What a St. Michael 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 the typical market value, $422,250; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$4,900
1.426% of $422,250, less $8,548 homestead market value exclusion and less $500,000 for class 1a residential homestead property, the 1.25% class rate applies only to market value above $500,000
- Electricity and gas$2,076
587.82 kWh a month $1,240 · 61.79 therms $836
- Water and sewer$954
7,000 gallons a month on Joint Powers Water Board: water $36, sewer $38, city recycling, 35-gallon cart (minimum recycling fee) $6 a month
- TrashNot included
Residents choose and pay a licensed garbage hauler; no hauler price is included in the totals
- Home insurance$1,774
Typical premium $1,774
A St. Michael house at the typical market value ($422,250) pays about $9,700 a year: $4,900 property tax and charges, $950 water and sewer, $2,080 electricity and gas, $1,770 home insurance; trash is billed separately. 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:
Apply for homestead by December 31
If you move into a home and apply by December 31, you may qualify for homestead classification for the next year's taxes. The homestead market value exclusion is 40% of value for homesteads valued at $95,000 or less (a maximum of $38,000), is reduced as values rise, and phases out at $517,200 or more.
How: Apply with the Wright County Assessor; once homestead is granted, there is no need to apply again as long as the property is owned by the same party.
Claim the Minnesota property tax refund
Minnesota homeowners may get a Property Tax Refund based on income and property taxes.
How: File with the Minnesota Department of Revenue by August 15 (you may file up to one year late).
Seniors 65+: defer part of your property tax
With the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral, the tax you pay is 3% of household income and the state pays the rest as a loan, repaid with interest when you sell or cancel.
How: You must be 65 or older (if married, the other spouse at least 62) with household income of $96,000 or less; apply by November 1.
Veterans with a 70%+ disability rating: market value exclusionUp to $150,000 or $300,000 off market value
Up to $150,000 of market value is excluded for honorably discharged veterans with a 70% or higher service-connected disability rating, and up to $300,000 for a 100% permanent and total rating.
How: Own and occupy the homestead by December 31 and submit an initial application to your county assessor's office by December 31.
New residents: change your recycling cart size free within 90 days
Switching recycling cart sizes costs a $30 exchange fee on your Joint Powers utility bill, but new residents have 90 days from moving the water bill into their name to change sizes with the fee waived.
How: Contact Waste Management (320-258-3948) for recycling cart size changes.
LIHEAP households: CenterPoint Gas Affordability Program
Residential customers who receive LIHEAP energy assistance and agree to a levelized payment plan and a payment schedule can get an affordability credit and arrearage forgiveness.
How: The program is available to residential customers qualified for and receiving LIHEAP assistance.
Money dates
- Nov 1in 9 daysApply for the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral to defer next year's taxes
- Dec 31in 69 daysIf you move into a home: apply for homestead with Wright County by Dec 31 to qualify for next year's taxes
- Dec 31in 69 daysApply for the disabled veterans' market value exclusion with the county assessor
- May 15First half of Wright County real estate taxes due (postmarked by the 15th)
Who serves this house
- Water
- Joint Powers Water Board
- St. Michael 2026 fee schedule, O&M residential water fees: a monthly base rate plus a rate per thousand gallons that rises with use
- Property tax
- 1.43% of value
- 2026 taxes payable, Wright County (St. Michael tax district 1401, ISD 885)
- Garbage
- Private haulers; City recycling through Waste Management
- Residents choose their own garbage hauler (four licensed for homes); City recycling is through Waste Management
- Electricity
- Xcel Energy or Wright-Hennepin
- Xcel Energy provides service to the majority of St. Michael; the City also lists Wright-Hennepin Electric as an electricity provider
- Gas
- CenterPoint Energy
- CenterPoint Energy is the natural gas utility the City lists; Xcel Energy gas is only available in some areas
- Schools
- ISD 885, St. Michael-Albertville
- Most St. Michael property is in ISD 885 (St. Michael-Albertville); smaller areas are in ISD 728 (Elk River) and ISD 877 (Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose)
Your water
- Source
- Groundwater from eight wells, 221 to 504 feet deep, in the Mt. Simon, Eau Claire-Mt. Simon, Quaternary Buried Artesian and Hinckley Sandstone aquifers
- Copper
- In 2025 testing at customer taps, the 90th-percentile copper result was 1.52 ppm against the 1.3 ppm action level (6 of 30 homes high); the report says the system is in exceedance of the action level for copper
- Radium
- Combined radium: highest result 3.7 pCi/l (range 1.1 to 3.7) against a 5 pCi/l limit; no violation
- Hardness
- 22 grains per gallon (375 mg/l)
Other MN cities
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How these numbers are made
- Water: the City of St. Michael 2026 fee schedule (O&M residential water fees; the Joint Powers Water Board runs the water system): the $7.61 monthly base rate, then per 1,000 gallons $4.00 up to 3,500 gallons, $4.32 to 6,500, $4.56 to 11,500, $4.89 to 16,500 and $5.45 above. The City publishes no typical household use, so the page starts at 9 CCF (about 6,700 gallons) a month.
