Portland, OR · Updated Oct 2026

What a Portland 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 Portland house

$13,353a year · $1,113 a month

Starts at $237,893 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$6,571
2.762% of $237,893
Electricity and gas$3,117
784 kWh a month $2,078 · 53 therms $1,039
Water and sewer$2,236
5 units (CCF) a month on Portland Water Bureau: water $71, sewer $71, stormwater (standard lot) $35, stormwater service unit (house with one dwelling unit) $7, flood safety benefit fee, per dwelling unit; a house has one $1, portland harbor superfund, area part (standard lot) $0 a month
Trash$543
35-gallon, $45 a month
Home insurance$886
Typical premium $886

A typical Portland house pays about $13,400 a year: $6,570 property tax and charges, $2,240 water and sewer, $540 trash, $3,120 electricity and gas, $890 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:

Switch to the 20-gallon cartUp to $68 a year
Your cart costs $45 a month; the smallest costs $40. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Call your assigned garbage company to change cart size; look it up by address on the City's Find my hauler page.
Pay the property tax in full by November 163% off
Paying all of the 2026 tax by Nov. 16, 2026 takes 3% off; paying two-thirds by then takes 2% off. Installments get no discount.
How: Pay at proptax.multco.us, by mail (postmarked by Nov. 16) or at 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.
Disabled veterans: property tax exemption
Veterans certified 40% or more disabled who own and live in their Multnomah County home may be entitled to a property tax exemption.
How: Email the claim and required documents to dart.special.programs@multco.us, or mail them to Multnomah County DART SPG, PO Box 2716, Portland, OR 97208-2716.
Low-income households: sewer, stormwater and water bill discount
Income-qualified single-family residential customers can get bill discounts; the Tier 1 limit for one person is $4,494 a month. You reapply every two years.
How: Apply online with the Portland Water Bureau or call 503-823-7770.
Clean River Rewards stormwater discountUp to 35% off stormwater
If you safely manage the stormwater on your property and keep it out of the city's pipes, you can get up to 35% off your stormwater charges.
How: Register for Clean River Rewards with the City.
Low-income homeowners: garbage bill discount$22.55 a month
Homeowners in a single-family house who get Tier 2 sewer, stormwater and water bill assistance can get $22.55 a month off their garbage bill.
How: Apply through the City's garbage bill financial assistance program.
PGE Income-Qualified Bill Discount15% to 80% off
Based on household size and income, PGE customers could get 15% to 80% off. No financial documents are required.
How: Apply with PGE or call 503-228-6322.
NW Natural bill discount15% to 85% off
In Oregon, households with income below 60% of the state median income can get 15% to 85% off their monthly gas bills. No proof of income is required to apply.
How: Apply online with NW Natural or call 503-226-4211 or 800-422-4012.

Adjust to match your bills

What you knowTrash cartGarbage is collected every other week; weekly recycling, glass recycling and compost (food and yard waste) are included in the price. Some westside homes pay a Westside Terrain Charge.

Value before exemptionsOregon taxes the assessed value on your statement, which is often far below market value. Enter the assessed value from your 2026 tax statement.

Home insurance, a yearFrom your policy. We start at $886, Oregon statewide average for 2023, NAIC data in the Oregon Insurance Commissioner's January 2025 legislative briefing.

Earthquake insurance, a yearSeparate from home insurance. Most owners don't have it.

Your use

Water, units a month

On your water bill. 1 unit (CCF) is 748 gallons. A typical Portland house uses about 5.

Electricity, kWh a month

On your Portland General Electric (PGE) bill. An electric car adds about 300 kWh.

Gas, therms a month (yearly average)

Money dates

Nov 16, 2026in 24 daysProperty tax due (first installment, or pay in full for the 3% discount)
Dec 31, 2026in 69 daysLast day to appeal your property value to the Property Valuation Appeals Board
Feb 16, 2027in 116 daysSecond property tax installment due
Apr 15 (each year)Senior & disabled property tax deferral applications due; late filing with a fee until December 1

Who serves this house

Water: Portland Water Bureau; City of Portland utility bill for sewer, stormwater and water, billed quarterly for most customers: $8.833 per ccf of water from July 1, 2026, plus a base charge of $0.8906 a day on quarterly bills
Property tax: 2.76% of value; 2026-27 tax year, Multnomah County levy code area 201 (City of Portland, Portland Public Schools)
Garbage: City-assigned garbage company; For a house, townhouse or duplex through fourplex, your garbage and recycling company is assigned by the City; the City sets residential rates
Sewer: Bureau of Environmental Services; Sewer and stormwater are on the same City of Portland utility bill as water
Gas: NW Natural; Residential Sales Service, Rate Schedule 2
Schools: Portland Public Schools; Portland School District #1 on the property tax bill

