What a Baytown 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 the typical market value, $197,300; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$2,853
2.114% of $197,300, less $140,000 school homestead exemption and less $39,460 city of baytown 20% homestead exemption
- Electricity and gas$2,791
1096 kWh a month $2,112 · 32.08 therms $679
- Water and sewer$1,338
7,000 gallons a month on City of Baytown: water $54, sewer $53, municipal drainage utility service (mdus) $4 a month
- Trash$480
Standard residential service (city bin or your own 30-50 gallon can), $40 a month
- Home insurance$2,397
Typical premium $2,397
A Baytown house at the typical market value ($197,300) costs about $9,900 a year: $2,850 property tax and charges, $1,340 water and sewer, $480 trash, $2,790 electricity and gas, $2,400 home insurance. 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
One change saves this house about $44 a year:
Bring water use down to 8 units
$44 a yearAbove 8 units a month, City of Baytown charges $13.28 a unit instead of $9.63.
How: Most of the top tier is outdoor watering: fix leaks and water less often in summer.
Worth checking
City of Baytown homestead exemption20% off city value
Chambers County lists City of Baytown (Unit #22) Homestead: 20% off.
How: Applications for property tax exemptions are filed with the appraisal district in the county in which the property is located.
Seniors 65+ or disabled: extra school exemption$60,000 off school taxable value
For persons age 65 or older or disabled, Tax Code Section 11.13(c) requires school districts to provide an additional $60,000 residence homestead exemption.
How: Form 50-114, Residence Homestead Exemption Application
Payment arrangements on your city utility billExtra time on past-due amounts
The city offers payment arrangements to qualifying account holders.
How: Call Customer Service at 281 420 6515 before service is interrupted.
Money dates
- Apr 30General deadline to file exemption applications: before May 1.
- May 15Usual deadline to protest your appraised value (or 30 days after the notice is mailed, if later).
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Baytown
- Single-family water rate structure, calculated per one thousand gallons
- Property tax
- 2.11% of value
- 2026 tax year, Harris County
- Garbage
- Best Trash LLC
- Twice-weekly trash, weekly recycling and weekly brush pickup
- Sewer
- City of Baytown
- Base facility or customer charge is $12.76 for sewer
- Electricity
- Texas statewide average (EIA)
- 16.06 cents per kWh, Residential, Texas, year to date through July 2026 (EIA table 5.6.B)
- Gas
- CenterPoint Energy (Texas Coast rate area)
- CenterPoint's residential rate sheet lists Baytown in its Texas Coast rate area
- Schools
- Goose Creek CISD
- Proposed M&O Tax Rate (VATR) $0.7450
Other TX cities
Austin home costsCollege Station home costsCorpus Christi home costsDenton home costsLeague City home costsPflugerville home costsSan Marcos home costsThe Colony home costsEl Paso home costsSchertz home costsBryan home costsLaredo home costsFate home costsKyle home costsBenbrook home costsManor home costsWichita Falls home costsLago Vista home costs
How these numbers are made
- City of Baytown tax rate: $0.69803 per $100, the rate proposed for 2026 (council vote scheduled Sept 10, 2026; we could not confirm the adopted rate).
- Harris County 2026 rates passed Sept 2026: county $0.41750, Flood Control $0.05266, Harris Health $0.19528, Port of Houston $0.00603. Goose Creek CISD: $0.7450 maintenance and operations (proposed 2026) only; its debt-service rate is not included. Lee College and special districts are not included.
- Water $11.82 a month plus $3.19, $7.20 and $9.93 per 1,000 gallons; sewer $12.76 a month plus $3.19 for the first 2,000 gallons and $7.20 up to 12,000 gallons, modelled as $4.74 plus $7.20 per 1,000 gallons; these are the rates on the city's billing page (the page gives no effective date and its sample bill graphic is titled Oct 2024, so later increases may not be reflected). Garbage and recycling $40.00 and drainage $4.00 a month come from the same sample bill. The sewer cap at 12,000 gallons is a modelling assumption; the page lists no higher sewer rate. The default water use is an assumed typical, not a Baytown figure.
- Electricity is the EIA statewide Texas residential average (not Baytown-specific), 16.06 cents per kWh, at 1,096 kWh a month; gas is CenterPoint Texas Coast at $0.988891 per therm plus $24.83. Starting value is the Data USA (Census ACS) 2024 median property value, $197,300. Homeowners insurance is the 2022 Texas statewide average, not a Baytown figure. Only the school and city homestead exemptions are modelled; other taxing units may have their own.
- Sewer usage is modelled only through 12,000 gallons because the city's page lists rates only through that tier; the 12 kgal cap is a modelling assumption.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- Baytown billing info and rates
- Baytown garbage and recycle
- Baytown 2026 notice of meeting to vote on tax rate
- Goose Creek CISD tax rate presentation
- Fox 26: Harris County 2026 rates
- Chambers County tax exemptions
- Texas Comptroller exemptions
- Texas Comptroller homestead table
- Texas Comptroller protests
- EIA electricity price
- EIA average bill
- CenterPoint gas rate
- CenterPoint PGA
- EIA TX gas use
- EIA TX gas consumers
- Triple-I premiums
- Data USA Baytown profile
How Baytown compares
A typical Baytown house against the 19 Texas cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Baytown | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 2.07% | higher than 12 of the other 18 Texas cities we cover |
| Water | $651 | $588 | higher than 10 of the other 18 Texas cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $687 | $696 | lower than 10 of the other 18 Texas cities we cover |
| Trash | $480 | $276 | higher than 18 of the other 18 Texas cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,791 | $2,790 | higher than 10 of the other 18 Texas cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $2,397 | $2,397 | in the middle of 16 other Texas cities we cover |
| Total | $9,859 | $11,521 | lower than 16 of the other 18 Texas 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. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $480 a year for the standard cart, higher than 18 of the other 18 Texas 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 $480 a year for the standard cart, higher than 18 of the other 18 Texas cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
Common questions about Baytown house costs
What is the property tax rate in Baytown?
About 2.11% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Harris County), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Baytown?
About $8,831 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the school homestead exemption.
How much is the water bill in Baytown?
About $111 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Baytown.
How much does trash pickup cost in Baytown?
$40 a month for a house.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Baytown?
Yes. Seniors 65+ or disabled: extra school exemption: For persons age 65 or older or disabled, Tax Code Section 11.13(c) requires school districts to provide an additional $60,000 residence homestead exemption.
How much does a house in Baytown cost to run each year?
A Baytown house at the typical market value ($197,300) costs about $9,900 a year: $2,850 property tax and charges, $1,340 water and sewer, $480 trash, $2,790 electricity and gas, $2,400 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.