Shafter, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Shafter 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 Shafter house

$8,701a year · $725 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $335,800; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$3,662
1.114% of $335,800, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Electricity$2,347
500 kWh a month $2,347
Water and sewer$1,200
7,000 gallons a month on City of Shafter: water $60, sewer $40 a month
TrashNot included
Billed on a monthly bill that includes water and wastewater charges; current rate not found, so not counted
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Shafter house at the typical market value ($335,800) pays about $8,700 a year: $3,660 property tax and charges, $1,200 water and sewer, $2,350 electricity, $1,490 home insurance; trash is billed separately. 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:

Homeowners' exemption: $7,000 off assessed value$7,000 off value
A qualifying owner-occupied home gets a $7,000 reduction in taxable value.
How: To claim the exemption, the homeowner must make a one-time filing with the county assessor where the property is located.

Money dates

Nov 1in 9 daysFirst property tax installment due; delinquent Dec 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty.
Feb 1in 101 daysSecond installment due; delinquent April 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty plus a $10.00 advertising cost.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Shafter; Fixed meter charge by meter size plus a charge per 1,000 gallons of water delivered, from the City's proposed water rates effective 7/1/2026
Property tax: 1.11% of value; 2025–26 tax year, Kern County
Garbage: American Refuse (core city); Trash, recycling and organics carts. Billed on the monthly City bill that includes water and wastewater.
Sewer: City of Shafter; Fixed monthly wastewater fee for residential customers.
Electricity: PG&E; Tiered plan E-1; Kern County below 1,000 feet is baseline territory W.
Schools: General Shafter, Kern High, KCCD; The county rate book lists charges for these districts.

Pay or manage your bills

Shafter utility bill payments ↗

Your water

Source: The City operates groundwater wells and five aboveground water storage tanks.
Treatment: The city has installed 1,2,3-TCP treatment systems at all active wells.

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How these numbers are made

Water and sewer: City of Shafter notice of public hearing on water and wastewater rates (July 15, 2025), 7/1/2026 column: $53.08 a month for a 3/4-inch meter, $1.09 per 1,000 gallons, and $39.57 a month for sewer. We could not read the adopted resolution, so these are the notice's scheduled figures. Some connections also pay a North Kern service area surcharge that is not included.
Property tax: Kern County 2025–26 rates for tax rate area 118-026 (General Shafter SD, Kern High, Kern CCD; the largest area by value in that district): 1% countywide, 0.15016% Kern County Water Agency zone debt, 0.024025% General Shafter bonds, 0.43065% Kern High bonds and 0.31567% Kern CCD bonds, 1.113673% in all, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. We could not map every Shafter address to its rate area; other parts of the city are in other school districts.
Trash: we could not find the current residential rate for American Refuse's core-city service, so it is not counted. Direct charges on the tax bill were not found.
Gas: not included because we could not confirm which gas utility serves most homes; the total has no gas line.
Water use: the page's default typical water use is a modelling assumption; no Shafter-specific typical use was found.
Property tax: Kern landscape and lighting district assessments were not found for a typical home, so no flat charges are included.
Energy: PG&E E-1 at the Territory W baseline, weighted 4 summer and 8 winter months; typical use is PG&E's EIA 2024 residential average. The starting home value is the Census median market value; under Prop 13 assessed values are usually lower.
Prop 13 assessed values are usually below market value and rise at most 2 percent a year absent a change in ownership or new construction; the starting value is a Census market median.
Notice dated July 15, 2025; adoption not confirmed. Tier 1 limit uses PG&E baseline Territory W (Kern under 1,000 ft) at 19.2 kWh/day summer and 9.8 winter, a modelling assumption for Shafter; garbage questions: City Finance 661-746-5001; East Shafter is served by Varner Bros.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Shafter house costs

What is the property tax rate in Shafter?

About 1.11% of the value before exemptions a year (2025–26 tax year, Kern County), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $5,490 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption.

How much is the water bill in Shafter?

About $100 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Shafter.

How much does trash pickup cost in Shafter?

Billed on a monthly bill that includes water and wastewater charges; current rate not found, so not counted

When is property tax due in Shafter?

Nov 1: First property tax installment due; delinquent Dec 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty. Feb 1: Second installment due; delinquent April 10 at 5:00 P.M., then a ten percent penalty plus a $10.00 advertising cost.

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

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