Northfield, MN · Updated Oct 2026

What a Northfield 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.

Example · a Northfield house

$11,419a year · $952 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $356,200; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

Property tax$6,084
2.133% of $356,200, less $500,000 1.00% class rate on the first $500,000 and less $14,492 homestead market value exclusion
Flat charges on the tax bill$60
Rice County solid waste fee $60
Electricity and gas$2,341
587.82 kWh a month $1,255 · 71 therms $1,087
Water and sewer$999
5.89 units (CCF) a month on City of Northfield: water $28, sewer $43, storm sewer fee ($36.32 per acre, shown for a 0.33-acre lot) $12 a month
Trash$160
35 gallon container (garbage and recycling), $13 a month
Home insurance$1,774
Typical premium $1,774

A Northfield house at the typical market value ($356,200) costs about $11,400 a year: $6,140 property tax and charges, $1,000 water and sewer, $160 trash, $2,340 electricity and gas, $1,770 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:

Switch to the 20 gallon container (garbage and recycling) cartUp to $16 a year
Your cart costs $13 a month; the smallest costs $12. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Contact the city to set up service and order your carts: fill out a Start or Change Service Request Form.
Claim the Minnesota property tax refund
The due date for the property tax refund is August 15. You may file up to one year after the due date.
Veterans with a 70%+ disability rating: market value exclusion$150,000 or $300,000 off market value
Honorably discharged veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher who own and occupy a homestead can get a $150,000 market value exclusion; a 100% permanent and total disability rating qualifies for $300,000.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cart2026 monthly flat fee per container size. Yard waste is a separate yearly fee. Rice County households also pay a $60 yearly solid waste fee on the property tax bill for parcels with a building valued at $5,000 or more (included below).

Value before exemptionsUse the estimated market value on your 2025 valuation notice (the one your 2026 tax bill is based on).

I live here and have the 1.00% class rate on the first $500,000 and Homestead market value exclusion

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $1,774, NAIC average HO-3 homeowners premium for Minnesota, 2022, as published by the Insurance Information Institute.

Your use

Water, units a month

On your water bill. 1 unit (CCF) is 748 gallons. A typical Northfield house uses about 5.89.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Xcel Energy bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Aug 15Minnesota property tax refund (Form M1PR) due; you may still file up to one year late

Who serves this house

Water: City of Northfield; 2026 single family residential rates, effective January 1, 2026
Property tax: 2.13% of value; 2026 taxes payable, Rice County (Northfield city, School District 659)
Garbage: Dick’s Sanitation (city-contracted); The garbage service is a contracted service and the current contract is provided by Dick’s Sanitation; charges appear on the monthly City utility bill
Sewer: City of Northfield; Billed monthly on the City utility bill: a flat base plus a charge per 100 cubic feet
Electricity: Xcel Energy; Xcel Energy provides gas and electric services for the Northfield area
Gas: Xcel Energy; Xcel Energy provides gas and electric services for the Northfield area
Schools: Northfield School District 659; Rice County’s rate list shows a School District 659 rate for Northfield City

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Groundwater from 5 wells ranging from 360 to 415 feet deep that draw water from the Prairie Du Chien-Jordan, Jordan and Jordan-St. Lawrence aquifers
Manganese: The City has elevated levels of manganese in the water; for children under the age of one the City suggests additional water treatment or bottled water

Other MN cities

Apple Valley home costs Cottage Grove home costs Edina home costs Farmington home costs Lakeville home costs Little Falls home costs Maple Grove home costs Plymouth home costs Shoreview home costs Vadnais Heights home costs Woodbury home costs Andover home costs Shakopee home costs Champlin home costs Eagan home costs Otsego home costs Fairmont home costs Rochester home costs Chanhassen home costs Maplewood home costs St. Michael home costs Inver Grove Heights home costs Forest Lake home costs Chaska home costs Burnsville home costs North Branch home costs Stillwater home costs Roseville home costs Buffalo home costs Victoria home costs Oakdale home costs Rosemount home costs Blaine home costs Hermantown home costs Columbia Heights home costs St. Cloud home costs Dayton home costs Elk River home costs New Brighton home costs Savage home costs Eden Prairie home costs Little Canada home costs North St. Paul home costs Mankato home costs Rogers home costs Anoka home costs East Bethel home costs Coon Rapids home costs Brooklyn Center home costs Crystal home costs Hutchinson home costs Richfield home costs Brooklyn Park home costs Moorhead home costs Faribault home costs New Hope home costs Waconia home costs

