Denver, CO · Updated Oct 2026

What a Denver 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 Denver house

$9,747a year · $812 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $616,000; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Denver house at the typical market value ($616,000) pays about $9,700 a year: $3,320 property tax and charges, $1,250 water and sewer, $250 trash, $1,880 electricity and gas, $3,040 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 20, 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 35-gallon (small) cartUp to $144 a year
Your cart costs $21 a month; the smallest costs $9. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Request a cart size change in your Denver Utilities Online account.
Seniors 65+ who have lived in the home 10+ years: senior property tax exemptionUp to 50% of the first $200,000 of value
Colorado exempts up to 50% of the first $200,000 of a home's actual value for owners 65 or older who have owned and lived in it as their primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years.
How: Apply to the Denver Assessor from January 2 to July 15 (postmarked by July 15). Once approved you don't need to apply again.
Veterans rated 100% permanently disabled: property tax exemption50% of the first $200,000 of value
For qualifying veterans with a 100% permanent service-connected disability, 50 percent of the first $200,000 of the home's actual value is exempted, and the state pays the exempted tax.
How: Apply to the Denver Assessor before July 1 of the year you apply.
Lower-income homeowners 62+, with a disability, with a dependent child, or surviving spouses: Denver Property Tax ReliefUp to $1,800 refund
Denver refunds part of last year's property taxes, up to $1,800 for homeowners, depending on taxes paid and household income. Homeowners must have income at or under 80% of the Denver Area Median Income ($72,950 for 1 person, $83,400 for 2 in 2025).
How: Apply for a refund on 2025 property taxes between May 1, 2026 and April 30, 2027 on the Denver Property Tax Relief page.
Leak during the winter billing month? Ask for a sewer adjustmentSewer charge set for the year
Your sanitary sewer charge for the year is based on winter (usually February) water use. If you had a water leak then, Wastewater Management can adjust the charge and credit the billing periods after the leak was repaired.
How: Call Wastewater Management Customer Service at (303) 446-3500 once the leak is repaired.
Free appliance collection
Denver residents served by Solid Waste Management may schedule a free appliance collection by appointment.
How: To schedule an appliance collection appointment, call 311 (720-913-1311).

Money dates

Apr 30Deadline to pay the whole year's property tax in one payment.
Apr 30, 2027Last day to apply for a Denver Property Tax Relief refund on 2025 property taxes.
Jun 8Deadline to protest your property value to the Assessor (next business day if June 8 is a holiday or weekend).
Jun 15Second half of property tax is due.

Who serves this house

Water: Denver Water; 2026 residential rates inside the City of Denver, for meters read on or after Jan. 1, 2026, billed monthly. Temporary drought charges on Tier 2 and Tier 3 use apply from May 2026 water use through April 30, 2027.
Property tax: 0.54% of value; 2025 tax year, payable 2026 (City and County of Denver)
Garbage: City and County of Denver Solid Waste Management; Trash collected weekly in 35, 65 or 95-gallon carts; recycling and compost included at no additional cost
Sewer: Denver Wastewater Management; Sanitary sewer is billed monthly on the Denver Water bill; storm drainage is billed twice a year
Electricity: Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado); Electric service under a franchise agreement with the City and County of Denver
Gas: Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado); Natural gas service under the same Denver franchise agreement
Schools: Denver Public Schools (School District #1); 52.274 mills for 2025 taxes, on 7.05% of a home's actual value

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: 100% surface water from about 4,000 square miles of watersheds on both sides of the Continental Divide.
Lead: 90th-percentile lead was 3.1 ppb in July to December 2025 sampling (action level 15 ppb); 3 of 245 sites were above the action level.
Hardness: Total hardness averaged 105,009 ppb in 2025 (range 55,000 to 124,000 ppb).
Monitoring: In 2025 Denver Water missed one monitoring requirement (synthetic organic compounds at the backup Moffat plant); it says this did not pose a safety risk.

