What a Owensboro 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.
Starts at the typical market value, $178,900; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$2,556
1.429% of $178,900
- Electricity and gas$2,086
768.2 kWh a month $1,237 · 53.51 therms $788 · school utility tax (3% of total electric and water usage, collected on the OMU bill) $61
- Water and sewer$1,398
9 units (CCF) a month on Owensboro Municipal Utilities: water $34, sewer $83 a month
- Trash$216
96-gallon cart (weekly), $18 a month
- Home insurance$1,359
Typical premium $1,359
A Owensboro house at the typical market value ($178,900) costs about $7,600 a year: $2,560 property tax and charges, $1,400 water and sewer, $220 trash, $2,090 electricity and gas, $1,360 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 28, 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 property valuation administrator (PVA) of the county where the property is located.
Totally disabled owners: homestead exemptionHomestead exemption for totally disabled owners
Kentucky homeowners classified as totally disabled who meet the other requirements are eligible for the homestead exemption, and they must have been receiving payments pursuant to their disability for the entire assessment period.
How: File the Application for Exemption Under the Homestead/Disability Amendment with the property valuation administrator (PVA) of the county where the property is located.
Money dates
- Nov 1 – Nov 30, 2026today2026 City of Owensboro property tax bills are due November 1, 2026; to avoid a 10% penalty plus interest, mailed checks must be postmarked by November 30.
Who serves this house
- Water
- Owensboro Municipal Utilities
- OMU water rates inside the city: monthly customer charge by meter size plus a charge per 100 cubic feet of use; 100 cubic feet = 750 gallons
- Property tax
- 1.43% of value
- 2025 tax year, Daviess County, Owensboro Independent School District
- Garbage
- City of Owensboro Sanitation
- Weekly collection of one 96-gallon cart
- RWRA charge
- Regional Water Resource Agency (RWRA)
- Collected by OMU and passed on, per OMU
- Electricity
- Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU)
- Residential customer charge $18.00 a month plus per-kWh charges and adjustments
- Gas
- Atmos Energy
- Rate G-1 residential: $25.00 a month plus the Mcf charges
Your water
- Source
- The source of water supply for Owensboro Municipal Utilities is groundwater that comes from the Ohio River Alluvium, a deep underground aquifer on the northeast side of Owensboro, Kentucky.
- Violations
- Owensboro Municipal Utilities had zero water quality violations for Calendar Year 2025.
Other KY cities
Louisville home costsIndependence home costsLexington home costsGeorgetown home costsShelbyville home costsBowling Green home costsFort Thomas home costsCovington home costsErlanger home costsMount Washington home costsSt. Matthews home costsElizabethtown home costsRichmond home costsVersailles home costsBardstown home costsLyndon home costsShepherdsville home costsAlexandria home costsNicholasville home costsPaducah home costsFlorence home costsWinchester home costsMurray home costsHopkinsville home costsFrankfort home costsHenderson home costsJeffersontown home costsMadisonville home costsBerea home costsNewport home costsLa Grange home costs
How these numbers are made
- Property tax uses the Kentucky Department of Revenue 2025 rate book (2026 not yet published) for Daviess County: city 25.6 cents, state 10.6 cents, county total 22.67 cents (fiscal court 12.2, library 5.4, health 4.0, extension 1.07) and Owensboro Independent schools 84.0 cents per $100. The city kept 25.6 cents for 2026-27; the school board approved 85.6 cents (not yet in the state rate book). Starting value is the Census median value of owner-occupied homes ($178,900), not an assessor figure.
- Homes in the Daviess County school district pay 69.8 cents instead of 84.0. The $49,100 homestead exemption is for owners 65+ or disabled, so it is a tip, not taken off the typical bill.
- Water: OMU inside-city rates, $10.90 monthly charge and $2.57, $2.27, $2.14 per 100 cubic feet (tier breaks 400 and 5,000 ccf a month). Sewer: RWRA monthly charges $28.45 + $0.53 + $9.98 + $9.95 = $48.91 plus $3.733 per 100 cubic feet.
- Trash: $18.00 a month for one 96-gallon cart, billed on the OMU statement. Electricity: OMU's current Energy Cost Adjustment is not published on its site, so the page uses EIA's 2024 average residential price of 13.42 cents per kWh less the $18 customer charge spread over average use (about 11.08 cents per kWh); the ECA was reported raised to 2.47 cents in 2025, so this is likely low. Starting use is EIA 2024 residential sales per customer.
- Gas: Atmos G-1 as in other Kentucky cities, converted at 10.37 therms per Mcf. The school utility tax is 3% of electric and water usage per OMU. Insurance is the 2022 Kentucky average HO-3 premium (NAIC via Triple-I), old and likely low.
- EIA table 6 lists City of Owensboro average price 13.42 cents/kWh (used for modelling only).
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- OMU water rates
- OMU understanding your bill
- OMU electric rates
- KY Dept of Revenue 2025 rate book
- City of Owensboro property tax
- City of Owensboro trash
- RWRA billing and rates
- OMU water quality report 2025
- Atmos tariff
- EIA utility sales
- KY homestead exemption
- III premiums
- Census median value
- EIA gas consumers
- EIA gas consumption
How Owensboro compares
A typical Owensboro house against the 32 Kentucky cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Owensboro | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 1.28% | higher than 25 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Water | $408 | $535 | lower than 23 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $990 | $745 | higher than 26 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Trash | $216 | $216 | in the middle of 22 other Kentucky cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,086 | $2,612 | lower than 24 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $1,359 | $1,359 | lower than 1 of the other 29 Kentucky cities we cover |
| Total | $7,616 | $8,208 | lower than 23 of the other 31 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. Property tax rate
The fact: Owensboro's property tax rate is 1.43%, higher than 25 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.
Ask: "Property tax in Owensboro is 1.43%, higher than 25 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"
2. Sewer and utility-bill fees
The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $990 a year, higher than 26 of the other 31 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 $990 a year, higher than 26 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
3. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,086 a year, lower than 24 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,086 a year for a typical house, lower than 24 of the other 31 Kentucky cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Owensboro house costs
What is the property tax rate in Owensboro?
About 1.43% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year, Daviess County, Owensboro Independent School District), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Owensboro?
About $7,144 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Owensboro?
About $117 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Owensboro Municipal Utilities.
How much does trash pickup cost in Owensboro?
$18 a month for a house.
When is property tax due in Owensboro?
Nov 1 – Nov 30, 2026: 2026 City of Owensboro property tax bills are due November 1, 2026; to avoid a 10% penalty plus interest, mailed checks must be postmarked by November 30.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Owensboro?
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 Owensboro cost to run each year?
A Owensboro house at the typical market value ($178,900) costs about $7,600 a year: $2,560 property tax and charges, $1,400 water and sewer, $220 trash, $2,090 electricity and gas, $1,360 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.