Ventura, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Ventura 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 Ventura house

$16,261a year · $1,355 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $827,300; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Ventura house at the typical market value ($827,300) pays about $16,300 a year: $8,860 property tax and charges, $1,650 water and sewer, $450 trash, $3,810 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 34-gallon trash cart (recycling and green waste included) cartUp to $41 a year
Your cart costs $37 a month; the smallest costs $34. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call E.J. Harrison at 805-647-1414 for barrel exchanges and size changes; a change of service more than once a year costs $27.56.
CARE households: 50% off the Ventura Water service charge50% off the water service charge
Ventura Water's Customer Assistance Program gives eligible households a 50% discount on the monthly water service charge. You need proof of CARE enrollment with SCE or SoCalGas, the water bill in your name, and a single-family home that is your primary residence; the number of participants is limited by available funding.
How: Send the signed Application and Agreement Form, an SCE or SoCalGas bill showing CARE enrollment and a copy of your ID to Ventura Water, 336 Sanjon Road, Ventura, CA 93002, or by email.
Income-qualified: SCE CARE rate32.5% off the electric bill
Through SCE's CARE program, qualifying households receive 32.5% off their electric bills; you may qualify based on household size and the total income of everyone living in the home.
How: Apply online at sce.com or call SCE's automated line at 1-800-798-5723; no additional documentation is required to apply.
Income-qualified: SoCalGas CARE20% off the gas bill
You may qualify for 20% off your monthly natural gas bill through CARE if someone in your household receives public assistance such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh or SSI, or if household income is under the program's limit.
How: Apply online with SoCalGas at socalgas.com; no additional documentation is required.
Free bulky item pickups
Residential customers may arrange pickup of four bulky items during two pickups per year at no charge.
How: Call E.J. Harrison at 647-1414 or submit a request online.
Turf replacement incentive$3.50 per square foot
Ventura Water offers $3.50 per square foot for projects that replace turf with low-water-use landscaping.
How: Apply through Ventura Water's Rebates & Incentives page.
Free smart irrigation controller, drip retrofit and sprinkler nozzles
Ventura Water customers can receive a free smart irrigation controller, a free drip irrigation retrofit and free high-efficiency sprinkler nozzles, each with professional installation.
How: Apply on Ventura Water's Rebates & Incentives page.
Washing machine and toilet rebates$200 washer, $100 toilet
Ventura Water gives a $200 rebate for a qualifying high-efficiency washing machine (water factor 3.7 or less) and a $100 rebate for a qualifying ultra-high-efficiency toilet (1.1 gallons per flush or less).
How: See the rebate information on Ventura Water's Rebates & Incentives page.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartAll service levels include recycling and green waste service; only the trash cart size changes.

Value before exemptionsUnder Prop 13 a home is generally reassessed to market value only when it changes ownership or is newly built, and its base year value rises no more than 2% a year otherwise, so the assessed value is often far below market: use the assessed value on your tax bill.

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 Ventura house uses about 8.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Clean Power Alliance (100% Green Power) with Southern California Edison delivery bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Dec 10in 48 daysFirst property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after 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 delinquent after Apr 10: 10% penalty.

Who serves this house

Water: Ventura Water; Ventura Water (City of Ventura): a monthly water service charge for a 3/4-inch meter plus three single-family tiers per HCF, under the five-year rates the City Council approved on December 9, 2025 (July 1, 2026 step).
Property tax: 1.08% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Ventura County (tax rate area 05011)
Garbage: E.J. Harrison & Sons; Under an exclusive franchise agreement with the City of Ventura, E.J. Harrison & Sons is the sole provider of solid waste and recycling collection services in the City.
Sewer: Ventura Water (City of Ventura); Ventura Water also provides wastewater service: a fixed monthly wastewater charge plus a flow charge based on water use.
Gas: SoCalGas; The City lists SoCalGas as the natural gas distribution utility.
Schools: Ventura Unified School District; Tax rate area 05011 lists two Ventura Unified bond rates (0.0138% and Measure E 0.0489%) plus Ventura County Community College District bonds (0.0134%).

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Ventura relies only on local water: the Ventura River and Lake Casitas water mainly serve west and midtown Ventura, and three groundwater basins mainly serve east and midtown Ventura.
Lead: Lead was not detected at the 90th percentile in the 2023 tap sampling, and none of 57 sampled sites was above the action level.
PFAS: In January 2026 sampling, PFHxS in the Ventura River source wells exceeded the state notification level of 3.0 parts per trillion; the State's only directive so far is quarterly monitoring of those wells.

