Highland Park, IL · Updated Oct 2026

What a Highland Park 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 Highland Park house

$20,968a year · $1,747 a month

Starts at $202,433 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$16,227
8.346% of $202,433, less $8,000 general homestead exemption (owner-occupied): $8,000 reduction in equalized assessed value
Electricity and gas$2,268
583 kWh a month $1,454 · 74.87 therms $814
Water and sewer$759
9 units (CCF) a month on City of Highland Park: water $38, sewer $15, stormwater utility fee, minimum 1 unit (2,765 sq ft of impervious area or less; more impervious area pays more) $10 a month
Trash$372
Curbside subscription, 1x per week (35 or 65-gallon trash cart, recycling and curbside composting included), $31 a month
Home insurance$1,343
Typical premium $1,343

A typical Highland Park house costs about $21,000 a year: $16,230 property tax and charges, $760 water and sewer, $370 trash, $2,270 electricity and gas, $1,340 home insurance. 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:

Owner-occupied: general homestead exemption
Lowers the equalized assessed value of the property by $8,000.
How: Apply through the Chief County Assessment Office.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartEffective April 1, 2026. Includes a $12.00 monthly base fee. Volume-based RFID service is priced per pickup instead.

Value before exemptionsYour tax code may differ by school district, park district or township. The city rate includes the Highland Park library.

I live here and have the General homestead exemption (owner-occupied): $8,000 reduction in equalized assessed value

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $1,343, Illinois statewide average HO-3 homeowners premium for 2022 (NAIC data via the Insurance Information Institute).

Your use

Water, units a month

On your water bill. 1 unit (CCF) is 748 gallons. A typical house uses 7–12.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your ComEd bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

30 days after the statement dateA delinquent water bill is charged 10% of the unpaid balance.

Who serves this house

Water: City of Highland Park; 2026 residential water rates per 100 cubic feet, by use per quarter.
Property tax: 8.35% of value; 2025 tax year (payable 2026), Lake County, City of Highland Park predominant rate 8.345928 per $100
Garbage: Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS); Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) is Highland Park's waste and recycling hauler for all residential, commercial and multi-family properties.
Electricity: ComEd; Highland Park is on ComEd's municipal tax schedule.
Gas: North Shore Gas; The North Shore Gas public utility company services the Highland Park area.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Billing: Water bills are generated on a quarterly basis from actual meter readings.

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How these numbers are made

Property tax uses Lake County 2025 rates (percent per $100 of equalized assessed value) for the City of Highland Park predominant tax code M17HPA (10,713 parcels, 8.345928): city (including library), North Shore School District 112, Township High School District 113, Park District of Highland Park, Lake County, Forest Preserve, College of Lake County, Moraine Township, North Shore Water Reclamation District and Southlake Mosquito Abatement. These sum to 8.345928. Other parts of the city may pay different rates; special service areas apply only to some parcels.
The starting value is one third of the Census-based $607,300 median property value ($202,433), minus the $8,000 homeowner exemption.
Water: $4.267 per 100 cubic feet up to 6,000 cubic feet a quarter (20 a month), $4.695 up to 8,000 (26.67 a month), $4.907 above; sewer $6.80 a quarter ($2.27 monthly) plus $1.45 per unit; stormwater $9.50 a month is the minimum charge for 2,765 sq ft or less of impervious area (1 unit); larger lots with more impervious area pay more per unit.
Garbage uses LRS's curbside subscription once a week at $30.98 a month (35 or 65-gallon cart, effective April 1, 2026); a 95-gallon cart adds $6.13.
Electricity is ComEd delivery plus the October 2026-May 2027 price to compare (the city's aggregation supply price equals ComEd's tariff supply rate) with the Highland Park municipal tax and state tax. Gas is North Shore Gas Rate 1 heating plus the October 2026 gas charge and the 5.15% Highland Park municipal tax; the Low Income Discount adjustment ($0.36 a month, billed on all bills) is in the fixed charge; the State-set weatherization and energy-assistance charges in the fixed charge have no amounts on the utility rate page and are not included. Homeowners insurance is the Illinois statewide average HO-3 premium for 2022, not a Highland Park figure.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Highland Park compares

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

Per year	Highland Park	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	8.35%	8.23%	higher than 70 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover
Water	$461	$872	lower than 126 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$298	$535	lower than 89 of the other 123 Illinois cities we cover
Trash	$372	$283	higher than 112 of the other 127 Illinois cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$2,268	$2,163	higher than 94 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,343	$1,343	in the middle of 8 other Illinois cities we cover
Total	$20,968	$11,701	higher than 125 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. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $461 a year at typical use, lower than 126 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $461 a year at typical use, lower than 126 of the other 131 Illinois cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $372 a year for the standard cart, higher than 112 of the other 127 Illinois 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 $372 a year for the standard cart, higher than 112 of the other 127 Illinois cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

Common questions about Highland Park house costs

What is the property tax rate in Highland Park?

About 8.35% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year (payable 2026), Lake County, City of Highland Park predominant rate 8.345928 per $100), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $41,062 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the general homestead exemption (owner-occupied): $8,000 reduction in equalized assessed value.

How much is the water bill in Highland Park?

About $63 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of Highland Park.

How much does trash pickup cost in Highland Park?

$31 to $37 a month, depending on the trash cart size (Curbside subscription, 1x per week (35 or 65-gallon trash cart, recycling and curbside composting included), Curbside subscription, 1x per week, 95-gallon trash cart).

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

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