Oak Ridge, TN · Updated Oct 2026

What a Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge house

$7,750a year · $646 a month

Starts at the typical market value, $270,200; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.

A Oak Ridge house at the typical market value ($270,200) pays about $7,700 a year: $1,880 property tax and charges, $1,700 water and sewer, $180 trash, $2,490 electricity and gas, $1,490 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:

Seniors 65+: freeze your city and county property taxIncome up to $53,900 (Anderson County)
Oak Ridge and Anderson County both take part in Tennessee's property tax freeze. Homeowners 65 or older whose combined income does not exceed $53,900 (Anderson County) can have the tax on their home frozen at the amount owed in the year they first qualify; it can change if you improve the property or move.
How: Apply every year at an Anderson County Trustee office, including the Oak Ridge office at 728 Emory Valley Road, Suite D ((865) 483-7999); the Trustee also takes Oak Ridge city tax freeze applications. The 2026 enrollment period is October 5, 2026 to April 5, 2027.
Seniors 65+ or disabled, low income: state property tax reliefIncome up to $38,470
Tennessee's tax relief program reimburses part or all of the property taxes paid by low-income homeowners 65 or older (by December 31, 2026) or disabled. The income limit is $38,470 (2025 income of the applicant, spouse, co-owners and resident remainder). Oak Ridge offers relief on city taxes too. It is a reimbursement, not an exemption.
How: Apply after you receive your 2026 property tax bill, at an Anderson County Trustee office; the Trustee also collects relief applications for City of Oak Ridge taxes. The deadline is 35 days after the delinquency date, and taxes must be paid by then.
Help paying the utility bill
The City's customer service representatives can discuss payment arrangements, budget billing and due date extensions, and partner agencies ADFAC and ETHRA offer utility assistance paid directly to your utility provider.
How: Call the Utility Business Office at (865) 425-3400; ADFAC Household Assistance Program (865) 483-6028; ETHRA Anderson County (865) 651-2551.

Money dates

Apr 5, 2027Last day of the 2026 enrollment period for the property tax freeze at the Anderson County Trustee.
Before June 1Deadline to appeal your appraised value to the Anderson County Board of Equalization.
Aug 31City of Oak Ridge property taxes are due each year by August 31 without interest or penalty; interest begins September 1 (1.5% a month).

Who serves this house

Water: City of Oak Ridge Water System; City of Oak Ridge, billed monthly (Ordinance 9-2023, effective with the October 2023 water billings): a minimum monthly bill by meter size that includes the first 2,000 gallons, then $7.95, $7.24 and $5.91 per 1,000 gallons in blocks
Property tax: 0.70% of value; 2026 tax year: City of Oak Ridge (FY 2027) and Anderson County (FY 2026-27)
Garbage: Waste Connections of Tennessee (City contract); Weekly curbside trash in a 95-gallon blue bin and weekly curbside recycling in a brown cart; the City bills refuse with electric and water on the monthly utility bill
Sewer: City of Oak Ridge; 5/8-inch meter: $28.51 minimum monthly bill covering the first 2,000 gallons, then $11.93 per 1,000 gallons
Gas: Oak Ridge Utility District; Natural gas for Anderson and Roane counties since 1951; serves over 15,000 customers
Schools: Oak Ridge Schools (city); The City's FY 2027 budget appropriates $89,784,745 to the General Purpose School Fund

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: Surface water from Melton Hill Lake; TDEC rates the source as reasonably susceptible to potential contamination.
Lead: 2024 testing: 90th percentile 2.91 ppb against the 15 ppb action level; 1 of 30 households sampled was above the action level.
Service lines: The latest service line inventory found many properties with a service line of unknown material; the City says an unknown line does not mean you have been exposed to lead.
System: EPA records list the system as serving 41,614 people through 17,125 service connections.