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: Ventura Water's July 1, 2026 rates from the five-year schedule the City Council approved on December 9, 2025: $21.28 a month for a 3/4-inch meter and $4.66, $7.62 and $10.83 per HCF for 0-6, 7-12 and over 12 HCF a month (single-family). The page starts at 8 HCF a month, the average single-family use in the City's rate notice. Water shortage surcharges apply only when the City declares a Stage 2 to 6 shortage; the July 2026 supply update says there is no water shortage event, so none is included. The single-family fire line charge ($6.43 a month for a 1-inch fire line) applies only to homes with a fire sprinkler service and is left out.
Sewer: Ventura Water's July 1, 2026 single-family wastewater rate, $18.43 a month plus $6.80 per HCF of water used, counted up to 10 HCF a month. At 8 HCF the combined water and wastewater bill is $137.31 a month, the figure the rate notice shows for Ventura's proposed rates. Trash: E.J. Harrison's rates under Administrative Resolution 2025-02 (effective July 1, 2025, and continuing until rates are changed; the City's trash page points to it as the current rates), $37.28 a month for the 64-gallon cart. An annual CPI adjustment to the trash rate may have taken effect since July 2025; check your hauler bill.
Property tax: Ventura County's 2026-27 rates for tax rate area 05011 (the 1% levy, two Ventura Unified bond rates and Ventura County Community College District bonds), 1.0761% in total. 05011 has the most parcels of any Ventura city tax rate area in the County's parcel map, and areas with the same 1.0761% total hold about 71% of the city's parcels; most of the rest also carry a Casitas Municipal Water District bond (1.081355%), and a few areas in the Mesa, Rio or Oxnard elementary districts pay 1.1014% to 1.1673%. The $7,000 homeowners' exemption comes off the value you enter. The starting value is the Census median market value; under Prop 13 a home's assessed value can be far lower.
Fixed charges: the Ventura County Watershed Protection District benefit assessment for the City of Ventura in Zone 2 ($27.13 operations and maintenance + $3.96 District NPDES + $5.90 City NPDES = $36.99 a year for a standard 0.2-acre single-family lot; Zone 2 has about 25,500 of the city's roughly 33,900 assessed parcels), from the District's latest Report on Benefit Assessment Program (labeled FY 2025/2026, prepared March 18, 2026). Homes in Zone 1 (the Ventura River side) pay $32.93. Larger lots pay more. Not included because the amount depends on the parcel: landscape or lighting maintenance district charges and Mello-Roos or other special taxes some tracts carry. Your tax bill lists them.
Electricity: SCE's joint rate comparison with Clean Power Alliance for the Domestic rate with CPA 100% Green Power, which Clean Power Alliance lists as Ventura's preferred energy option ($0.40019 per kWh in total; SCE rates as of June 1, 2026 and CPA rates as of July 1, 2026; the comparison's $209.30 average bill at 523 kWh equals that rate times the usage, so it is a year-round average), plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge. Customers who chose Lean Power pay $0.36641 per kWh. Gas: SoCalGas's August 2026 average non-CARE bill ($68.91 at 35 therms), taken as including the $0.16-a-day customer charge (about $4.87 a month), so $4.87 a month plus $1.830 per therm. The City's 5% utility users tax is added to both. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average. We could not confirm from SCE's pages whether the per-kWh delivery rate leaves out the Base Services Charge (SCE lists it as a separate daily charge), so the estimate may overstate by up to $24.15 a month.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Ventura compares

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

Per year	Ventura	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.08%	1.13%	lower than 94 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$774	$955	lower than 84 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$874	$584	higher than 62 of the other 76 California cities we cover
Trash	$447	$438	higher than 54 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,810	$3,556	higher than 89 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	$16,261	$15,240	higher than 64 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. Property tax rate

The fact: Ventura's property tax rate is 1.08%, lower than 94 of the other 109 California cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Ventura is 1.08%, lower than 94 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $774 a year at typical use, lower than 84 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $774 a year at typical use, lower than 84 of the other 109 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $874 a year, higher than 62 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 $874 a year, higher than 62 of the other 76 California cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

4. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $3,810 a year, higher than 89 of the other 109 California cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $3,810 a year for a typical house, higher than 89 of the other 109 California cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

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Common questions about Ventura house costs

What is the property tax rate in Ventura?

About 1.08% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Ventura County (tax rate area 05011)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Watershed Protection District benefit assessment (standard home lot) $37).

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

About $5,342 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $37 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Ventura?

About $137 a month for water and sewer at typical use (8 units, or 5,984 gallons a month) on Ventura Water.

How much does trash pickup cost in Ventura?

$34 to $43 a month, depending on the trash cart size (34-gallon trash cart (recycling and green waste included), 64-gallon trash cart (recycling and green waste included), 101-gallon trash cart (recycling and green waste included)).

When is property tax due in Ventura?

Dec 10: First property tax installment (due Nov 1) is delinquent after Dec 10: 10% penalty. Apr 10: Second property tax installment (due Feb 1) is delinquent after Apr 10: 10% penalty.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Ventura?

CARE households: 50% off the Ventura Water service charge: Ventura Water's Customer Assistance Program gives eligible households a 50% discount on the monthly water service charge. You need proof of CARE enrollment with SCE or SoCalGas, the water bill in your name, and a single-family home that is your primary residence; the number of participants is limited by available funding. Send the signed Application and Agreement Form, an SCE or SoCalGas bill showing CARE enrollment and a copy of your ID to Ventura Water, 336 Sanjon Road, Ventura, CA 93002, or by email.

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

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