What a Buda 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 $383,550 of value before exemptions. Typical use.
- Property tax$5,802
1.939% of $383,550, less $140,000 school district homestead exemption and less $5,000 general residence homestead exemption offered by the city of buda and less $5,000 hays county homestead exemption
- Electricity and gas$2,574
1250 kWh a month $2,027 · 17.63 therms $547
- Water and sewer$1,980
8,000 gallons a month on City of Buda: water $81, sewer $84 a month
- Trash$276
Standard residential service, $23 a month
- Home insurance$2,397
Typical premium $2,397
Shopping for home insurance?
Insurers charge very different prices for the same house and coverage. Texas's free HelpInsure.com comparison lists each insurer's price.
Compare insurers' pricesA typical Buda house costs about $13,000 a year: $5,800 property tax and charges, $1,980 water and sewer, $280 trash, $2,570 electricity and gas, $2,400 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 29, 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+ and disabled owners: extra city exemption
The City of Buda offers an additional exemption of $35,000 for homeowners aged 65 or older and $35,000 for disabled homeowners.
How: Apply through the appraisal district where your property is located.
Seniors 65+: lower trash rate$20.73 a month
The City of Buda fee schedule lists a senior citizen (age 65+) residential rate of $20.73 per month.
How: This is the senior citizen residential rate in the City of Buda fee schedule.
Use your free quarterly bulky pickup
Residents receive one free bulky or large brush pickup per quarter.
How: Call Texas Disposal Systems at 800-375-8375.
Combine homestead and over-65 exemptions
The city homestead exemption may be combined with the over-65 or disabled persons exemption.
How: The city homestead exemption may be combined with the over-65 or disabled persons exemption.
Check your winter water use
Buda averages the water consumption from the three lowest usage months (typically November through February) to determine the amount of wastewater.
How: Keep winter use low to lower the sewer charge.
Money dates
- Jan 31in 88 daysProperty taxes are generally due by Jan. 31 of the following year.
- Feb 1in 89 daysPenalty and interest start on most unpaid tax bills on Feb. 1.
- May 15Usual deadline to protest your appraisal, or 30 days after the notice is mailed if later.
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Buda
- inside-city rates, per 1,000 gallons
- Property tax
- 1.94% of value
- 2026 tax year, Hays County
- Garbage
- Texas Disposal Systems (TDS)
- Trash, recycling, green waste and bulk pickup
- Sewer
- City of Buda
- Flat fee plus a charge per 1,000 gallons
- Electricity
- Pedernales Electric Cooperative
- Listed by the City of Buda
- Gas
- Texas Gas Service
- Central-Gulf Service Area lists Buda
Your water
- Source
- 70% of our water production comes from Canyon Lake via the Guadalupe River.
- Other supply
- The City of Buda also purchases water from the Alliance Regional Water Authority.
- Coverage
- Goforth Special Utility District also serves some Buda addresses.
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 costsBaytown home costsLago Vista home costsOdessa home costsMission home costsCopperas Cove home costsPrinceton home costsSeguin home costsWhite Settlement home costsGatesville home costsUvalde home costsRobinson home costsGranbury home costsLockhart home costs
How these numbers are made
- Water and sewer: City of Buda inside-city rates from Ordinance 2026-31 (FY 2027 fee schedule, adopted 9/15/2026) for a 5/8- or 3/4-inch meter: $24.64 base, tiers per 1,000 gallons. Sewer is the $43.92 flat fee plus $5.34 per 1,000 gallons, applied to the monthly water use you enter.
- Garbage: the $23.03 residential monthly rate in the same ordinance; the city says it is billed on the utility bill with water and wastewater.
- Property tax: City of Buda $0.3895 (adopted by City Council Sept. 15, 2026), Hays County $0.4097 (adopted Sept. 15, 2026) and Hays CISD $1.1400 (adopted Sept. 28, 2026) per $100; the $140,000 school and 1% or $5,000 city and county homestead exemptions. Starting value is the Hays CAD median single-family homestead value for Buda. Hays County fire ESD No. 2 (proposed $0.070615) and ESD No. 8 (proposed $0.100000) per $100 apply only to addresses inside those districts, and MUDs/PIDs in some neighborhoods also add charges; none of these are included in the total.
- Electricity: PEC flat residential rate; the 4.5% PEC franchise fee is not added separately, since PEC rates may already include it. Gas: Texas Gas Service Central-Gulf small residential rate plus 2025 average cost of gas; the city’s emergency page also lists CenterPoint Energy for gas, so some addresses may differ.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- ecode360.com LF2818765.pdf
- www.budatx.gov Emergency-Preparedness-Resources
- www.budatx.gov 2024-CCR
- www.budatx.gov Taxpayer-Impact-Statement-2026
- budatx.gov Wastewater-Averaging
- budatx.gov Solid-Waste-Information
- budatx.gov 2026-09-16-Press-Release-Adopted-Budget-
- www.sanmarcosrecord.com article_055fc03b-0faf-4e9e-a6fb-c329077f
- www.haysfreepress.com 26814,average-homeowner-to-see-210-decre
- comptroller.texas.gov
- www.hayscountytx.gov 4796
- mypec.com
- www.texasgasservice.com TGS-GRIP-public-notice.pdf
- mypec.com
- www.texasgasservice.com 10-CG.pdf
- www.iii.org facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-
- comptroller.texas.gov basics.php
- comptroller.texas.gov
How Buda compares
A typical Buda house against the 31 Texas cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Buda | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.94% | 2.03% | lower than 20 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Water | $972 | $690 | higher than 26 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $1,008 | $687 | higher than 24 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Trash | $276 | $276 | higher than 15 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,574 | $2,690 | lower than 18 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $2,397 | $2,397 | lower than 1 of the other 27 Texas cities we cover |
| Total | $13,029 | $11,060 | higher than 27 of the other 30 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. Water
The fact: Water here costs about $972 a year at typical use, higher than 26 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover.
Ask: "Water here costs about $972 a year at typical use, higher than 26 of the other 30 Texas 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 $1,008 a year, higher than 24 of the other 30 Texas 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 $1,008 a year, higher than 24 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
Common questions about Buda house costs
What is the property tax rate in Buda?
About 1.94% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Hays County), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Buda?
About $8,060 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the school district homestead exemption.
How much is the water bill in Buda?
About $165 a month for water and sewer at typical use (8,000 gallons a month) on City of Buda.
How much does trash pickup cost in Buda?
$23 a month for a house.
When is property tax due in Buda?
Jan 31: Property taxes are generally due by Jan. 31 of the following year.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Buda?
Yes. Seniors 65+ and disabled owners: extra city exemption: The City of Buda offers an additional exemption of $35,000 for homeowners aged 65 or older and $35,000 for disabled homeowners.
How much does a house in Buda cost to run each year?
A typical Buda house costs about $13,000 a year: $5,800 property tax and charges, $1,980 water and sewer, $280 trash, $2,570 electricity and gas, $2,400 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.