What a Rolla 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 $35,530 of value before exemptions. Typical use.
- Property tax$1,858
5.229% of $35,530
- Electricity$1,557
1001 kWh a month $1,483 · City of Rolla PILOT (payment in lieu of tax, a line item on the RMU bill) $74
- Water and sewer$1,280
7,000 gallons a month on Rolla Municipal Utilities: water $47, sewer $59 a month
- TrashNot included
Weekly trash collection plus weekly yard waste bag collection in the applicable months
- Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.
A typical Rolla house costs about $4,700 a year: $1,860 property tax and charges, $1,280 water and sewer, $1,560 electricity; trash is billed separately, and home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 31, 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 35 gallon container cartUp to $36 a year
Your cart costs $19 a month; the smallest costs $16. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your garbage hauler.
Who serves this house
- Water
- Rolla Municipal Utilities
- RMU residential water: $4.75 per 1,000 gallons and a $13.00 monthly fee for a 5/8″ or 3/4″ meter. RMU customers see the 5% PILOT as a line item on their bill.
- Property tax
- 5.23% of value
- 2026 tax year, Phelps County (Rolla 31 School, City of Rolla, no fire district levy)
- Garbage
- City of Rolla Environmental Services
- Weekly trash collection, plus weekly yard waste bag collection during the applicable months; billed by RMU for the City.
- Sewer
- City of Rolla
- Per 1,000 gallons plus a monthly service availability fee, billed on the RMU bill.
- Electricity
- Rolla Municipal Utilities (RMU)
- Flat residential rate per kWh plus a monthly service availability fee.
Your water
- Source
- The water comes from groundwater wells.
- Violation
- The 2025 report lists a Lead and Copper Rule Revisions notification violation (known or potential lead service lines).
Other MO cities
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How these numbers are made
- Electric: RMU residential single-phase rate effective with billing October 1, 2026: 9.5 ¢/kWh, $28.50 monthly service availability fee, power cost adjustment 0%; 5% city PILOT added on top.
- Water: RMU rate effective October 1, 2026, $4.75 per 1,000 gallons and $13.00 monthly (5/8-3/4 inch meter), each raised 5% for the PILOT line item shown on the bill. Water use default is the page default.
- Sewer: City of Rolla wastewater page, $6.75 per 1,000 gallons of water plus a $14.00 monthly availability fee; the city may change fees at the start of its fiscal year (October).
- Property tax: Phelps County 2026 certified levies per $100 of assessed value for the Rolla 31 School / City of Rolla group (total 5.2290); the Census median value is a market value, multiplied by Missouri's 19 percent residential assessment ratio. The commercial surtax does not apply to homes.
- Natural gas is not modelled: Rolla homes are served by Ameren Missouri (Rolla system), but the current Rolla-system purchased-gas (PGA/ACA) factor could not be read from a published tariff, so no gas bill is estimated. Home insurance is not modelled.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
How Rolla compares
A typical Rolla house against the 43 Missouri cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Rolla | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 5.23% | 5.64% | lower than 26 of the other 42 Missouri cities we cover |
| Water | $567 | $680 | lower than 29 of the other 42 Missouri cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $713 | $805 | lower than 26 of the other 42 Missouri cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $1,557 | $2,357 | lower than 39 of the other 42 Missouri cities we cover |
| Total | $4,695 | $8,070 | lower than 41 of the other 42 Missouri 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. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $1,557 a year, lower than 39 of the other 42 Missouri cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $1,557 a year for a typical house, lower than 39 of the other 42 Missouri cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Rolla house costs
What is the property tax rate in Rolla?
About 5.23% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Phelps County (Rolla 31 School, City of Rolla, no fire district levy)), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Rolla?
About $26,145 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Rolla?
About $107 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on Rolla Municipal Utilities.
How much does trash pickup cost in Rolla?
Weekly trash collection plus weekly yard waste bag collection in the applicable months
How much does a house in Rolla cost to run each year?
A typical Rolla house costs about $4,700 a year: $1,860 property tax and charges, $1,280 water and sewer, $1,560 electricity; trash is billed separately, and home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.