Sparks, NV · Updated Oct 2026

What a Sparks 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.

Example · a Sparks house

$6,223a year · $519 a month

Starts at $483,800 of home value. Typical use.

Property tax$2,257
About 0.47% of home value (Census average for Sparks, not your bill's rate)
Flat charges on the tax bill$7
Groundwater remediation fee (CTMRD, average) $7
Electricity and gas$1,621
686.6 kWh a month $1,163 · 39.4 therms $381 · local government fee (5% in Washoe County, per NV Energy) $77
Water and sewer$1,013
7,000 gallons a month on Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA): water $40, sewer $44 a month
Trash$376
64-gallon trash + 96-gallon recycling, $31 a month
Home insurance$948
Typical premium $948

A typical Sparks house pays about $6,200 a year: $2,260 property tax and charges, $1,010 water and sewer, $380 trash, $1,620 electricity and gas, $950 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 21, 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:

Make sure your home has the 3% tax cap3% cap instead of up to 8%
Nevada limits the yearly increase in the tax bill of an owner-occupied primary residence to 3%; other property is limited to an increase of up to 8%. After a change in ownership, in the owner's name or in the mailing address, the Assessor mails an affidavit and sets the property to the higher cap until a qualifying affidavit is filed.
How: Return the affidavit the Assessor mails you; if you have not filed a claim this fiscal year, file the Partial Abatement Claim Form with the Washoe County Assessor. The abatement level is printed on your tax bill, or call (775) 328-2277.
Veterans: $3,640 off assessed value$3,640 off assessed value
Veterans who meet Nevada's service requirements can take a $3,640 assessed-value exemption for the 2026/2027 fiscal year, which can be applied to the real property tax bill.
How: File with the Washoe County Assessor (bring your separation papers the first time); to apply it to your real property tax bill, return the affidavit by June 15 before the fiscal year starts.
Disabled veterans (60% or more): $18,200 to $36,400 off assessed value$18,200 to $36,400 off assessed value
For the 2026/2027 fiscal year the exemption is $18,200 of assessed value for a 60% to 79% permanent service-connected disability, $27,300 for 80% to 99% and $36,400 for 100%. A qualifying surviving spouse may also be eligible.
How: File with the Washoe County Assessor with your separation papers and VA documentation of the disability percentage; to apply it to your real property tax bill, return the affidavit by June 15 before the fiscal year starts.
Blind residents: $5,460 off assessed value$5,460 off assessed value
Nevada residents whose corrected vision does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye, or whose field of vision is 20 degrees or less, can take a $5,460 assessed-value exemption for the 2026/2027 fiscal year, which can be applied to the real property tax bill.
How: Give the Washoe County Assessor a licensed physician's statement and sign an affidavit of bona fide residency; to apply it to your real property tax bill, return the affidavit by June 15 before the fiscal year starts.
Seniors 70+: lower WM garbage rate$27.72 a month instead of $31.37
WM's City of Sparks rate for seniors (70+) with a 64-gallon trash cart and 96-gallon recycling cart is $27.72 a month; the rate sheet says the senior discount is 15% from the 96-96 rate. The standard 64-gallon cart rate is $31.37 a month.
How: The senior rate is listed on the City of Sparks Exhibit A rate sheet; questions about service changes go to Waste Management at 775-329-8822.
Four free truckloads a year4 free dumps a year
City of Sparks customers may dispose of one standard pickup truck load of waste four times a year at no additional cost.
How: Show a recent WM service bill (or ID matching the service address on the bill) and be current in your payments.
Extra bags free in May and November6 extra bags a week in May and November
During May and November, Sparks customers may place six extra bags, boxes or bundles (up to 3 x 3 x 3 feet or 50 pounds) outside the cart on their service day without an excess waste sticker.
How: Set them out on your regular collection day.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartEvery Sparks trash cart comes with a 96-gallon recycling cart; the price covers both.