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Bull Run Watershed in the Mount Hood National Forest, 26 miles from Portland; 25 wells in the Columbia South Shore Well Field supplement it in summer and fall
Filtration: Portland does not currently filter Bull Run water; filtration is to be installed by September 30, 2029
Lead: Portland has no known lead service lines; 2025 tests at homes with lead solder in their plumbing were below the EPA action level
PFAS: PFAS have not been detected in drinking water from either source

How these numbers are made

Property tax: the 2026-27 Multnomah County consolidated rate for levy code area 201 (City of Portland, Portland Public Schools, East Multnomah Soil & Water), $27.6234 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value; other Portland code areas differ slightly (code area 001 on the west side is $27.5984), and parts of east Portland are in the David Douglas, Parkrose, Reynolds or Centennial school districts with lower totals. Oregon has no homestead exemption.
The starting assessed value ($237,893) is our estimate: Portland's Census median home value ($581,500) times the City of Portland's real-property assessed value divided by its real market value on the 2026 roll (about 0.41), because the county publishes no median assessed value for Portland homes. Your statement's assessed value is the number to use.
Measure 5 compression is not modeled: if a home's assessed value is a large share of its real market value (above roughly 64% for the non-school levies or 63% for the school levies at these rates), the county cuts the local option levies and then other levies, and the real bill is lower than shown. At the citywide average ratio (about 0.41) no compression applies, but compression is common in parts of Portland: the county's 2025-26 levy tables report compression losses for Portland districts.
Sewer, stormwater and water: City of Portland rates from July 1, 2026. The daily base charge is converted to monthly (x 365 / 12); stormwater and Superfund charges set per 30 days are used as monthly, and the Flood Safety Benefit Fee is its $3.60 quarterly amount divided by 3. The base charge ($0.8906 a day on quarterly bills) is shown with water. Sewer is priced on this month's water use; the City actually bills it on your winter average or actual use, whichever is lower. Stormwater uses the standard single-family category (2,400 sq ft billable area); small and large lots pay $17.69 or $53.06 per 30 days instead of $35.37.
Garbage: City-set monthly rates from July 1, 2026, billed by your assigned garbage company; Westside Terrain Area homes pay more.
Electricity: PGE Schedule 7 effective July 8, 2026 (year-round, no seasons), the effective per-kWh rate with all Schedule 100 adjustments including the BPA credit, plus the 1.5% public purpose charge folded in (not on Schedule 109 or the $1.24 low-income charge). Homes served by Pacific Power pay Pacific Power's rates instead. Gas: NW Natural Schedule 2 effective October 31, 2025, plus the 2% city fee line below; new rates take effect October 31, 2026. Insurance: the 2023 Oregon statewide average. City fee lines: Portland's utility license fee is 5% of gross revenues for electric and gas utilities (City Code 7.14.060); OAR 860-022-0040 puts the first 3.5% (electric) and 3% (gas) in rates and requires the excess to be separately stated on bills in the city, so we multiply PGE charges by 1.015 and NW Natural charges by 1.02 (both the fixed and per-unit charges, since the line is a percentage of the bill).
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Portland compares

A typical Portland house against the 17 Oregon cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Portland	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	2.76%	1.92%	higher than 16 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover
Water	$855	$624	higher than 15 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$1,381	$1,123	higher than 13 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover
Trash	$543	$446	higher than 11 of the other 13 Oregon cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$3,117	$2,873	higher than 10 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover
Home insurance	$886	$886	in the middle of 16 other Oregon cities we cover
Total	$13,353	$10,422	higher than 14 of the other 16 Oregon 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: Portland's property tax rate is 2.76%, higher than 16 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Portland is 2.76%, higher than 16 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $855 a year at typical use, higher than 15 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $855 a year at typical use, higher than 15 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,381 a year, higher than 13 of the other 16 Oregon 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 $1,381 a year, higher than 13 of the other 16 Oregon cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

4. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $543 a year for the standard cart, higher than 11 of the other 13 Oregon 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 $543 a year for the standard cart, higher than 11 of the other 13 Oregon cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

See who is running in your city →

Common questions about Portland house costs

What is the property tax rate in Portland?

About 2.76% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 tax year, Multnomah County levy code area 201 (City of Portland, Portland Public Schools)), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $13,812 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Portland?

About $186 a month for water and sewer at typical use (5 units, or 3,740 gallons a month) on Portland Water Bureau.

How much does trash pickup cost in Portland?

$40 to $58 a month, depending on the trash cart size (20-gallon, 35-gallon, 60-gallon, 90-gallon).

When is property tax due in Portland?

Nov 16, 2026: Property tax due (first installment, or pay in full for the 3% discount) Feb 16, 2027: Second property tax installment due Apr 15 (each year): Senior & disabled property tax deferral applications due; late filing with a fee until December 1

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Portland?

Low-income households: sewer, stormwater and water bill discount: Income-qualified single-family residential customers can get bill discounts; the Tier 1 limit for one person is $4,494 a month. You reapply every two years. Apply online with the Portland Water Bureau or call 503-823-7770.

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

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