Santa Barbara, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara house

$24,871a year · $2,073 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $1,570,800; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$16,432
1.051% of $1,570,800, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Electricity and gas$3,254
424 kWh a month $2,243 · 35 therms $827 · city utility tax $184
Water and sewer$2,855
8 units (CCF) a month on City of Santa Barbara Water: water $145, sewer $79, city utility tax $13 a month
Trash$838
65-gallon trash cart (recycling and yard waste included), $70 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Santa Barbara house at the typical market value ($1,570,800) pays about $24,900 a year: $16,430 property tax and charges, $2,850 water and sewer, $840 trash, $3,250 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:

Switch to the 35-gallon trash cart (recycling and yard waste included) cartUp to $162 a year
Your cart costs $70 a month; the smallest costs $56. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call the City's waste hauler, MarBorg Industries, at 805-963-1852.
Lawn replacement rebate$2–$5 per square foot
The City's rebate is $2 per square foot of lawn replaced, or $5 per square foot if you replace your lawn with a rain garden.
How: See the City's lawn replacement rebate page.
Income-qualified: SCE CARE rate32.5% off the electric bill
Through SCE's CARE program, qualifying households receive 32.5% off their electric bills; you may qualify based on household size and the total income of everyone living in the home.
How: Apply online at sce.com or call SCE's automated line at 1-800-798-5723; no additional documentation is required to apply.
Income-qualified: SoCalGas CARE20% off the gas bill
You may qualify for 20% off your monthly natural gas bill through CARE if someone in your household receives public assistance such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh or SSI, or if household income is under the program's limit.
How: Apply online with SoCalGas at socalgas.com; no additional documentation is required.
Income-qualified: utility users tax exemptionRemoves the 6% utility users tax
If you are approved, you will receive assistance by having the utility user's taxes removed from your utility bills; approval for the City's programs is based solely on income.
How: Apply with the City of Santa Barbara Finance Department, 735 Anacapa St, 805-897-2655.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartA base service charge covers unlimited recycling and yard waste in carts; only the trash cart size adds to it.

Value before exemptionsUnder Prop 13 a home is generally reassessed to market value only when it changes ownership or is newly built, and its base year value rises no more than 2% a year otherwise, so the assessed value 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 Santa Barbara house uses about 8.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Santa Barbara Clean Energy with Southern California Edison delivery bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after Dec 10: 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 (due Feb 1) is delinquent after Apr 10: 10% penalty.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Santa Barbara Water; Monthly service charge for a 5/8-inch meter plus three single-family tiers per HCF, effective July 1, 2026.
Property tax: 1.05% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Santa Barbara County (tax rate area 002-001)
Garbage: MarBorg Industries (City franchise hauler); The City of Santa Barbara negotiates and manages the contract with its franchised waste hauler, MarBorg.
Electricity: Santa Barbara Clean Energy and SCE; SCE and Santa Barbara Clean Energy publish a joint comparison of their electric rates.

Pay or manage your bills

City of Santa Barbara utility billing ↗

Your water

Source: Most of the City's drinking water comes from Lake Cachuma, Gibraltar Reservoir, and the Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant.
Lead: The City's water system does not contain any lead water mains or City-owned service lines.
PFAS: The City sampled 13 sources for PFAS; the results showed that for all sources, PFAS was not detected.

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: the City's July 1, 2026 rates: $44.01 a month for a 5/8-inch meter plus $6.67, $18.61 and $42.42 per HCF for the first 4, next 12 and over 16 HCF a month; sewer $35.85 plus $5.43 per HCF up to 8 HCF. The page starts at 8 HCF a month, the average single-family use in the City's FY25-28 rate notice. The City's 6% utility users tax is applied to water and sewer as well, since the City's page says it covers water.
Trash: MarBorg's FY27 City franchise rates (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), base service charge $42.86 plus the trash cart price; the base includes recycling and yard waste. In-place (cart not at curb) charges are not included.
Property tax: Santa Barbara County's 2026-27 rates for tax rate area 002-001 (1.05079% in total). Most city tax rate areas, 22 of them, share the 1.05079% total, but some areas pay 1.01794% to 1.06752%. The $7,000 homeowners' exemption comes off 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. Other flat charges on your tax bill vary by parcel and are not included; your tax bill lists them.
Electricity: SCE's joint comparison with Santa Barbara Clean Energy, Green Start rate ($0.38379 per kWh at 424 kWh) plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge; the comparison's average bill equals the rate times usage. Gas: SoCalGas's August 2026 average non-CARE bill ($68.91 at 35 therms), taken as including the $0.16-a-day customer charge, so $4.87 a month plus $1.830 per therm. The City's 6% utility users tax is added to both. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Santa Barbara compares

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

Per year	Santa Barbara	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.05%	1.13%	lower than 103 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$1,742	$955	higher than 106 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$1,113	$584	higher than 71 of the other 76 California cities we cover
Trash	$838	$438	higher than 99 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,254	$3,556	lower 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	$24,871	$15,240	higher than 102 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: Santa Barbara's property tax rate is 1.05%, lower than 103 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 Santa Barbara is 1.05%, lower than 103 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 $1,742 a year at typical use, higher than 106 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $1,742 a year at typical use, higher than 106 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,113 a year, higher than 71 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 $1,113 a year, higher than 71 of the other 76 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

4. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $838 a year for the standard cart, higher than 99 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 $838 a year for the standard cart, higher than 99 of the other 101 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

5. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $3,254 a year, lower 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 $3,254 a year for a typical house, lower 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?"

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Common questions about Santa Barbara house costs

What is the property tax rate in Santa Barbara?

About 1.05% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Santa Barbara County (tax rate area 002-001)), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $5,180 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption.

How much is the water bill in Santa Barbara?

About $224 a month for water and sewer at typical use (8 units, or 5,984 gallons a month) on City of Santa Barbara Water.

How much does trash pickup cost in Santa Barbara?

$56 to $83 a month, depending on the trash cart size (35-gallon trash cart (recycling and yard waste included), 65-gallon trash cart (recycling and yard waste included), 95-gallon trash cart (recycling and yard waste included)).

When is property tax due in Santa Barbara?

Dec 10: First property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after Dec 10: 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is delinquent after Apr 10: 10% penalty.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Santa Barbara?

Income-qualified: SCE CARE rate: Through SCE's CARE program, qualifying households receive 32.5% off their electric bills; you may qualify based on household size and the total income of everyone living in the home. Apply online at sce.com or call SCE's automated line at 1-800-798-5723; no additional documentation is required to apply.

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

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