0027 per 100 gallons from July 1, 2026, and a 1.111% City of San Marino franchise fee surcharge.
Property tax: 1.07% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Los Angeles County
Garbage: Valley Vista Services; Valley Vista Services provides residential trash, recycling, and organic waste collection services to San Marino residents.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Mostly groundwater from San Marino wells (77%), plus water bought from the Metropolitan Water District (23%, MWD Weymouth).
Standards: California American Water says the San Marino system's water met state and federal drinking water requirements in 2025.
Hardness: Total hardness averaged 113 ppm (6.6 grains per gallon) in the San Marino wells and 234 ppm (14 grains) in the MWD Weymouth supply.
Chromium 6: Hexavalent chromium was not found above the limit; the company says it is working on treatment to comply with the limit by October 1, 2026.

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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.
Property tax: tax rate area 8541 holds 4,089 of San Marino's about 4,107 single-family parcels (LA County parcel data). The county's 2026-27 lookup shows 1.068066%: the 1% levy, San Marino Unified bonds (0.047637%), Pasadena Area Community College District bonds (0.011929%) and Metropolitan Water District (0.0085%). The $7,000 homeowners' exemption comes off the value you enter. The starting value is the median 2026 roll value of those parcels.
Flat charges on the tax bill: the school district's combined parcel tax of $1,499 per parcel (Measure E $1,084 plus Measure R $415 as reported by the San Marino Tribune; we did not find the county's billed 2026-27 amount) and Measure W (county median for San Marino single-family parcels). The city sewer charge ($321.36 per sewer unit, taken as one unit per house) is also on the tax bill and is shown as its own line. IMPORTANT: this total leaves out the city Public Safety Parcel Tax (in place since 1983, funds paramedic, fire and police), which we could not source an amount for, so the real tax bill is higher. Also not included because we could not source an amount: the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control assessment, county sanitation district or flood control charges, and any senior exemptions from the school parcel tax.
Trash: Valley Vista Services' $59.76 monthly standard service, effective July 1, 2026, billed quarterly. Water: California American Water's San Marino system, Southern Division SOU-1 rates with the surcharges and the 1.111% City of San Marino franchise fee surcharge folded in; hundred-gallon rates are converted to thousand gallons by multiplying by 10. No published typical use, so the page uses its default.
Electricity (SCE) and gas (SoCalGas) use the same sourced rates and typical use as nearby Alhambra; SoCalGas lists San Marino as served. The city's 5% utility users' tax is applied to energy bills; the council has asked voters to raise it to 6% on the November ballot; 5% applies unless and until voters pass that. This model does not include any San Marino insurance adjustment: the insurance figure is a 2022 California average, not specific to San Marino.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How San Marino compares

A typical San Marino house against the 207 California cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	San Marino	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.07%	1.13%	lower than 186 of the other 206 California cities we cover
Water	$927	$944	lower than 112 of the other 206 California cities we cover
Trash	$717	$443	higher than 171 of the other 187 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,637	$3,463	higher than 149 of the other 206 California cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,492	$1,492	in the middle of 201 other California cities we cover
Total	$25,491	$14,973	higher than 189 of the other 206 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: San Marino's property tax rate is 1.07%, lower than 186 of the other 206 California cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in San Marino is 1.07%, lower than 186 of the other 206 California cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $717 a year for the standard cart, higher than 171 of the other 187 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 $717 a year for the standard cart, higher than 171 of the other 187 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about San Marino house costs

What is the property tax rate in San Marino?

About 1.07% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Los Angeles County), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $321, San Marino Unified School District parcel taxes (Measure E $1,084 plus Measure R $415, as reported by the San Marino Tribune) $1,499, LA County Measure W Safe Clean Water tax (median single-family parcel) $118).

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

About $7,204 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $1,938 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in San Marino?

About $77 a month for water at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on California American Water (San Marino system).

How much does trash pickup cost in San Marino?

$60 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in San Marino?

Dec 10: First property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after Dec 10; a 10% penalty applies to each installment. Apr 10: Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is late after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $10.

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

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