Union City, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Union City 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 Union City house

$20,395a year · $1,700 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $1,104,900; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$13,857
1.262% of $1,104,900, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$746
Sewer $661 · Alameda County EMS (paramedic) special tax $42 · Vector control assessment (Union City) $13 · SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12 · Household hazardous waste fee $8 · East Bay regional trails assessment $5 · Mosquito abatement assessment (2008) $3 · Mosquito abatement special tax (Measure K) $2
Electricity and gas$2,789
371 kWh a month $1,810 · 31.72 therms $979
Water$930
8 units (CCF) a month on Alameda County Water District (ACWD): water $78 a month
Trash$581
35-gal trash, $48 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Union City house at the typical market value ($1,104,900) pays about $20,400 a year: $14,600 property tax and charges, $930 water, $580 trash, $2,790 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-gal trash cartUp to $116 a year
Your cart costs $48 a month; the smallest costs $39. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your garbage hauler.
Seniors or low-income households: 15% off garbage15% off
Senior and low-income single-family dwellings that meet eligibility requirements receive a 15% discount on basic garbage service. The eligibility requirements only apply to current residents of the dwelling.
Low-income households: ACWD Help on Tap$68.95 credit each bimonthly bill
Income-qualified residential customers get a credit equal to 100% of the bimonthly water service charge, currently $68.95. A household of 1-2 qualifies with income of $67,900 or less. Approval lasts three years.
How: Complete and return ACWD's Help on Tap application, or call 510-668-4200 to have one mailed.
Two free bulky item collections a yearFree
Union City residents are eligible for two annual Bulky Item Collections at no additional cost. Republic Services hauls away up to four cubic yards of acceptable items.
How: Call Republic Services at 510-657-3500 to schedule.
ACWD lawn conversion rebateUp to $2 per sq. ft., max $3,000
ACWD pays single-family homes up to $2 per square foot of lawn converted to a water-efficient landscape with plants, up to a $3,000 rebate.
How: Apply through ACWD's Single-Family Residential Water-Efficient Landscape Rebate Program.
Income-qualified households: PG&E CARE on gas20% off gas
CARE gives income-qualified customers a 20% discount on their natural gas bill.
How: Contact PG&E for an application.
100% disabled veterans: property tax exemption$175,298 off assessed value (2025-26)
The Disabled Veterans' Exemption reduces property tax on the principal residence of veterans rated 100% disabled because of a service-connected injury or disease (or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability). For the 2025-2026 assessment year the basic exemption amount is $175,298; a larger low-income exemption also exists.
How: See the Alameda County Assessor's exemptions page.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartThe price is set by the size of your gray trash cart; the standard service also includes a 64-gallon recycle cart and a 96-gallon compost cart.

Value before exemptionsEnter your assessed value from your tax bill: under Prop 13 it is often well below what the house would sell for; most long-time owners pay far less (Prop 13). Not included: the Washington Township Health Care District Measure B parcel tax ($0.05 per square foot of building, from July 1, 2026; about $75 for a 1,500 sq ft house) and any City of Union City lighting or landscape assessment or county flood control assessment that applies to your parcel. About 1 in 4 Union City tax rate areas are in the Ohlone College district instead of Chabot-Las Positas (0.0276% instead of 0.0389%), and a few areas add other charges.

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 Union City house uses about 8.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your PG&E delivery with Ava Community Energy Bright Choice generation bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Dec 10in 48 daysLast day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes without penalty; also the deadline for late homeowners' and veterans' exemption claims.
Feb 15in 115 daysDeadline to file the homeowners', veterans' and disabled veterans' exemption claims.
Apr 10Last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes without penalty.
Jul 2 – Sep 15Window to file an assessment appeal with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.

Who serves this house

Water: Alameda County Water District (ACWD); ACWD rates for water service inside the District, effective March 1, 2026: a bimonthly service charge of $68.95 for a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter plus $5.38 per unit (100 cubic feet) for all usage; ACWD bills every other month
Property tax: 1.26% of value; 2025-26 tax year, Alameda County (Union City tax rate area 15-001)
Garbage: Republic Services; Union City's residential trash, recycling and compost hauler. Billed quarterly; the price is set by the size of the trash cart.
Sewer: Union Sanitary District; Serves Fremont, Newark and Union City. Its annual sewer service charge is collected on the Alameda County property tax bill.
Electricity: Ava Community Energy generation, PG&E delivery; Ava serves Union City; PG&E delivers the power and handles billing.
Gas: PG&E; Union City (94587) is in PG&E's gas service territory.
Schools: New Haven Unified School District; New Haven Unified and Chabot-Las Positas Community College bonds are part of the property tax rate.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: ACWD supplies the Tri-City area from four sources: imported Delta and Lake Del Valle water treated at its plant, purchased San Francisco water (from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir or the local Calaveras and San Antonio reservoirs), local groundwater, and desalinated brackish groundwater from its Newark plant.
Lead: In 2025 lead and copper sampling, 1 of 58 samples was above the lead action level; the 90th percentile was not detected.

