Saratoga, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Saratoga 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 Saratoga house

$31,150a year · $2,596 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $2,000,001; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$22,854
1.147% of $2,000,001, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$1,013
Sewer $692 · Saratoga Union School District Measure A parcel tax $68 · Los Gatos-Saratoga High School Measure A parcel tax (2024-25 rate, rises with inflation) $128 · Valley Water Safe, Clean Water special tax (2026-27) $82 · Mosquito & vector control assessments $31 · SF Bay Restoration Authority Measure AA $12
Electricity and gas$3,414
500 kWh a month $2,435 · 31.72 therms $979
Water$1,653
9 units (CCF) a month on San Jose Water Company: water $138 a month
Trash$724
35-gallon landfill cart, weekly (curbside), $60 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Saratoga house at the typical market value ($2,000,001) pays about $31,100 a year: $23,870 property tax and charges, $1,650 water, $720 trash, $3,410 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 20-gallon landfill cart, weekly (curbside) cartUp to $141 a year
Your cart costs $60 a month; the smallest costs $49. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Contact West Valley Recycles to request a different cart size.
Homeowners' exemption
If you own and occupy your home as your principal place of residence, you may be eligible for an exemption of up to $7,000 off the dwelling's assessed value.
How: File the claim with the Santa Clara County Assessor.
Combine neighboring lots for the school parcel tax
Contiguous parcels used solely for owner-occupied single-family purposes under identical ownership can be treated as one parcel for the Saratoga Union School District parcel tax ($68 per year).
How: Apply to the district by June 30 for the term beginning July 1.
Free bulky cleanups3 a year
On-call bulky cleanups are included in your West Valley Recycles service three times per year.
How: Contact West Valley Recycles to schedule a pickup day.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartCurbside rates; the monthly price includes one recycling cart and up to two organics carts. Prices for on-property service are higher.

Value before exemptionsEnter the assessed value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often far below what the house would sell for.

I live here and have the Homeowners' exemption

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 house uses 7–12.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Who serves this house

Water: San Jose Water Company; San Jose Water Schedule No. 1 General Metered Service, effective 07/01/2026; the service charge is per meter per month.
Property tax: 1.15% of value; 2025-26 tax year, Santa Clara County (tax rate area 015-042); flat charges 2026-27 where stated
Garbage: West Valley Recycles; West Valley Recycles is the garbage and recycling hauler service for the City of Saratoga.
Sewer: West Valley Sanitation District / Cupertino Sanitary District; The sanitary sewer lines are owned and maintained by Cupertino Sanitary District and West Valley Sanitation District.
Gas: PG&E; PG&E gas service.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Surcharge: A surcharge of $0.2996 per Ccf is added for a 12-month period to amortize the under-collection in the Water Revenue Adjustment Mechanism.
Low-income program: A surcharge of $2.61 per month is added to the bill to fund the Customer Assistance Program for residential low-income households.

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Water: San Jose Water Schedule 1, effective 07/01/2026, 5/8 x 3/4-inch meter: $79.67 service charge + $2.61 low-income program surcharge + $0.02 loan surcharge = $82.30 a month; each tier rate includes the $0.2996 per Ccf under-collection surcharge. The Schedule UF reimbursement fee is not included.
Sewer: West Valley Sanitation District serves about two-thirds of Saratoga: $57.65 a month, $691.80 a year, on the tax bill (shown as the sewer line, not repeated in other charges). Homes in Cupertino Sanitary District pay a different charge (about $802 a year in 2025-26 per that district's notice). A $100 a year hillside zone charge applies to some WVSD properties.
Tax: 2025-26 rates for tax rate area 015-042, the Saratoga area with the most net secured value in the county rate book ($5.2 billion), 1.1467% including the state water project; areas differ by school district and fire district bond. Parcel taxes: school (Saratoga Union $68; Los Gatos-Saratoga High $128 set in 2024, rising with inflation, so the current amount is higher), Valley Water, vector control and SF Bay Measure AA; other direct charges (Saratoga Union is one of several elementary districts in the city) may exist. Larger lots pay more Valley Water special tax than the $82.41 for parcels up to 0.25 acre.
Value: the Census median is top-coded at $2,000,001 (the true median is higher); under Prop 13 assessed values are usually lower, so enter yours.
Electricity: PG&E E-1 tier rates swapped from PG&E generation to SVCE GreenStart generation (0.32561 - 0.12855 + 0.01011 + 0.08006 + 0.03720). Gas: PG&E G-1 plus surcharge.
Garbage: West Valley Recycles curbside rates effective July 1, 2026 for a 35-gallon landfill cart (default); the price includes one recycling cart and up to two organics carts. Insurance is a 2022 statewide figure and may be low for a hillside home.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Saratoga house costs

What is the property tax rate in Saratoga?

About 1.15% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax year, Santa Clara County (tax rate area 015-042); flat charges 2026-27 where stated), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $692, Saratoga Union School District Measure A parcel tax $68, Los Gatos-Saratoga High School Measure A parcel tax (2024-25 rate, rises with inflation) $128, Valley Water Safe, Clean Water special tax (2026-27) $82).

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

About $6,666 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $1,013 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Saratoga?

About $138 a month for water at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on San Jose Water Company.

How much does trash pickup cost in Saratoga?

$49 to $160 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20-gallon landfill cart, weekly (curbside), 35-gallon landfill cart, weekly (curbside), 65-gallon landfill cart, weekly (curbside), 95-gallon landfill cart, weekly (curbside)).

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

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