What a Niles 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 $67,550 of taxable value. Typical use.
- Property tax$2,452
5.431% of $67,550 taxable value, with the principal residence exemption
- Electricity and gas$1,748
618 kWh a month $936 · 68.74 therms $812
- Water and sewer$1,008
9 units (CCF) a month on City of Niles: water $42, sewer $42 a month
- Trash$0
No City trash fee (private hauler price not included), $0 a month
- Home insurance$1,056
Typical premium $1,056
A typical Niles house costs about $6,300 a year: $2,450 property tax and charges, $1,010 water and sewer, $0 trash, $1,750 electricity and gas, $1,060 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 29, 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 where the property is located.
Lower incomes: Michigan Homestead Property Tax CreditUp to $1,900
Tax year 2025 limits: maximum taxable value $165,400, total household resources limit $71,500, phase-out above $62,500, credit limit $1,900.
How: See the Michigan Department of Treasury's Homestead Property Tax Credit information.
Money dates
- Jun 1File a Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit (Form 2368) on or before June 1 to reduce that year’s property taxes beginning with the summer tax levy
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Niles
- City water customers: Ready to Serve monthly charge by meter size plus a rate per 100 cubic feet (100 cf = 748 gallons).
- Property tax
- 5.43% of value
- 2025 tax year, Niles City with Niles Community Schools
- Sewer
- City of Niles Utilities Department
- Sewer is billed on actual water metered flow
- Electricity
- City of Niles Utilities Department
- Residential service within the city limits of Niles, Michigan
- Gas
- SEMCO Energy Gas
- Serves customers in and around the city of Niles
Other MI cities
Beverly Hills home costsMount Pleasant home costsWyoming home costsBattle Creek home costsGrand Rapids home costsSaginaw home costsMarquette home costsMidland home costsOwosso home costsWayne home costsAnn Arbor home costsLincoln Park home costsFlint home costsBay City home costsGarden City home costsWalker home costsJackson home costs
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: the State of Michigan 2025 total rate for Niles City with Niles Community Schools is 36.3056 mills for a principal residence and 54.3056 mills otherwise; the 18-mill difference is what a Principal Residence Exemption removes. Parts of the Niles city address area may be in other school districts; the 2026 rates are not yet published.
- Taxable value: half of the Census ACS 2024 5-year median value of owner-occupied units in Niles ($135,100), because Michigan taxable value is about half of market value after a sale. Enter your own taxable value from your bill.
- Water and sewer: City of Niles schedules effective October 1, 2025, 5/8-inch meter, billed monthly: water $18.50 plus $2.57 per 100 cu ft; sewer $18.25 plus $2.68 per 100 cu ft of metered water. The City has not published a typical household use, so the page starts at its default use.
- Electricity: City of Niles Residential - City rate ($19.25 plus $0.0950 per kWh). The Power Cost Adjustment is billed on top and its current value is not published in the rate schedule, so it is not included (searched city pages and rate schedule; no figure published). Michigan taxes residential electricity and natural gas at 4% sales tax (michigan.gov/taxes sales and use tax) and the Niles Rate 1 schedule says the rate is subject to it; the electric and gas totals exclude that tax, roughly $3-4 a month. Typical use is the average of Michigan DTE and Consumers residential customers (EIA).
- Gas: SEMCO Energy Gas residential rates at semcoenergygas.com, per therm, plus monthly charges. Garbage: private hauler, no City fee, so no trash cost is included and a household that hires a private hauler pays on top of the total shown. Insurance: 2022 NAIC statewide average, the latest year Triple-I publishes in its HO-3 state table.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- www.nilesmi.org
- www.nilesmi.org
- www.nilesmi.org
- www.nilesmi.org
- www.nilesmi.org
- www.michigan.gov
- www.nilesmi.org
- www.semcoenergygas.com
- data.census.gov
- www.michigan.gov
- www.michigan.gov
- www.semcoenergygas.com
- www.eia.gov
- www.eia.gov
- www.iii.org
- www.michigan.gov
- www.michigan.gov
- www.lincolninst.edu
- sfa.senate.michigan.gov
- www.eia.gov
How Niles compares
A typical Niles house against the 18 Michigan cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Niles | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 5.43% | 6.17% | lower than 14 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover |
| Water | $500 | $622 | lower than 10 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $508 | $750 | lower than 13 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover |
| Trash | $0 | $227 | lower than 7 of the other 8 Michigan cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $1,748 | $2,762 | lower than 17 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $1,056 | $1,056 | in the middle of 16 other Michigan cities we cover |
| Total | $6,264 | $8,299 | lower than 17 of the other 17 Michigan 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: Niles's property tax rate is 5.43%, lower than 14 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.
Ask: "Property tax in Niles is 5.43%, lower than 14 of the other 17 Michigan 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 $508 a year, lower than 13 of the other 17 Michigan 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 $508 a year, lower than 13 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
3. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $0 a year for the standard cart, lower than 7 of the other 8 Michigan 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 $0 a year for the standard cart, lower than 7 of the other 8 Michigan cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
4. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $1,748 a year, lower than 17 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $1,748 a year for a typical house, lower than 17 of the other 17 Michigan cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Niles house costs
What is the property tax rate in Niles?
About 3.63% of taxable value a year for an owner's principal residence, or 5.43% without the Principal Residence Exemption (2025 tax year, Niles City with Niles Community Schools).
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Niles?
A house bought for $500,000 starts at about $250,000 of taxable value (50% of its value), so about $9,076 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 Niles?
About $84 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of Niles.
How much does trash pickup cost in Niles?
$0 a month for a house.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Niles?
Yes. Lower incomes: Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit: Tax year 2025 limits: maximum taxable value $165,400, total household resources limit $71,500, phase-out above $62,500, credit limit $1,900.
How much does a house in Niles cost to run each year?
A typical Niles house costs about $6,300 a year: $2,450 property tax and charges, $1,010 water and sewer, $0 trash, $1,750 electricity and gas, $1,060 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.