Home valueEnter what your house is worth. The rate is what Sparks owners typically pay as a share of value (Census). Your own bill depends on your taxable value and the 3% cap, so check your Washoe County tax bill.

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $948, Nevada statewide average HO-3 homeowners premium for 2022 (NAIC data via Triple-I).

Your use

Water, thousands of gallons a month

On your water bill. A typical house uses 5,000–8,000 gallons.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your NV Energy (Sierra Pacific Power Company) bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Jan 4, 2027in 73 daysThird installment of 2026-27 Washoe County property tax due; accepted without penalty through January 14, 2027. Missing one installment adds a 4% penalty.
Jan 15in 84 daysDeadline to appeal your taxable value to the County Board of Equalization (the next business day if January 15 falls on a weekend or holiday).
Mar 1, 2027Fourth installment of 2026-27 property tax due; accepted without penalty through March 11, 2027.
Jun 15Deadline to apply for or renew most exemptions (veteran, disabled veteran, blind) for the next fiscal year.

Who serves this house

Water: Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA); TMWA Residential Metered Water Service (Rate Schedule RMWS) for a single-family home: a customer charge of $21.87 per billing period for a 3/4-inch meter plus a charge per 1,000 gallons in three tiers (0 to 6,000, 6,001 to 25,000, and over 25,000 gallons per billing period); Sparks customers also pay a 5% right-of-way toll and a 1.5% regional water management fee on the bill
Property tax: About 0.47% of home value; Census ACS 2020-2024 typical share of value; 2026-27 Washoe County rate (district 2000) shown for reference
Garbage: Waste Management (WM), City of Sparks franchise; Weekly trash in a 64 or 96 gallon cart; recycling every other week
Sewer: City of Sparks; Residential sewer is billed quarterly by the City of Sparks
Electricity: NV Energy (Sierra Pacific Power Company); Domestic Service (D-1): $18.50 a month plus a charge per kWh
Gas: NV Energy (Sierra Pacific Power Company); Residential Natural Gas Service (RNG): $16.00 a month plus a charge per therm
Schools: Washoe County School District; Nevada's second-largest public school district, serving 59,565 students

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: The Truckee River provides more than 80 percent of TMWA's annual customer demand; the rest is groundwater from within its service area.
Violations: TMWA had no violations during the 2025 calendar year.
Lead: TMWA is determined to be a non-lead system; 2025 lead testing at consumer taps found no sites over the 15 ppb action level (highest result 3.9 ppb).
PFAS: In EPA's UCMR5 monitoring reported for 2025, the highest PFOS result was 0.0053 ppb and the highest PFHxS result 0.014 ppb.

Other NV cities

What a Boulder City house pays What a Reno house pays What a Mesquite house pays What a Henderson house pays

