South Gate, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a South Gate 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 South Gate house

$10,136a year · $845 a month

Starts at $315,977 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$3,625
1.173% of $315,977, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$350
LA County Measure W Safe Clean Water tax (median single-family parcel) $83 · Greater LA County Vector Control assessment $19 · Metropolitan Water District water standby charge (Central Basin) $10 · LA County Sanitation District No. 1 sewer service charge $238
Electricity and gas$3,505
523 kWh a month $2,637 · 35 therms $869
Water and sewer$870
10 units (CCF) a month on City of South Gate Water: water $62, sewer $8, street sweeping (single-family home) $3 a month
Trash$294
96 gallon (standard), $24 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A typical South Gate house pays about $10,100 a year: $3,980 property tax and charges, $870 water and sewer, $290 trash, $3,510 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

One change saves this house about $431 a year:

Bring water use down to 4 units
$431 a year
Above 4 units a month, City of South Gate Water charges $5.98 a unit instead of $0.00.
How: Most of the top tier is outdoor watering: fix leaks and water less often in summer.

Worth checking

Low-income seniors over 62: Safe, Clean Water parcel tax exemptionNo Safe, Clean Water tax
Owners over 62 who live in the home and head a low-income household can apply for an exemption from the Safe, Clean Water Program special parcel tax; the FY 2027-28 limit is $106,600 for a 2-person household.
How: Submit the claim form to the Safe, Clean Water Program by May 1 each year; call 833-275-7297.
Low water use: reduced sewer charge
Parcels with significantly lower water usage may be eligible for a reduced rate under the Master Service Charge Ordinance of County Sanitation District No. 1.
How: See the reduced-rate terms of County Sanitation District No. 1's Master Service Charge Ordinance.
Low income: SoCalGas CARE20% off the gas bill
Through the CARE program, SoCalGas offers a 20-percent discount to eligible customers on their monthly natural gas bill.
How: SoCalGas residential customers: 877-238-0092.
Low income: smaller SCE Base Services ChargeUp to $18.15 a month less
SCE's Base Services Charge is $6.00 a month for CARE-enrolled customers and $12.08 for FERA-enrolled customers, instead of $24.15.
How: Households that qualify can enroll in SCE's CARE or FERA program.
Free bulky item pickup, 10 items a month
Universal Waste Systems removes up to ten free bulky items per month for residential customers when scheduled, such as chairs, sofas, appliances, bed frames and mattresses; items past the tenth in a month carry a fee.
How: Call UWS at (562) 334-3660 to schedule, then place items on the sidewalk/parkway on the collection date.
Household hazardous waste pickup
Residential customers receive one household hazardous waste (including sharps) pickup per quarter, with items boxed and left on the porch; UWS also offers 4 mail-in sharps containers per account each year.
How: Call UWS at 562-334-3660 or email SGCustomerService@uwscompany.com to schedule.
Water conservation rebates
The City points residents to bewaterwise.com for water conservation rebates.
How: Visit bewaterwise.com.

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. These rates are for the Los Angeles Unified part of the city (most homes); homes in the Downey, Paramount or Lynwood school district areas pay different school bond rates.

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 South Gate house uses about 10.

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 38 daysLast day to file a 2026 regular assessment appeal in LA County (filing runs July 2 to November 30).
Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment (due Nov 1) becomes delinquent at close of business 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 late after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $10.

Who serves this house

Water: Depends on your address; City of South Gate
Property tax: 1.17% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Los Angeles County
Garbage: Universal Waste Systems (UWS); The City contracts with Universal Waste Systems, Inc. for refuse and recycling; since January 1, 2023, UWS bills residents directly.
Sewer: City of South Gate + LA County Sanitation District No. 1; The City bills its sewer service charge on the monthly water/utility bill; County Sanitation District No. 1, which covers all or portions of South Gate, collects its wastewater charge as a separate line on the property tax roll.
Electricity: Southern California Edison; The City lists Southern California Edison as the electricity company serving South Gate.
Gas: SoCalGas; The City lists Southern California Gas Company for natural gas, and SoCalGas lists South Gate among the cities it serves.
Schools: Los Angeles Unified + Los Angeles Community College District; Los Angeles Unified and LACC (community college) bonds are on the 2026-27 LA County tax rate resolution; East Los Angeles College, part of the Los Angeles Community College District, runs a South Gate campus.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: The City's tap water comes from local deep groundwater wells.
Hardness: Total hardness averaged 238.2 ppm (range 204–279) in 2025 testing.
PFAS: In 2025 testing PFOS averaged 16.2 ppt (range ND–30) and PFOA 7.1 ppt (range ND–12); the report lists a notification level of 4.0 ppt for each.
Lead: In 2024 tap sampling the lead 90th-percentile result was not detected, with 0 of 30 sites above the action level.