Other CO cities

What a Boulder house pays What a Castle Rock house pays What a Erie house pays What a Firestone house pays What a Monument house pays What a Parker house pays What a Evans house pays

How these numbers are made

Property tax: Colorado taxes a home on its actual value times an assessment rate times the mill levy. For 2025 taxes (paid in 2026) Denver applies 6.25% for local government to 27.328 mills (City and County of Denver 26.328 plus Urban Drainage & Flood Control 1.000) and 7.05% for schools to Denver Public Schools' 52.274 mills, with no value reduction. On actual value that is 0.16455% + 0.00625% + 0.36853% = 0.53933%, about $3,322 on the $616,000 Census median (the Assessor's own example uses a typical single-family value of about $625,000). Parts of Denver also pay metropolitan, business improvement or water and sanitation district levies; these are not included.
For 2026 taxes (billed in January 2027) the state set 6.8% for local government with 10% of the first $700,000 of actual value removed, and 7.05% for schools; the 2026 mill levies are set in December, so we show the 2025 levies. The senior and disabled-veteran exemptions are listed as tips, not applied.
Water: Denver Water 2026 inside-city rates, $20.91 a month for a 5/8 or 3/4-inch meter. Tier 1 runs to your average winter use, but never less than 5,000 gallons; we use the 5,000-gallon minimum, so Tier 1 ($3.02) covers the first 5,000 gallons, Tier 2 ($5.44 plus a $1.10 drought charge) the next 15,000 and Tier 3 ($7.25 plus $2.20) the rest. The temporary drought charges apply from May 2026 use through April 30, 2027.
Sewer: Denver's 2026 sanitary rate is $5.88 per thousand gallons of February water use, charged all year; we use the city's own example of 7,000 gallons, $41.16 a month, whatever your summer use. Storm drainage is the city's 2026 average single-family charge, $190.53 a year (it rises to $197.96 from Jan. 1, 2027) (2,750 sq. ft. of impervious area on a 7,500 sq. ft. lot), and it is shown per month.
Garbage: Denver's volume-based trash fee, $9, $13 or $21 a month for the 35, 65 or 95-gallon cart, recycling and compost included; we start at the 95-gallon cart.
Electricity and gas: Xcel's current Colorado rate summaries are not published as plain documents we can check, and most homes are on time-of-use pricing, so we use averages that cover every season and plan: Public Service Co of Colorado's 2024 average residential price of 15.05 cents per kWh (including the monthly charge) at its average use of 600 kWh a month, and Colorado's 2025 average residential gas price of $11.17 per thousand cubic feet ($1.077 a therm) at the state's 2024 average use of 57.4 therms a month. Xcel's approved electric rate increase (about 4.77%, or $5 a month on the average bill, from Aug. 29, 2026) is not included. We add Denver's 3% franchise fee on electric and gas bills; sales taxes are not included.
Not included: Denver's sidewalk fee (a flat $150 a year for most property owners, billed with storm drainage).
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Denver compares

A typical Denver house against the 8 Colorado cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Denver	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	0.54%	0.60%	lower than 5 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover
Water	$568	$903	lower than 7 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$684	$713	lower than 4 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$1,881	$2,274	lower than 5 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover
Home insurance	$3,040	$2,079	higher than 7 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover
Total	$9,747	$9,880	lower than 4 of the other 7 Colorado 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 $568 a year at typical use, lower than 7 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $568 a year at typical use, lower than 7 of the other 7 Colorado cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Denver house costs

What is the property tax rate in Denver?

About 0.54% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year, payable 2026 (City and County of Denver)), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $2,697 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Denver?

About $104 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on Denver Water.

How much does trash pickup cost in Denver?

$9 to $21 a month, depending on the trash cart size (35-gallon (small), 65-gallon (medium), 95-gallon (large)).

When is property tax due in Denver?

Jun 15: Second half of property tax is due. End of Feb: First half of property tax is due by the last day of February (bills are mailed in January).

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Denver?

Yes. Seniors 65+ who have lived in the home 10+ years: senior property tax exemption: Colorado exempts up to 50% of the first $200,000 of a home's actual value for owners 65 or older who have owned and lived in it as their primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years.

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

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