Westminster, CA · Updated Oct 2026

What a Westminster 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 Westminster house

$16,014a year · $1,335 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $858,300; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$9,384
1.102% of $858,300, less $7,000 homeowners' exemption
Flat charges on the tax bill$507
Sewer $110 · OC San regional sewer service fee $397
Electricity and gas$3,698
523 kWh a month $2,729 · 35 therms $827 · city utility tax $142
Water$692
10.83 units (CCF) a month on City of Westminster: water $55, city utility tax $2 a month
Trash$241
Standard service (one black trash, one blue recycling and one green organics container), $20 a month
Home insurance$1,492
Typical premium $1,492

A Westminster house at the typical market value ($858,300) pays about $16,000 a year: $9,890 property tax and charges, $690 water, $240 trash, $3,700 electricity and gas, $1,490 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 21, 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:

If you have the utility users tax exemption: Lifeline water rate with no fixed chargeNo fixed charge on the water bill
People who have qualified for exemption from Westminster's utility users tax automatically qualify for the Lifeline water rate: there is no fixed charge, and they pay the current tiered residential commodity rate for the water they actually use.
How: Qualify for the utility users tax exemption; that also qualifies you for the Lifeline rate.
Free bulky item pickup
Midway City Sanitary District picks up up to two bulky items (furniture, appliances, water heaters and more) per household every 30 days at no extra cost.
How: Call (714) 893-3553 or email info@midwaycitysanitaryca.gov at least one week ahead.
Free mattress drop-off
The District no longer picks up mattresses, but residents can drop off mattresses, box springs and futons at the District for recycling free of charge, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
How: Bring them to the District yard at 14451 Cedarwood Street, Westminster.
Income-qualified households: SCE CARE, 32.5% off the electric bill32.5% off the electric bill
SCE's CARE program gives qualifying households 32.5% off their electric bills; you may qualify based on household size and the total income of everyone in the home (CARE limit $43,280 for 1-2 people, June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027).
How: Apply online with SCE (no additional documentation is required) or call SCE's automated line at 1-800-798-5723.
Income-qualified households: SoCalGas CARE, 20% off the gas bill20% off the gas bill
You may qualify for 20% off your monthly SoCalGas bill through CARE if someone in your household receives benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh or SSI, or if total yearly household income is not more than $43,280 for 1-2 people (June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027).
How: Apply online with SoCalGas (no additional documentation is required), or mail the CARE application to SoCalGas CARE Program, PO Box 3249, Los Angeles CA 90051-1249.

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.

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 Westminster house uses about 10.83.

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 Orange County (filing runs July 2 to November 30 at 5:00 p.m.).
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 plus $23 per bill.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Westminster; City of Westminster, billed every 8 weeks: a fixed customer charge by meter size plus a commodity charge per unit (ccf, 748 gallons) on a two-tier structure; the rates in effect are those adopted in February 2021, with the last scheduled step in January 2025.
Property tax: 1.10% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Orange County (tax rate area 20-000)
Garbage: Midway City Sanitary District; The District collects trash, recycling and organics from homes in Westminster and Midway City once a week with its own trucks; the fee is billed on the property tax bill.
Sewer: Midway City Sanitary District + OC San; The District's sewer service charge is a separate line item on the property tax statement. The District only collects sewage; OC San treats it, and OC San's sewer service fee is an annual charge on the property tax bill.
Electricity: Southern California Edison; The City of Westminster is served by Southern California Edison.
Gas: SoCalGas; The City of Westminster is served by SoCalGas for natural gas.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Groundwater from nine City wells in the Orange County basin, plus three connections for imported water; on average 85 percent groundwater and 15 percent imported, and 100 percent groundwater in 2025.
Hardness: Local groundwater hardness averaged 251 ppm as CaCO3 (range 133 to 359), in testing from 2022 to 2025.
Lead: Lead at household taps: 90th percentile not detected, 0 of 32 sites over the action level; samples collected in 2024.
Service lines: The City found no lead or galvanized service lines requiring replacement in its distribution system.

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 (City of Westminster): the fixed customer charge for a 5/8-inch meter, $20.62 per 8-week bill (shown as $11.17 a month), plus $4.09 per ccf, the rates for the year ended June 30, 2025 in the City's 2025 annual financial report; the City's rate page shows the same 2021 schedule running through January 2025, and the City's 2026 request for a new rate study says the 2021 rate structure is still in place. The City charges a higher Tier 2 rate above 24 ccf per 8-week bill (about 13 ccf a month), but it publishes the current Tier 2 rate only as an image, so we price all water at the Tier 1 rate: heavy users pay more than shown. The page starts at about 10.8 ccf a month, the 20 units per 8 weeks the City called typical in its 2021 rate notice. Water facts come from the 2026 water quality report (2025 data).
Trash and sewer: Midway City Sanitary District's FY 2026/27 fees on the property tax bill, $241.48 a year for curbside solid waste (shown as $20.12 a month; raised from $213.85 by Ordinance No. 77, adopted June 2, 2026) and $109.74 a year for sewer, plus OC San's $397 regional sewer service fee for a single-family home.
Property tax: tax rate area 20-000 (Westminster School District, Huntington Beach Union High, Coast Community College District and Metropolitan Water District), 1.10226% in total for 2026-27 from the Orange County tax rate book, less the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, applied to the value you enter. Garden Grove Unified areas of the city total 1.10101%, and some areas are in Ocean View or Los Alamitos school districts. Westminster has no city tax rate override. The starting value is the Census median market value; under Prop 13 a home's assessed value can be far lower. Not included: Mello-Roos or other special assessments that only some parcels carry.
Electricity: SCE's standard Domestic rate with SCE generation from SCE's joint rate comparison with OCPA ($0.38865 per kWh in total, SCE rates as of June 1, 2026; its $203.26 average bill at 523 kWh is that rate times the usage), plus SCE's $24.15 monthly Base Services Charge. 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. Both are averages; real bills vary by season and time of use.
Westminster's 4% utility users tax is added to electricity, gas and water bills. Insurance starts at the 2022 California average.
Not included: the vector control assessment and the Metropolitan Water District standby charge that some Orange County bills carry; we could not confirm they apply to Westminster parcels.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Westminster compares

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

Per year	Westminster	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.10%	1.13%	lower than 79 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Water	$666	$955	lower than 96 of the other 109 California cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$27	$584	lower than 74 of the other 76 California cities we cover
Trash	$241	$438	lower than 100 of the other 101 California cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,698	$3,556	higher than 75 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	$16,014	$15,240	higher than 61 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 $666 a year at typical use, lower than 96 of the other 109 California cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $666 a year at typical use, lower than 96 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 $27 a year, lower than 74 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 $27 a year, lower than 74 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 $241 a year for the standard cart, lower than 100 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 $241 a year for the standard cart, lower than 100 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 Westminster house costs

What is the property tax rate in Westminster?

About 1.10% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Orange County (tax rate area 20-000)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Sewer $110, OC San regional sewer service fee $397).

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

About $5,941 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homeowners' exemption, including $507 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Westminster?

About $55 a month for water at typical use (10.83 units, or 8,101 gallons a month) on City of Westminster.

How much does trash pickup cost in Westminster?

$20 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Westminster?

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 plus $23 per bill.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Westminster?

Income-qualified households: SCE CARE, 32.5% off the electric bill: SCE's CARE program gives qualifying households 32.5% off their electric bills; you may qualify based on household size and the total income of everyone in the home (CARE limit $43,280 for 1-2 people, June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027). Apply online with SCE (no additional documentation is required) or call SCE's automated line at 1-800-798-5723.

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

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