- Sewer: the $29.05 monthly minimum covers the first 5,000 gallons; above that, $5.08 per 1,000 gallons of water use. The fee schedule also lists area charges on top for some neighborhoods (Albertville Area Collection System $17.00 a month, Lakes Area Collection System $6.60 a month, grinder pump maintenance $25.00 a month); they are not included because they apply only in those areas. Homes on a private well or septic system pay no water or sewer charge (the schedule lists a $29.05 basic sewer charge without water).
- Other utility-bill charges: the fee schedule lists a storm water utility charge of $3.00 per REF a month; it is not included because the schedule does not say how many REF a single-family home is billed. City recycling (Waste Management) is the 35-gallon minimum, $6.00 a month; the 64-gallon cart is $6.25 and the 96-gallon $6.50. Garbage: residents pick and pay a licensed hauler, so no garbage price is included.
- Property tax: Wright County's 2026 final rates for St. Michael tax district 1401 (ISD 885, St. Michael-Albertville), which holds about 88% of St. Michael's referendum market value: 98.330884% of tax capacity (county 35.187452%, city 26.209655%, ISD 885 36.531043%, St. Michael EDA 0.402734%) plus 0.197089% of market value for ISD 885 referendums. The homestead market value exclusion comes off the tax-capacity parts; a further 0.25% x 98.330884% is added on value above $500,000 (1.25% class rate). The starting value is the median estimated market value of St. Michael's 6,450 homesteaded single-unit residential parcels in the state's compilation of Wright County parcel data ($422,250; labeled tax year 2027 there, so it is the newest assessment and may run slightly above the value behind 2026 bills); at that value the tax is about $4,900. District 1402 (ISD 728, Elk River) pays 86.301841% plus 0.254770% and district 1403 (ISD 877) 82.639438% plus 0.153455%. Some homes also pay assessments for street or utility projects on the tax bill; those are not included.
- Electricity: the City says Xcel Energy serves the majority of St. Michael (Wright-Hennepin serves other addresses). Xcel figures: the $6.00 basic service charge plus St. Michael's $3.50 monthly residential electric franchise fee ($9.50); per kWh, the 2024 average Xcel Minnesota residential revenue (EIA) less the basic charges, 15.96 cents, which covers seasonal energy rates, fuel cost charge and riders but predates the interim rate increase in effect since January 2025. Typical use: about 588 kWh a month (EIA 2024, Xcel Minnesota residential sales per customer). Wright-Hennepin members pay that cooperative's rates instead.
- Gas: CenterPoint Energy's $9.50 basic charge; per therm, the delivery charge plus the tariff's cost of gas, revenue decoupling and Natural Gas Innovation Act charges ($0.97366); the cost of gas moves monthly. CenterPoint's franchise fee rider lists no St. Michael fee. Typical gas use is Minnesota's 2024 residential average (EIA), about 62 therms a month. Insurance: the 2022 NAIC statewide average premium for Minnesota (HO-3) until you enter your own. Sales tax is not included.
- Storm water charge ($3.00 per REF) not counted: REF billed for a single-family home is unknown.