Other CA cities

How these numbers are made

Garbage: Republic Services' Union City single-family monthly rates for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 ($38.73 for a 20-gallon trash cart, $48.43 for 35, $96.94 for 64 and $145.35 for 96, with the standard recycle and compost carts), billed quarterly. The StopWaste regulatory fee of $0.30 a month from July 1, 2026 is not on the rate sheet and is not included.
Water: ACWD rates from March 1, 2026: the $68.95 bimonthly service charge for a 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter (about $34.48 a month) and $5.38 per unit for all water. The page starts at 8 units a month, half of the 16 units ACWD says the average single-family home uses in a two-month bill. Sewer: Union Sanitary District's FY27 single-family charge of $661.15 a year is on the property tax bill, so it is counted with the tax bill's flat charges.
Property tax: Alameda County's 2025/26 tax rate book for Union City tax rate area 15-001 (1% countywide tax, County GO bond 0.0084%, New Haven Unified bonds 0.1707%, Chabot-Las Positas College bonds 0.0389%, Washington Township Health Care District 0.0218%, BART 0.0152%, East Bay Regional Park 0.0011%, ACWD 0.0060%: 1.2621% in all, no City bond), less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. 15-001 is shared with most Union City tax rate areas (59 of 94 listed areas total 1.2621%; the others total 1.1665% to 1.2974%, about a quarter use Ohlone College at 1.2508%). Flat charges counted ($746.15 a year with sewer): Union Sanitary sewer $661.15, county EMS tax $42.42, vector control $12.69, Measure AA $12, household hazardous waste $7.80, regional trails $5.44, mosquito $2.90 and $1.75. Not counted: the Washington Township Health Care District Measure B tax by house size and any city or flood-control assessments.
The starting home value is the Census ACS 2020-2024 median market value of owner-occupied homes in Union City ($1,104,900); under Prop 13 an owner who bought years ago has a lower assessed value and pays much less. Enter the assessed value from your tax bill.
Electricity: PG&E schedule E-1 (the tiered plan; PG&E's most common residential plan is time-of-use E-TOU-C) for a non-CARE (Income Tier 3) home with Ava Community Energy Bright Choice generation: PG&E's E-1 bundled rate ($0.32561 Tier 1, $0.40702 Tier 2) minus its $0.12855 generation charge and its ($0.01011) Bundled PCIA, plus Ava's January 2026 E1 Bright Choice total of $0.11785 per kWh, for $0.32502 up to baseline and $0.40643 above it; Renewable 100 costs about 1.8 cents more per kWh. PG&E's $0.79343 a day base services charge is about $24.13 a month. Baseline is territory X's 9.8 kWh a day for 4 summer months and 9.7 for 8 winter months, about 296 kWh a month. Typical use is the 371 kWh a month in the PG&E-Ava E-1 rate comparison.
Gas: PG&E G-1 (Oct. 1, 2026) $2.42480 and $2.92792 per therm plus the $0.12103 public purpose surcharge, territory X baseline weighted 7 summer, 3 off-peak and 2 on-peak months, about 30.1 therms a month. Typical gas use is California's 2024 residential average (EIA, about 32 therms a month). Insurance is the 2022 California average homeowners premium (NAIC via the Insurance Information Institute) until you enter your own.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

Common questions about Union City house costs

What is the property tax rate in Union City?

About 1.26% of the value before exemptions a year (2025-26 tax year, Alameda County (Union City tax rate area 15-001)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $661, Alameda County EMS (paramedic) special tax $42, Vector control assessment (Union City) $13, SF Bay Restoration Authority parcel tax (Measure AA) $12).

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

About $6,968 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $746 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Union City?

About $78 a month for water at typical use (8 units, or 5,984 gallons a month) on Alameda County Water District (ACWD).

How much does trash pickup cost in Union City?

$39 to $145 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20-gal trash, 35-gal trash, 64-gal trash, 96-gal trash).

When is property tax due in Union City?

Dec 10: Last day to pay the first installment of secured property taxes without penalty; also the deadline for late homeowners' and veterans' exemption claims. Apr 10: Last day to pay the second installment of secured property taxes without penalty.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Union City?

Yes. Seniors or low-income households: 15% off garbage: Senior and low-income single-family dwellings that meet eligibility requirements receive a 15% discount on basic garbage service. The eligibility requirements only apply to current residents of the dwelling.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Union City?

Seniors or low-income households: 15% off garbage: Senior and low-income single-family dwellings that meet eligibility requirements receive a 15% discount on basic garbage service. The eligibility requirements only apply to current residents of the dwelling.

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

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