How these numbers are made

Property tax: Nevada taxes 35% of a home's taxable value (land at full cash value plus the building's replacement cost less 1.5% depreciation a year), at a combined 2026-27 rate in Sparks of 3.6600 per $100 of assessed value (State 0.1700, Washoe County 1.3917, Washoe County School District 1.1385, City of Sparks 0.9598; tax district 2000, Washoe County Treasurer). That is 1.281% of taxable value before the cap.
Nevada's abatement caps the yearly increase in an owner-occupied home's tax bill at 3% (up to 8% for other homes), so long-held homes pay much less than rate × value. Because of that, and because taxable value is usually below market value, we start from the Census ACS 2020-2024 median real estate taxes paid in Sparks ($2,257) divided by the median value of owner-occupied homes ($483,800): 0.467% of market value. Your real bill is on your Washoe County tax bill; bills since 2020-2024 have risen up to 3% a year for owner-occupants.
The tax bill also carries the Central Truckee Meadows Remediation District groundwater fee for parcels served by TMWA, based on each parcel's water use; we add the $7 average per parcel for that group from the county's 2026 fee schedule (a preliminary schedule; Washoe County's sheet marks it as such). Personal exemptions (veteran, disabled veteran, surviving spouse, blind) are amounts of assessed value and are listed as tips, not applied.
Water: TMWA's May 2026 Rate Schedule RMWS, $21.87 a month for a 3/4-inch meter and $2.20, $3.30 and $4.39 per 1,000 gallons (to 6,000 gallons, to 25,000, and above), each raised by the 1.5% regional water management fee and then the 5% Sparks right-of-way toll (x 1.015 x 1.05), so $23.31 plus $2.34, $3.52 and $4.68. TMWA bills monthly, so its per-billing-period charge and tier limits are treated as monthly; the page starts at 9 CCF (about 6,700 gallons).
Sewer: the City of Sparks's published quarterly residential rate of $125.93 per unit (effective July 1, 2022; the city called the 2026 change its first increase in seven years) raised by the 6% increase the City Council approved for April 2026: $125.93 x 1.06 / 3 = $44.50 a month. We could not confirm the city's posted post-April 2026 rate (a city page reportedly lists $130.71 a quarter, which would be $43.57 a month), so this is our estimate and you should check your sewer bill; the approved plan adds 5% a year from 2027 to 2030. Sparks has no separate storm drain charge on the bill that we could find.
Garbage: WM's City of Sparks Exhibit A residential rates effective February 1, 2026 (a monthly rate; WM bills you directly). Electricity: NV Energy D-1 rates effective October 1, 2026 ($18.50 a month and $0.11386 per kWh, plus the $0.00039 Universal Energy Charge); D-1 has one rate for all kWh in every month, but the deferred energy and base energy rates change quarterly. Gas: NV Energy Schedule RNG from October 1, 2026 ($16.00 a month and $0.39948 per therm). The 5% local government fee is the Washoe County figure in NV Energy's own bill examples; the City of Sparks's own franchise rate is not separately published there.
Typical use: 686.6 kWh a month, Sierra Pacific Power's 2024 residential average (EIA), and 39.4 therms a month, Nevada's 2024 statewide residential average (EIA), which includes the warmer south; NV Energy's own northern Nevada bill example uses 71 therms. Insurance: Nevada's 2022 statewide average HO-3 premium (NAIC via Triple-I), not a Reno figure; the Nevada Division of Insurance reports that wildfire-related cancellations and declined applications are concentrated in Washoe County.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Sparks compares

A typical Sparks house against the 320 cities we cover nationwide, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Sparks	Median	Where it falls
Water	$479	$654	lower than 230 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$534	$735	lower than 214 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide
Trash	$376	$379	lower than 127 of the other 249 cities we cover nationwide
Electricity and gas	$1,621	$2,743	lower than 312 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide
Home insurance	$948	$1,492	lower than 294 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide
Total	$6,223	$11,671	lower than 311 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. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $534 a year, lower than 214 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide. 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 $534 a year, lower than 214 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $1,621 a year, lower than 312 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $1,621 a year for a typical house, lower than 312 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

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Common questions about Sparks house costs

What is the property tax rate in Sparks?

Property tax in Sparks averages about 0.47% of home value a year (Census figures for the city; your own rate depends on your property's classification and exemptions).

How much is the water bill in Sparks?

About $84 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA).

How much does trash pickup cost in Sparks?

$31 to $33 a month, depending on the trash cart size (64-gallon trash + 96-gallon recycling, 96-gallon trash + 96-gallon recycling).

When is property tax due in Sparks?

Jan 4, 2027: Third installment of 2026-27 Washoe County property tax due; accepted without penalty through January 14, 2027. Missing one installment adds a 4% penalty. Mar 1, 2027: Fourth installment of 2026-27 property tax due; accepted without penalty through March 11, 2027.

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Sparks?

Yes. Seniors 70+: lower WM garbage rate: WM's City of Sparks rate for seniors (70+) with a 64-gallon trash cart and 96-gallon recycling cart is $27.72 a month; the rate sheet says the senior discount is 15% from the 96-96 rate. The standard 64-gallon cart rate is $31.37 a month.

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

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