- Electric per-kWh is an estimate from 2024 averages and predates the interim rate increase in effect since January 2025.
- Gas cost of gas changes monthly.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- City of St. Michael: Garbage & recycling
- City of St. Michael: Joint Powers Water Board
- Joint Powers Water Board: 2025 Drinking Water Report (CCR)
- City of St. Michael: Public Works
- City of St. Michael: New resident information (utilities)
- CenterPoint Energy 2026 Minnesota Rates, Rights and Tariff Book
- Wright County: 2026 final tax rates
- Wright County: 2026 tax capacities and referendum market values
- City of St. Michael: 2026 fee schedule
- EPA: community water system boundaries (Joint Powers Water Board, MN1860024)
- Joint Powers Water Board: Frequently asked questions
- Minnesota Department of Revenue: Module 3, Classification of Property
- Minnesota Department of Revenue: Homestead Market Value Exclusion
- Wright County parcel data (state compilation): St. Michael median value of homesteaded single-unit parcels
- Minnesota parcel data: field definitions
- EIA: 2024 utility bundled retail sales, residential (Table 6)
- Xcel Energy Minnesota Residential Electrical Prices
- Xcel Energy Minnesota Electric Rate Book, Section 4
- EIA: Minnesota natural gas consumption by end use
- EIA: Minnesota natural gas consumers
- Xcel Energy: Minnesota communities served
- Xcel Energy Minnesota Electric Rate Book, Section 3: Service Area
- Xcel Energy Minnesota Electric Rate Book, Section 5: Franchise and other city fees
- Insurance Information Institute: homeowners and renters insurance (NAIC data)
- Wright County: Applying for homestead
- Minnesota Department of Revenue: Property Tax Refund
- Minnesota Department of Revenue: Filing for a Property Tax Refund
- Minnesota Department of Revenue: Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral
- Wright County: Homestead exclusion for veterans with a disability (fact sheet)
- City of St. Michael: Compost disposal
- Wright County: Property tax due dates
- Wright County: Property tax penalties
How St. Michael compares
A typical St. Michael house against the 35 Minnesota cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | St. Michael | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 1.49% | lower than 20 of the other 33 Minnesota cities we cover |
| Water | $428 | $339 | higher than 25 of the other 34 Minnesota cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $526 | $621 | lower than 26 of the other 34 Minnesota cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,076 | $2,150 | lower than 22 of the other 34 Minnesota cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $1,774 | $1,774 | in the middle of 34 other Minnesota cities we cover |
| Total | $9,704 | $9,536 | higher than 19 of the other 34 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. Sewer and utility-bill fees
The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $526 a year, lower than 26 of the other 34 Minnesota 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 $526 a year, lower than 26 of the other 34 Minnesota cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
Common questions about St. Michael house costs
What is the property tax rate in St. Michael?
About 1.43% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 taxes payable, Wright County (St. Michael tax district 1401, ISD 885)), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in St. Michael?
About $5,887 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homestead market value exclusion.
How much is the water bill in St. Michael?
About $79 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on Joint Powers Water Board.
How much does trash pickup cost in St. Michael?
Residents choose and pay a licensed garbage hauler; no hauler price is included in the totals
When is property tax due in St. Michael?
Aug 15: Minnesota property tax refund due; you may still file up to one year late
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in St. Michael?
Yes. Seniors 65+: defer part of your property tax: With the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral, the tax you pay is 3% of household income and the state pays the rest as a loan, repaid with interest when you sell or cancel.
Where can I get help paying utility bills in St. Michael?
LIHEAP households: CenterPoint Gas Affordability Program: Residential customers who receive LIHEAP energy assistance and agree to a levelized payment plan and a payment schedule can get an affordability credit and arrearage forgiveness. The program is available to residential customers qualified for and receiving LIHEAP assistance.
How much does a house in St. Michael cost to run each year?
A St. Michael house at the typical market value ($422,250) pays about $9,700 a year: $4,900 property tax and charges, $950 water and sewer, $2,080 electricity and gas, $1,770 home insurance; trash is billed separately. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.