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: about 83% of South Gate's single-family parcels fall inside the City of South Gate water system and about 11% inside Golden State Water's Hollydale system (EPA water system boundaries against county parcel centroids), so the page starts on the City system. Its FY 2026-27 Master Fee Schedule (effective August 9, 2026): a $26.04 monthly minimum base charge that covers up to 4 CCF, then $5.98 per CCF above 4 CCF for residential use. The page starts at 10 CCF a month, the average single-family use the City's 2024 sewer rate notice used. Golden State Water customers can switch systems: its Metropolitan District residential schedule effective January 1, 2026 ($37.81 a month for a 5/8 x 3/4-inch meter and $5.657, $6.505 and $7.481 per Ccf for the first 9, next 12 and over 21 Ccf a month, each plus the $0.242 per Ccf CAP surcharge, all times 1.007 for the 0.7% CPUC reimbursement fee surcharge). The City's $1 a month billing fee for properties billed by Golden State Water is not included. Not included: ME-1-R conditions 4 and 6 add $0.367 per Ccf (WRAM/MCBA balancing account) and $0.079 per Ccf (interim-rate difference), each described as a 12-month charge beginning May 1, 2025 and printed in the April 3, 2026 revision; at 10 Ccf that is about $4.50 a month before the 0.7% fee if still billed. We left them out because the schedule does not show whether they continue past their stated 12 months.
City utility bill: the City's sewer charge for single-family homes, $3.99 a month plus $0.40 per CCF of water for 2026-27 (the fifth step of the rates adopted after the January 23, 2024 Prop 218 hearing; the City's sample bill at 10 CCF is $7.99), and the $2.58 monthly single-family street sweeping fee from the FY 2025-26 fee schedule (the FY 2026-27 schedule's street sweeping table prints no single-family amount).
Trash: $24.46 a month, the standard single-family rate the City Council approved for 2023, the first year of the Universal Waste Systems franchise (one 96-gallon trash, recycling and organics cart each). The franchise agreement lets UWS adjust rates each January from 2024 by the change in the consumer price index for trash and garbage collection; we found no published 2024-2026 rate, so the current UWS bill is likely somewhat higher.
Property tax: 1% plus the 2026-27 Los Angeles Unified and Los Angeles Community College District bond rates from the LA County tax rate resolution and the Metropolitan Water District's 0.0085% (1.173222% in total, the rate for tax rate area 00664, which holds 6,469 of South Gate's 9,270 single-family parcels; Los Angeles Unified areas of the city hold about 83% of them), less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, applied to the value you enter. Other parts of the city are in the Downey, Paramount or Lynwood school districts with different bond rates. The starting value is the median 2026 roll value of South Gate's 9,270 single-family parcels; long-held homes are often assessed far below market.
Flat charges on the tax bill for 2026-27: LA County Sanitation District No. 1's $238 sewer service charge per single-family home (about 83% of South Gate's single-family parcels are in District No. 1; the rest are in District No. 2 at $232), Measure W at 2.5 cents per square foot of impermeable area, where we use the median for South Gate single-family parcels in the county's Safe Clean Water tax layer ($83.04), the Greater LA County Vector Control assessment ($18.97 for parcels of an acre or less) and the Metropolitan Water District's $10.44 standby charge for Central Basin MWD lands. Not included because it varies by lot: the City's Street Lighting and Landscaping Maintenance District No. 1 assessment, levied on all properties in the city at $2.38 per adjusted front foot (for example about $119 a year for 50 feet). Also not included because they vary by parcel or we found no published 2026-27 amount: Central Basin MWD's own standby charge, the LA County flood control assessment, the trauma and emergency services tax and the county park district assessment.
Electricity: South Gate is not a Clean Power Alliance member, so homes buy power from SCE. We use the SCE Domestic rate from the SCE/CPA joint rate comparison ($0.37392 per kWh in total, which equals its $195.56 average bill at 523 kWh) plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge. Gas: SoCalGas's March 2026 average non-CARE bill ($72.39 at 35 therms), taken as including the $0.16-a-day customer charge (about $4.87 a month), so $4.87 a month plus $1.929 per therm. Both are averages; real bills vary by season. South Gate charges no city tax on utility bills today; Measure SG on the November 3, 2026 ballot proposes one on electricity, gas, water, sewer, cable and telephone service, so those bills would rise if it passes. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How South Gate compares

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

Per year	South Gate	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.17%	1.13%	higher than 73 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$743	$955	lower than 86 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$127	$584	lower than 66 of the other 76 California cities we cover
Trash	$294	$438	lower than 98 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,505	$3,556	lower than 62 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	$10,136	$15,240	lower than 109 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. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $743 a year at typical use, lower than 86 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $743 a year at typical use, lower than 86 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $127 a year, lower than 66 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 $127 a year, lower than 66 of the other 76 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $294 a year for the standard cart, lower than 98 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 $294 a year for the standard cart, lower than 98 of the other 101 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 South Gate house costs

What is the property tax rate in South Gate?

About 1.17% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Los Angeles County), plus flat charges on the same bill (LA County Measure W Safe Clean Water tax (median single-family parcel) $83, Greater LA County Vector Control assessment $19, Metropolitan Water District water standby charge (Central Basin) $10, LA County Sanitation District No. 1 sewer service charge $238).

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

About $6,134 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $350 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in South Gate?

About $72 a month for water and sewer at typical use (10 units, or 7,480 gallons a month) on City of South Gate Water.

How much does trash pickup cost in South Gate?

$24 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in South Gate?

Dec 10: First property tax installment (due Nov 1) becomes delinquent at close of business Dec 10: 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is late after Apr 10: 10% penalty plus $10.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in South Gate?

Yes. Low-income seniors over 62: Safe, Clean Water parcel tax exemption: Owners over 62 who live in the home and head a low-income household can apply for an exemption from the Safe, Clean Water Program special parcel tax; the FY 2027-28 limit is $106,600 for a 2-person household.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in South Gate?

Low-income seniors over 62: Safe, Clean Water parcel tax exemption: Owners over 62 who live in the home and head a low-income household can apply for an exemption from the Safe, Clean Water Program special parcel tax; the FY 2027-28 limit is $106,600 for a 2-person household. Submit the claim form to the Safe, Clean Water Program by May 1 each year; call 833-275-7297.

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

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