How these numbers are made

Property tax: Rice County’s final 2026 payable rates for Northfield city in School District 659: 146.227% of tax capacity (county 38.255% plus county HRA 0.209%, city 73.334% plus HRA 1.584% and EDA 1.552%, school district 31.293%) plus 0.30535% of market value for the school referendum levy. A small southern part of the city is in Dakota County, which has its own lower rate; this page uses Rice County, where most of the city is.
Minnesota taxes a home on tax capacity: 1.00% of taxable market value up to $500,000 and 1.25% above, so each tax-capacity rate is applied at 1.00% and one extra line adds 0.25% times 146.227% on value above $500,000. Owner-occupied homesteads also get the homestead market value exclusion (40% of the first $95,000, reduced by 9% of value above $95,000, zero from $517,200), which comes off the tax-capacity parts only; the referendum rate applies to full market value.
Water and sewer: City of Northfield 2026 rates, effective January 1, 2026. Water is priced per 100 cubic feet in four tiers (500, 1,000 and 2,000 cubic feet break points, shown as 5, 10 and 20 CCF a month) after a $14.02 monthly base; sewer is a $10.41 monthly base plus $5.53 per 100 cubic feet of water used. Starting usage is the 589 cubic feet a month the City’s 2025 rate study uses for its average residential customer.
Storm sewer: $36.32 per acre, multiplied by the 0.33-acre lot the same rate study uses for its average customer (about $11.99 a month); the City bills it by parcel category and acreage, so your lot size changes it. Garbage: the 2026 monthly flat fee by cart size; the Rice County solid waste fee of $60 a year (raised from $40 for 2026; the City utility-rates page still says $40) is on the property tax bill for parcels with a building valued at $5,000 or more and is added once there. Dakota County households instead pay $3 a month on the utility bill.
Energy: Xcel Energy serves electric and gas. Rates are Xcel’s Minnesota residential figures as used on the audited Roseville page (EIA 2024 average price, tariff base charge, Xcel’s January 2026 interim gas average bills), plus the City’s flat monthly franchise fees of $4.75 (electric) and $3.30 (gas). The electric rate is the EIA 2024 NSP-Minnesota average price with the $6.00 base charge removed (a statewide average, not a tariff rate). Insurance is the NAIC statewide 2022 average premium, the latest year the source publishes.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Northfield compares

A typical Northfield house against the 58 Minnesota cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Northfield	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	2.13%	1.50%	higher than 55 of the other 55 Minnesota cities we cover
Water	$339	$368	lower than 34 of the other 57 Minnesota cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$660	$637	higher than 31 of the other 57 Minnesota cities we cover
Trash	$160	$282	lower than 16 of the other 16 Minnesota cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$2,341	$2,109	higher than 54 of the other 57 Minnesota cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,774	$1,774	in the middle of 57 other Minnesota cities we cover
Total	$11,419	$9,677	higher than 54 of the other 57 Minnesota 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: Northfield's property tax rate is 2.13%, higher than 55 of the other 55 Minnesota cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Northfield is 2.13%, higher than 55 of the other 55 Minnesota cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $160 a year for the standard cart, lower than 16 of the other 16 Minnesota 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 $160 a year for the standard cart, lower than 16 of the other 16 Minnesota cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

3. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,341 a year, higher than 54 of the other 57 Minnesota cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,341 a year for a typical house, higher than 54 of the other 57 Minnesota cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Northfield house costs

What is the property tax rate in Northfield?

About 2.13% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 taxes payable, Rice County (Northfield city, School District 659)), plus flat charges on the same bill (Rice County solid waste fee $60).

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

About $8,875 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the 1.00% class rate on the first $500,000, including $60 of flat charges.

How much is the water bill in Northfield?

About $83 a month for water and sewer at typical use (5.89 units, or 4,406 gallons a month) on City of Northfield.

How much does trash pickup cost in Northfield?

$12 to $23 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20 gallon container (garbage and recycling), 35 gallon container (garbage and recycling), 64 gallon container (garbage and recycling), 96 gallon container (garbage and recycling)).

When is property tax due in Northfield?

Aug 15: Minnesota property tax refund (Form M1PR) due; you may still file up to one year late

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

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