Independence, KY · Updated Oct 2026

What a Independence 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 Independence house

$9,357a year · $780 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $263,700; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$3,602
1.366% of $263,700
Electricity and gas$3,116
1108.5 kWh a month $1,669 · 53.51 therms $1,356 · Kenton County Schools 3% utility tax $91
Water and sewer$1,280
5.3476 units (CCF) a month on Northern Kentucky Water District: water $45, sewer $58, sd1 stormwater fee (one eru for a single-family home) $4 a month
TrashNot included
Paid directly to Rumpke, not through the city
Home insurance$1,359
Typical premium $1,359

A Independence house at the typical market value ($263,700) pays about $9,400 a year: $3,600 property tax and charges, $1,280 water and sewer, $3,120 electricity and gas, $1,360 home insurance; trash is billed separately. 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:

Seniors 65+: homestead exemption$49,100 off assessed value
Owners 65 or older (or totally disabled) who own and occupy their home as of January 1 can take $49,100 off its taxable value for 2025 and 2026. If only one spouse is 65, the age requirement is met.
How: Apply to the Kenton County PVA during the year you want the exemption, with a Kentucky driver's license or state ID as proof of age.
Totally disabled owners: disability exemption$49,100 off assessed value
Owners classified as totally disabled under a federal program or a retirement system, who kept that classification for the entire year and received disability payments under it, can take $49,100 off their assessed value for 2025 and 2026.
How: Apply to the Kenton County PVA before December 31.
Pay your county tax bill by November 1 for 2% off2% off the bill
Kenton County tax bills paid October 1 to November 1 are the face amount less 2%; from November 2 to December 31 the face amount is due.
How: Pay online through Kenton County Online Records, or in person at a Heritage Bank location through the Sheriff's partnership.
Pay your City of Independence tax bill before November 1 for 2% off2% off the city bill
The City of Independence mails its own tax bill on October 1. There is a 2% discount if it is paid before November 1st.
How: Pay online on the city's tax payment page, by mail to P.O. Box 830, or at the drop boxes at the City Building, 5409 Madison Pike.
Low income: SD1 Customer Assistance Program20% off sewer bills
SD1 customers at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines (200% for customers 65 or older) with a usage factor of 2 or 3 on a recent SD1 bill can get a 20% discount on residential sanitary sewer bills.
How: Contact the Brighton Center at 859-491-8303, ext. 2378.

Money dates

Oct 1 – Nov 1todayPay the Kenton County tax bill at the face amount less 2%.
Nov 2 – Dec 31in 10 daysPay the Kenton County tax bill at the face amount.
Dec 31in 69 daysCity of Independence tax bills are due; penalty and interest are added if not paid by January 1.
Dec 31in 69 daysApply for the disability exemption before December 31.

Who serves this house

Water: Northern Kentucky Water District; Northern Kentucky Water District's normal billing cycle is quarterly (except for subdistrict accounts): a quarterly service charge by meter size plus a charge per cubic foot of water
Property tax: 1.37% of value; 2026 tax year, Kenton County
Garbage: Rumpke; Trash service bills are paid directly to Rumpke
Sewer: Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1); Monthly base rate with the first 2 HCF, plus a charge per HCF above that
Electricity: Owen Electric Cooperative (Duke Energy on some streets); Owen Electric's 2024 average residential price was 12.55 cents per kWh (EIA)
Schools: Kenton County School District; Simon Kenton High School is at 11132 Madison Pike, Independence

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: NKWD's Fort Thomas and Memorial Parkway treatment plants draw water from the Ohio River; the Taylor Mill plant's source is the Licking River.
Lead: In 2024 tap testing (the most recent required), 0 of 51 sites were above the 15 ppb lead action level; 90% of taps tested were below 2 ppb.

