What a Battle Creek 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 $62,250 of taxable value. Typical use.
- Property tax$3,162
6.879% of $62,250 taxable value, with the principal residence exemption
- Electricity and gas$2,698
628.09 kWh a month $1,885 · 68.74 therms $812
- Water and sewer$1,052
9 units (CCF) a month on City of Battle Creek: water $30, sewer $57 a month
- Trash$472
Curb service (30-day rate), $39 a month
- Home insurance$1,056
Typical premium $1,056
A typical Battle Creek house pays about $8,400 a year: $3,160 property tax and charges, $1,050 water and sewer, $470 trash, $2,700 electricity and gas, $1,060 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:
Principal Residence Exemption
A principal residence exemption exempts an owner's principal residence from the local school operating millage, up to 18 mills.
How: File a Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit (Form 2368) with the assessor for the city or township where the property is located.
Money dates
- Nov 1in 9 daysDeadline to file a Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit (Form 2368) for the winter tax levy
- Jun 1File a Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit by June 1 to lower that year's taxes starting with the summer levy
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Battle Creek
- City of Battle Creek fee schedule effective July 1, 2026: monthly Readiness to Serve charge by meter size plus a uniform rate per 100 cubic feet (748 gallons)
- Property tax
- 6.88% of value
- 2025 tax year, Battle Creek City with Battle Creek Public Schools
- Garbage
- City of Battle Creek
- Garbage service is billed on the City utility bill with water and sewer
- Sewer
- City of Battle Creek
- Sewer is billed monthly on the City utility bill
- Electricity
- Consumers Energy
- Battle Creek is listed in the territory served by Consumers Energy's electric rate book
- Gas
- SEMCO Energy Gas
- SEMCO Energy Gas delivers natural gas in and around Battle Creek
Other MI cities
What a Beverly Hills house paysWhat a Mount Pleasant house paysWhat a Wyoming house paysWhat a Grand Rapids house paysWhat a Saginaw house paysWhat a Marquette house paysWhat a Midland house paysWhat a Owosso house pays
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: the 2025 State of Michigan total rate for Battle Creek City with Battle Creek Public Schools is 50.7948 mills for a principal residence and 68.7948 mills otherwise; the 18-mill difference is the school operating millage a Principal Residence Exemption removes. Other school districts serve part of the city; Battle Creek Public Schools has about 2/3 of the City's taxable value.
- Taxable value: we start at about $62,300, 60.66% of the City's 2024-levy taxable value divided by its residential water customers. Enter your own taxable value from your bill.
- Water and sewer: City fee schedule effective July 1, 2026 for a 5/8-inch meter, billed monthly: water $15.27 plus $1.66 per ccf; sewer $18.96 plus $4.28 per ccf. The water use default is the page's generic typical, not a Battle Creek figure. Garbage rates are for 30 days; we bill them monthly.
- Garbage: the City 30-day rates, curb $25.35 and backyard $39.34, billed on the utility bill.
- Gas: SEMCO Energy Gas serves Battle Creek. We add its September 2026 per-therm charges (cost of gas, balance and demand, billed distribution, facility improvement surcharge) and treat the customer, main replacement and infrastructure charges ($12.25, $1.70, $1.56) as monthly, which SEMCO's page does not state. Typical use is the Michigan statewide EIA average, not Battle Creek. A rate change SEMCO has announced for 2027 is not included.
- Electricity: the Michigan Public Service Commission September 1, 2026 comparison for Consumers Energy ($9.50 plus 23.5 cents per kWh); typical use from EIA 2024. Insurance: 2022 NAIC statewide average.
- The residential water-customer count may include some multi-unit accounts (modelling remark, not sourced).
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- City of Battle Creek Utility Billing
- City of Battle Creek Fee, Bond & Insurance Schedule (July 1, 2026)
- Michigan Treasury 2025 total property tax rates
- City of Battle Creek ACFR FY2025
- MPSC residential bill comparison (Sept 1, 2026)
- Consumers Energy electric rate book, territory served
- EIA 2024 residential sales table 6
- Insurance Information Institute
- Michigan Treasury: Principal Residence Exemption
- Michigan Treasury: PRE claim requirement
- Michigan Treasury: partial PRE
- SEMCO Energy Gas current gas rates (September 2026)
- SEMCO Energy Gas company description
- EIA Michigan residential natural gas consumption
- EIA Michigan residential natural gas consumers
How Battle Creek compares
A typical Battle Creek house against the 320 cities we cover nationwide, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Battle Creek | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 6.88% | 1.23% | higher than 313 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide |
| Water | $363 | $654 | lower than 271 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $690 | $735 | lower than 152 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide |
| Trash | $472 | $379 | higher than 196 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide |
| Electricity and gas | $2,698 | $2,743 | lower than 163 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide |
| Home insurance | $1,056 | $1,492 | lower than 279 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide |
| Total | $8,440 | $11,671 | lower than 269 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide |
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: Battle Creek's property tax rate is 6.88%, higher than 313 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.
Ask: "Property tax in Battle Creek is 6.88%, higher than 313 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"
2. Water
The fact: Water here costs about $363 a year at typical use, lower than 271 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide.
Ask: "Water here costs about $363 a year at typical use, lower than 271 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
3. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $472 a year for the standard cart, higher than 196 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.
Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $472 a year for the standard cart, higher than 196 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
Common questions about Battle Creek house costs
What is the property tax rate in Battle Creek?
About 5.08% of taxable value a year for an owner's principal residence, or 6.88% without the Principal Residence Exemption (2025 tax year, Battle Creek City with Battle Creek Public Schools).
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Battle Creek?
A house bought for $500,000 starts at about $250,000 of taxable value (50% of its value), so about $12,699 a year with the principal residence exemption. After that, taxable value rises by inflation or 5%, whichever is lower, until the house sells again.
How much is the water bill in Battle Creek?
About $88 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of Battle Creek.
How much does trash pickup cost in Battle Creek?
$39 a month for a house.
How much does a house in Battle Creek cost to run each year?
A typical Battle Creek house pays about $8,400 a year: $3,160 property tax and charges, $1,050 water and sewer, $470 trash, $2,700 electricity and gas, $1,060 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.