How these numbers are made

Water and sewer: City of Oak Ridge rates for a 5/8-inch meter, billed monthly. Water (Ordinance 9-2023): $19.17 minimum bill including the first 2,000 gallons, then $7.95 per 1,000 gallons up to 10,000 gallons, $7.24 up to 50,000 and $5.91 above. Sewer (Ordinance 11-2023, effective October 2024): $28.51 minimum bill including the first 2,000 gallons, then $11.93 per 1,000 gallons; in summer (May 2 to November 1) a single-family home that had water service all winter is billed for at most its highest monthly reading from the previous winter (November 2 to May 1), never above 20,000 gallons a month. The calculator caps billed sewer at 20,000 gallons, the upper limit; your summer cap may be lower, and winter use is billed in full. These are the net rates for paying on time; late bills are 5% higher. The same rates appear in the City's schedule of utility rates as of June 30, 2025, and no later water or sewer rate ordinance was found. No typical use is published, so the page starts at 9 CCF (about 6,700 gallons). Oak Ridge has no separate stormwater fee on the utility bill.
Garbage: the City's residential trash and recycling fee is $15.20 a month, billed by the City (City of Oak Ridge blog, April 2026), for Waste Connections' weekly trash pickup in a 95-gallon blue bin and recycling in a 95-gallon brown bin.
Property tax: Tennessee assesses a home at 25% of its appraised value. 2026 rates per $100 of assessed value for a home in the Anderson County part of Oak Ridge: City of Oak Ridge $1.3784 (Ordinance 18-2026, adopted June 8, 2026) and Anderson County $1.40656 (Resolution 26-08-1268 on the August 17, 2026 commission agenda; the same rate as 2025), $2.78496 in all, which is 0.696% of appraised value. Homes in the Roane County part of Oak Ridge (about 17% of taxable parcels) pay the City rate plus Roane County's rate instead ($1.4523 in 2025; the 2026 Roane rate was not found). The City bills in July (due August 31); the County Trustee bills in October (due by the end of February). Tennessee has no general homestead exemption; relief and freeze programs are listed as tips.
The starting home value is the Census median value of owner-occupied homes in Oak Ridge ($270,200, ACS 2020-2024), a market value; Anderson and Roane counties reappraised Oak Ridge properties for the 2025 tax year, so enter your appraised value from your assessment notice instead. Home insurance is the 2022 NAIC Tennessee average (HO-3) until you enter your own.
Electricity: City of Oak Ridge Electric Department (TVA power), residential rate: $17.70 customer charge (since October 2025) plus the simple average of the 12 monthly energy charges from October 2025 to September 2026, 11.940¢ per kWh. The City's schedule lists one energy charge per kWh that changes month to month, with no separate fuel line. Typical use: Tennessee residential average from EIA (1,154 kWh a month).
Natural gas: most owner-occupied homes in Oak Ridge heat with utility gas (5,766 of 9,217, Census ACS 2020-2024, table B25117), delivered by Oak Ridge Utility District (ORUD), whose residential rates aren't published (not online, and not in its state utility filings we could find), so gas is an estimate: EIA's 2025 average Tennessee residential price ($11.84 per thousand cubic feet, which already includes customer charges) at 10.37 therms per thousand cubic feet = about $1.142 per therm, with no separate monthly charge. Typical use: Tennessee residential average from EIA (2024 deliveries per residential customer, about 46 therms a month). Your ORUD bill will differ, especially in winter.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Oak Ridge compares

A typical Oak Ridge house against the 20 Tennessee cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Oak Ridge	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	0.70%	0.62%	higher than 12 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover
Water	$681	$492	higher than 17 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$1,020	$776	higher than 15 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover
Trash	$182	$223	lower than 12 of the other 13 Tennessee cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$2,493	$2,466	higher than 10 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover
Home insurance	$1,492	$1,492	in the middle of 19 other Tennessee cities we cover
Total	$7,750	$7,240	higher than 11 of the other 19 Tennessee 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. Water

The fact: Water here costs about $681 a year at typical use, higher than 17 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $681 a year at typical use, higher than 17 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

2. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,020 a year, higher than 15 of the other 19 Tennessee 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 $1,020 a year, higher than 15 of the other 19 Tennessee cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $182 a year for the standard cart, lower than 12 of the other 13 Tennessee 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 $182 a year for the standard cart, lower than 12 of the other 13 Tennessee cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

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Common questions about Oak Ridge house costs

What is the property tax rate in Oak Ridge?

About 0.70% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year: City of Oak Ridge (FY 2027) and Anderson County (FY 2026-27)), plus flat charges on the same bill.

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

About $3,481 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Oak Ridge?

About $142 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Oak Ridge Water System.

How much does trash pickup cost in Oak Ridge?

$15 a month for a house.

When is property tax due in Oak Ridge?

Aug 31: City of Oak Ridge property taxes are due each year by August 31 without interest or penalty; interest begins September 1 (1.5% a month).

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Oak Ridge?

Yes. Seniors 65+: freeze your city and county property tax: Oak Ridge and Anderson County both take part in Tennessee's property tax freeze. Homeowners 65 or older whose combined income does not exceed $53,900 (Anderson County) can have the tax on their home frozen at the amount owed in the year they first qualify; it can change if you improve the property or move.

Where can I get help paying utility bills in Oak Ridge?

Seniors 65+ or disabled, low income: state property tax relief: Tennessee's tax relief program reimburses part or all of the property taxes paid by low-income homeowners 65 or older (by December 31, 2026) or disabled. The income limit is $38,470 (2025 income of the applicant, spouse, co-owners and resident remainder). Oak Ridge offers relief on city taxes too. It is a reimbursement, not an exemption. Apply after you receive your 2026 property tax bill, at an Anderson County Trustee office; the Trustee also collects relief applications for City of Oak Ridge taxes. The deadline is 35 days after the delinquency date, and taxes must be paid by then.

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

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