What a Bowling Green 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.
Starts at the typical market value, $241,900; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$3,296
1.363% of $241,900
- Electricity and gas$2,108
890.1 kWh a month $1,259 · 53.51 therms $788 · Bowling Green Independent Schools 3% utility tax $61
- Water and sewer$1,129
9 units (CCF) a month on Bowling Green Municipal Utilities: water $43, sewer $51 a month
- Trash$232
96-gallon cart (2022 price), $19 a month
- Home insurance$1,359
Typical premium $1,359
A Bowling Green house at the typical market value ($241,900) pays about $8,100 a year: $3,300 property tax and charges, $1,130 water and sewer, $230 trash, $2,110 electricity and gas, $1,360 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:
Seniors 65+: homestead exemption$49,100 off assessed value
Kentucky homeowners who are at least 65 years of age can take $49,100 off the assessed value of their home for the 2025-2026 assessment years; taxes are figured on the rest.
How: File the Application for Exemption Under the Homestead/Disability Amendment with the Warren County PVA, with proof of age such as a birth certificate, driver's license or passport.
Totally disabled owners: disability exemption$49,100 off assessed value
Homeowners classified as totally disabled under a federal program or a retirement system, who received disability payments for the entire assessment period, get the same $49,100 exemption for 2025-2026.
How: File the Application for Exemption Under the Homestead/Disability Amendment with the Warren County PVA.
If tax bills are mailed by October 1, pay by November 1 for 2% off2% off if bills were mailed by October 1
Under Kentucky's tax calendar, if tax bills are mailed by October 1, taxpayers have until November 1 to pay with a 2% discount; the face amount is due November 2 to December 31.
How: Pay by November 1 if your bill was mailed by October 1.
Money dates
- Nov 1in 9 daysLast day to pay the county tax bill with the 2% discount, when bills are mailed by October 1 (Kentucky's tax calendar).
- Nov 2 – Dec 31in 10 daysThe county tax bill is due at the face amount.
- April 15After the close of business, unpaid county tax bills move from the sheriff to the county clerk, with more penalties, fees and 1% interest a month.
- JanuaryUnpaid county tax bills become delinquent and are paid with a 5% penalty; from February 1 the penalty rises to 21% of the tax due.
Who serves this house
- Water
- Bowling Green Municipal Utilities
- BGMU water rate schedule, General Rates (I) column, effective July 1, 2026
- Property tax
- 1.36% of value
- 2026 tax year, Bowling Green city school district
- Garbage
- Scott Waste Management, LLC
- Sanitation service for residential customers in Bowling Green; BGMU bills for it
- Sewer
- Bowling Green Municipal Utilities (BGMU)
- $10.36 customer charge plus $4.48 per CCF (General Rates, from July 1, 2026)
- Electricity
- Bowling Green Municipal Utilities (BGMU)
- Residential: $21.87 standard service charge plus energy charge and fuel cost adjustment per kWh
- Gas
- Atmos Energy
- Rate G-1: $25.00 a month plus $7.1856 per Mcf for the first 300 Mcf
- Schools
- Bowling Green Independent Schools
- Real property rate lowered from 84.8 cents to 84.2 cents
Your water
- Source
- BGMU uses the Big Barren River as its source of water.
- Hardness
- The annual average for Total Hardness was 134.4 ppm.
Other KY cities
What a Louisville house paysWhat a Independence house paysWhat a Lexington house paysWhat a Georgetown house paysWhat a Shelbyville house paysWhat a Fort Thomas house paysWhat a Covington house paysWhat a Erlanger house paysWhat a Mount Washington house paysWhat a St. Matthews house paysWhat a Elizabethtown house paysWhat a Richmond house paysWhat a Versailles house paysWhat a Bardstown house paysWhat a Lyndon house paysWhat a Shepherdsville house paysWhat a Alexandria house pays
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: the rates for the Bowling Green city school district listed on the city finance page: city 20.30 cents, Warren County 21.45 cents (county 14.00, library 3.70, public health 2.90, extension 0.60, conservation 0.25), state 10.30 and Bowling Green Independent Schools 84.20 cents per $100, 136.25 cents in all. The Warren County Clerk's 2026 sheet shows the same figures. Homes inside the city limits but in the Warren County school district (the "Annex") pay a school rate of 52.50 cents instead. The starting value is the Census median value of owner-occupied homes in Bowling Green, $241,900; your PVA assessment may differ. Kentucky's $49,100 homestead exemption is for owners 65 and older or totally disabled, so it is a tip, not taken off the typical bill.