Other KY cities

How these numbers are made

Property tax: the 2026 state rate (10.3 cents per $100), Kenton County's 2026 rate (11.3 cents) and the City of Independence's 2026-27 rate (19.3 cents), the Kenton County School District's 2026-27 rate (63.2 cents, adopted August 26, 2026), plus the 2025 rates for health (2.3), PDS (1.8), library (10.1), cooperative extension (1.1) and the Independence Fire District (17.2), on the value you enter. The starting value is the Census median value of owner-occupied homes in Independence, $263,700; your PVA assessment may differ. Kentucky's $49,100 homestead exemption is only for owners 65 and older or totally disabled, so it is listed as a tip, not taken off the typical bill. Parcels in the Fowler Creek sewer assessment area pay an extra assessment that is not included.
Trash: Rumpke collects trash in Independence and bills households directly; the city does not publish the price, so trash is shown at $0 and left out of the total.
Water: Northern Kentucky Water District rates on quarterly billing, the usual cycle for homes: the $45.20 quarterly charge for a 5/8-inch meter (about $15.07 a month) and $0.0552 per cubic foot ($5.52 per CCF) for the first 4,500 cubic feet a quarter (15 CCF a month), $5.13 per CCF above that. Homes on streets in an NKWD subdistrict pay a monthly surcharge of $6.05 to $30.00 that is not included. Starting use is NKWD's average quarterly bill of 12,000 gallons, about 5.3 CCF a month.
Sewer and stormwater: SD1's rates from July 1, 2026, a $40.00 base rate (first 2 HCF) plus the $5.00 environmental surcharge a month and $4.00 per HCF above 2 HCF, applied here to the water use you enter (SD1 actually uses your winter usage), plus SD1's $3.70 monthly stormwater fee for one ERU.
Electricity: Owen Electric's 2024 average residential revenue per kWh from EIA, 12.55 cents ($106,790,000 from 851,113 MWh), used as one all-in rate with no separate customer charge because that average already includes Owen's customer charge, monthly fuel adjustment and environmental surcharge (we could not source a recent 12-month average of those two monthly adjustments). Owen's Schedule I from May 1, 2026 is $21.43 a month plus $0.09878 per kWh before the adjustments. We counted 2020 Census housing units by electric service area and Owen serves about two thirds of them; the rest of the city is served by Duke Energy Kentucky. Starting use is Owen Electric's 2024 residential average from EIA (about 1,109 kWh a month).
Gas: Duke Energy Kentucky Rate RS from September 1, 2026, $20.00 plus the $0.30 Home Energy Assistance charge a month, and $1.51209 per CCF plus the $0.27 pipeline modernization and $0.014440 demand side management charges, converted to therms at 1.037 therms per CCF. The gas cost adjustment changes during the year and a winter weather normalization adjustment can apply; neither change is modeled. Starting use is Kentucky's 2025 residential average from EIA (about 54 therms a month). Insurance is the 2022 Kentucky average HO-3 premium (NAIC). Utility tax: the Kenton County Board of Education levies a 3% utility gross receipts license tax for 2026-27, added here to electricity and gas. Kentucky law (KRS 160.6131) also counts water as a taxed utility service, so the NKWD water bill carries it too (about $1.30 a month at the starting use); that is not added, and sewer is not a taxed utility service.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Independence compares

A typical Independence house against the 11 Kentucky cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Independence	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	1.37%	1.32%	higher than 7 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover
Water	$535	$535	higher than 4 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$745	$745	lower than 5 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,116	$2,751	higher than 10 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	$9,357	$8,812	higher than 9 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. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $3,116 a year, higher than 10 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 $3,116 a year for a typical house, higher than 10 of the other 10 Kentucky cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

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Common questions about Independence house costs

What is the property tax rate in Independence?

About 1.37% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Kenton County), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $6,830 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Independence?

About $107 a month for water and sewer at typical use (5.3476 units, or 4,000 gallons a month) on Northern Kentucky Water District.

How much does trash pickup cost in Independence?

Paid directly to Rumpke, not through the city

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Independence?

Yes. Seniors 65+: homestead exemption: Owners 65 or older (or totally disabled) who own and occupy their home as of January 1 can take $49,100 off its taxable value for 2025 and 2026. If only one spouse is 65, the age requirement is met.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Independence?

Low income: SD1 Customer Assistance Program: SD1 customers at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines (200% for customers 65 or older) with a usage factor of 2 or 3 on a recent SD1 bill can get a 20% discount on residential sanitary sewer bills. Contact the Brighton Center at 859-491-8303, ext. 2378.

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

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