DeKalb, IL · Updated Oct 2026

What a DeKalb home costs each year

Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.

Suggestions as you type come from Google; the lookup uses free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a DeKalb house

$8,440a year · $703 a month

Starts at $68,233 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$4,916
7.899% of $68,233, less $6,000 general homestead exemption
Electricity and gas$1,823
609 kWh a month $1,339 · 31 therms $484
Water and sewer$1,388
12.5 units (CCF) a month on City of DeKalb: water $67, sewer $49 a month
Trash$313
Weekly curbside collection (flat rate), $26 a month
Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.

A typical DeKalb house costs about $8,400 a year: $4,920 property tax and charges, $1,390 water and sewer, $310 trash, $1,820 electricity and gas; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 30, 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:

Seniors 65+: senior homestead exemption
This exemption is $5,000 off the assessed value of the property.
How: You may file for this exemption anytime during the year you turn 65.
Lead service line replacement
84 lead service lines have already been replaced, free of charge.
How: See the City's Lead Service Line Replacements page.

Who serves this house

Water: City of DeKalb; Water = $4.69 per unit (748 gallons)
Property tax: 7.90% of value; 2025 tax year (payable 2026), DeKalb County, tax code DK12
Garbage: Lakeshore Recycling Systems; The fee charged for sewer and garbage is governed by the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District and LRS respectively.
Sewer: Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District; The fee charged for sewer and garbage is governed by the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District and LRS respectively.
Electricity: ComEd; ComEd Electric
Gas: Nicor Gas; Rate 1 Residential Service.
Schools: DeKalb Community Unit School District 428; School District 428 is listed in the county tax rate table.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: The source of water provided to the residents of DeKalb comes from six deep wells and three shallow wells.
Softening: The public water supply is being softened to a hardness of about 7 grains/gallon.
PFAS: The City found no detectable levels of PFAS in its drinking water supply.

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How these numbers are made

Property tax uses DeKalb County 2025 final rates for tax code DK12 (City of DeKalb, DeKalb Library, DeKalb Park District, School District 428, Kishwaukee College, Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District; total 7.89915 per $100 of equalized assessed value), the DeKalb city code with the most value in the county's value report. Rates in the county table are per $100 of value.
The starting value is one third of the Census median market value ($204,700 / 3), because Illinois taxes equalized assessed value (about one third of market value). The $6,000 general homestead exemption comes off it.
Water $4.69 per unit and sewer $2.73 per unit are billed on the bimonthly utility bill; one unit is 748 gallons, one CCF. The $16.00 water service fee and $29.75 sewer service fee are bimonthly and halved to monthly. Typical use is the midpoint of the City's 23 to 27 units per two months for a family of four, halved.
Trash is the City's $52.23 bimonthly flat rate, halved.
Electricity is ComEd single-family without electric space heat ($15.26 + $3.81 + $1.17 a month; per kWh delivery, transmission, rider and supply charges with supply at the Oct 2026-May 2027 Price to Compare). DeKalb gas is Nicor Rate 1 ($21.30 a month plus 24.44 cents distribution, the October 2026 gas cost of 33 cents and the City's 4 cent per therm natural gas use tax). Nicor and ComEd riders other than those listed, and homeowners insurance, are not included.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How DeKalb compares

A typical DeKalb house against the 132 Illinois cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	DeKalb	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	7.90%	8.23%	lower than 74 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover
Water	$800	$872	lower than 75 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$588	$535	higher than 69 of the other 123 Illinois cities we cover
Trash	$313	$283	higher than 84 of the other 127 Illinois cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$1,823	$2,163	lower than 118 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover
Total	$8,440	$11,701	lower than 115 of the other 131 Illinois 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. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $1,823 a year, lower than 118 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $1,823 a year for a typical house, lower than 118 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

Common questions about DeKalb house costs

What is the property tax rate in DeKalb?

About 7.90% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year (payable 2026), DeKalb County, tax code DK12), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $39,022 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the general homestead exemption.

How much is the water bill in DeKalb?

About $116 a month for water and sewer at typical use (12.5 units, or 9,350 gallons a month) on City of DeKalb.

How much does trash pickup cost in DeKalb?

$26 a month for a house.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in DeKalb?

Yes. Seniors 65+: senior homestead exemption: This exemption is $5,000 off the assessed value of the property.

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

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