- Trash: Scott Waste, billed through BGMU. The $19.37 a month is the price reported in 2022 when Scott won the contract; we did not find a current published rate, so treat it as approximate and likely higher now.
- Water and sewer: BGMU General Rates effective July 1, 2026, billed in CCF. BGMU publishes no typical use, so the page starts at 9 CCF a month.
- Electricity: BGMU residential $21.87 standard service charge and a year-round energy charge averaged over summer (7.487 cents), winter (7.108) and transitional (6.896) months, plus the October 2026 Fuel Cost Adjustment of 2.164 cents, which changes monthly. Starting use is EIA 2024: 290,316 MWh over 27,181 residential customers (about 890 kWh a month).
- Gas: Atmos Energy Rate G-1 from August 1, 2026: $25.00 monthly and $7.1856 per Mcf (already including the gas cost adjustment) plus the PRP and R&D per-Mcf riders, converted at 10.37 therms per Mcf. Starting use is Kentucky's 2025 residential average from EIA.
- Utility tax: Bowling Green Independent Schools levies a 3% utility tax in the state's 2025-26 table, applied to electricity and gas here. Insurance is the 2022 Kentucky average HO-3 premium (NAIC via Triple-I); replace it with your own premium.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- CCR-2026.pdf
- Water-Rates-Effective-July-2026-1.pdf
- Electric-Rates-October-2026.pdf
- Tariff.pdf
- tax-rates
- acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B25077&geo_ids=16000US2108902
- Homestead-Exemption.aspx
- BGMU-Receives-Recognition-from-APPA.pdf
- Electric-Rates-August-2026.pdf
- Electric-Rates-January-2026.pdf
- ng_cons_sum_dcu_SKY_a.htm
- ng_cons_num_dcu_SKY_a.htm
- table_6.pdf
- Tax%20Rate%20Levied%20as%20of%20April%2030%202026.xlsx
- facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance
- TheCollectionProcessforPropertyTaxBills.aspx
How Bowling Green compares
A typical Bowling Green house against the 11 Kentucky cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Bowling Green | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.36% | 1.32% | higher than 6 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Water | $520 | $535 | lower than 7 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $608 | $745 | lower than 9 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Trash | $232 | $235 | lower than 3 of the other 5 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,108 | $2,751 | lower than 9 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $1,359 | $1,359 | in the middle of 10 other Kentucky cities we cover |
| Total | $8,124 | $8,812 | lower than 10 of the other 10 Kentucky 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. Sewer and utility-bill fees
The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $608 a year, lower than 9 of the other 10 Kentucky 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 $608 a year, lower than 9 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
2. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,108 a year, lower than 9 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,108 a year for a typical house, lower than 9 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Bowling Green house costs
What is the property tax rate in Bowling Green?
About 1.36% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Bowling Green city school district), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Bowling Green?
About $6,813 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Bowling Green?
About $94 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Bowling Green Municipal Utilities.
How much does trash pickup cost in Bowling Green?
$19 a month for a house.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Bowling Green?
Yes. Seniors 65+: homestead exemption: Kentucky homeowners who are at least 65 years of age can take $49,100 off the assessed value of their home for the 2025-2026 assessment years; taxes are figured on the rest.
How much does a house in Bowling Green cost to run each year?
A Bowling Green house at the typical market value ($241,900) pays about $8,100 a year: $3,300 property tax and charges, $1,130 water and sewer, $230 trash, $2,110 electricity and gas, $1,360 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.