Sonoma, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Sonoma 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 Sonoma house

$16,997a year · $1,416 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $970,500; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$10,733
1.114% of $970,500, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$1,331
Sewer $1,057 · Sonoma Valley Health Care District parcel tax $250 · Marin/Sonoma mosquito & vector control (MS-SONOMA MOSQUITO #1) $12 · SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12
Electricity and gas$3,421
500 kWh a month $2,442 · 31.72 therms $979
Water$1,165
7,000 gallons a month on City of Sonoma: water $97 a month
Trash$347
32-gal garbage, $29 a month
Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.

A Sonoma house at the typical market value ($970,500) costs about $17,000 a year: $12,060 property tax and charges, $1,170 water, $350 trash, $3,420 electricity and gas; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 29, 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-gal garbage cartUp to $131 a year
Your cart costs $29 a month; the smallest costs $18. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your garbage hauler.
Income-qualified households: PG&E CARE or FERA30–35% off electricity
CARE takes 30–35% off electricity and drops the base services charge to $6 a month; FERA takes 18% off for incomes slightly above the CARE limit.
How: Apply with PG&E; application forms are also available through community agencies.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartThe price is set by the size of your garbage can; a blue recycle can and a green organics can are included.

Value before exemptionsEnter the net taxable value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often well below what the house would sell for. The sewer line is the fixed part only, so totals here are low: the sewer district also bills $8.56 per thousand gallons of your lowest winter water use times 12 (about $308 a year at 3,000 gallons a month), on the same tax bill. Other rate areas in the Sonoma Valley can carry other charges.

I live here and have the Homeowners' exemption

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy's declarations page.

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 PG&E delivery with Sonoma Clean Power CleanStart generation bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 30, 2026in 26 daysLast day of Sonoma County's 2026 assessment appeal filing period (opened July 2).
Feb 15in 103 daysLast day for a first-time homeowners' exemption claim to get the full exemption for that year.
Nov 1First property tax installment due; it becomes delinquent after Dec 10, 2026, with a 10% penalty.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Sonoma; City of Sonoma water rates effective July 1, 2026 (Zone 1): a $38.62 monthly service charge for a 5/8-inch meter, plus $7.11 per unit (1 unit = 1,000 gallons) for the first 2 units, $9.35 for 3 to 7 units and $11.43 for 8 or more units
Property tax: 1.11% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Sonoma County (Sonoma tax rate area 006-000)
Garbage: Sonoma Garbage Collectors; Garbage service for City of Sonoma residents and businesses is provided by Sonoma Garbage Collectors.
Sewer: Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District; Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District sewer charges are collected on the Sonoma County tax roll.
Electricity: PG&E with Sonoma Clean Power; Sonoma Clean Power is the default electricity generation provider in Sonoma County except Healdsburg and Ukiah; PG&E delivers the power and bills for both.
Gas: PG&E; Sonoma (95476) is in PG&E's gas service territory.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: The city's primary source is water purchased from Sonoma Water; its secondary source is six city-owned groundwater wells.

Other CA cities

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How these numbers are made

Garbage: Sonoma Garbage Collectors' City of Sonoma rates for 20, 32, 64 and 96-gallon cans as shown on its residential page ($17.99, $28.90, $60.89, $92.60 a month); recycle and organics cans are included. The City's own garbage page does not list the current table. These look like the July 2025 rates (the City's July 1, 2024 notice listed $17.12 / $27.49 / $57.92 / $88.08, and rates adjust each July 1 through 2028); the July 2026 table could not be found on any official page, so the 32-gal figure may be about $1.50 low.
Water: City of Sonoma FY 2026/27 rates from July 1, 2026, Zone 1 column (Zone 2 adds an elevation charge); $38.62 for a 5/8-inch meter plus $7.11 / $9.35 / $11.43 per 1,000 gallons, tiers ending at 2 and 7 units. The City publishes no typical use, so the page starts at its default.
Sewer: Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District FY 2026-27 ordinance. The total shows only the fixed $1,056.71 a year on the tax bill; the volume part ($8.56 per thousand gallons of lowest winter use x 12, e.g. about $308 a year at 3 kgal a month) is not in the total because the District publishes no typical winter use and the sewer total cannot take a use-based term when billed on the tax roll. Totals are therefore low by that amount.
Property tax: Sonoma County 2026-27 tax rate area 006-000 rates and direct charges taken from a county secured bill in that rate area; other areas differ. The starting value is the Census median value of owner-occupied homes (market value), usually above Prop 13 assessed value.
Electricity and gas: PG&E bundled E-1 and G-1 tariffs with Sonoma Clean Power generation, as on Petaluma's page (same county, same tariffs and baseline territory X); typical use from EIA.
Insurance: California average HO-3 premium, 2022 (NAIC via III).
Insurance: no California homeowners average newer than the 2022 NAIC figure could be found from an official source, so no insurance line is shown.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Sonoma compares

A typical Sonoma house against the 285 California cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Sonoma	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.11%	1.13%	lower than 173 of the other 284 California cities we cover
Water	$1,165	$927	higher than 221 of the other 284 California cities we cover
Trash	$347	$452	lower than 228 of the other 267 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,421	$3,421	higher than 139 of the other 284 California cities we cover
Total	$16,997	$14,432	higher than 203 of the other 284 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. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $1,165 a year at typical use, higher than 221 of the other 284 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $1,165 a year at typical use, higher than 221 of the other 284 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $347 a year for the standard cart, lower than 228 of the other 267 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 $347 a year for the standard cart, lower than 228 of the other 267 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 Sonoma house costs

What is the property tax rate in Sonoma?

About 1.11% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Sonoma County (Sonoma tax rate area 006-000)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $1,057, Sonoma Valley Health Care District parcel tax $250, Marin/Sonoma mosquito & vector control (MS-SONOMA MOSQUITO #1) $12, SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12).

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

About $6,823 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $1,331 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Sonoma?

About $97 a month for water at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Sonoma.

How much does trash pickup cost in Sonoma?

$18 to $93 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20-gal garbage, 32-gal garbage, 64-gal garbage, 96-gal garbage).

When is property tax due in Sonoma?

Nov 1: First property tax installment due; it becomes delinquent after Dec 10, 2026, with a 10% penalty.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Sonoma?

Income-qualified households: PG&E CARE or FERA: CARE takes 30–35% off electricity and drops the base services charge to $6 a month; FERA takes 18% off for incomes slightly above the CARE limit. Apply with PG&E; application forms are also available through community agencies.

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

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