What a Odessa 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, $252,997; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$3,107
2.204% of $252,997, less $140,000 school homestead exemption and less $50,599 city of odessa local homestead exemption and less $50,599 ector county local homestead exemption and less $50,599 ector county isd local homestead exemption and less $50,599 odessa college local homestead exemption and less $25,300 ector county hospital district local homestead exemption
- Electricity$2,112
1096 kWh a month $2,112
- Water and sewer$1,284
7,000 gallons a month on City of Odessa: water $54, sewer $53 a month
- Trash$288
Residential trash service (1–3 units), $24 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 Odessa house at the typical market value ($252,997) costs about $9,200 a year: $3,110 property tax and charges, $1,280 water and sewer, $290 trash, $2,110 electricity, $2,400 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 28, 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+: local over-65 exemptions$60,000 school, $40,000 college, $25,000 county, $15,000 city
Ector CAD lists over-65 amounts of $60,000 (Ector County ISD), $40,000 (Odessa College), $25,000 (Ector County) and $15,000 (City of Odessa).
How: See the appraisal district's exemption list.
Seniors 65+ or disabled: lower city utility ratesSewer $41.85 vs $53.27 a month
The city lists a Senior/Disability Rate if you are 65 or older or have a qualifying disability, your name is on the account and you live at the service address only; the sewer rate is $41.85 per month (7,000-gallon average).
How: Show proof and fill out the form.
Extra trash cart costs $8.28 a monthOnly needed if you want more than one cart
A 2nd requested cart is an additional $8.28 recurring monthly fee.
How: Skip the 2nd cart to avoid the fee.
Money dates
- Feb 1in 89 daysEctor CAD: February 1 is the day a 6% penalty and a 1% interest begin on unpaid amounts.
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Odessa
- City of Odessa, 3/4-inch meter, monthly minimum covers the first 2,000 gallons, then rates per 1,000 gallons; the city page dates this table to the Nov. 1, 2022 statements
- Property tax
- 2.20% of value
- 2026 tax year, Ector County
- Garbage
- City of Odessa Solid Waste
- One rollout cart is included in the $23.99 monthly trash fee
- Sewer
- City of Odessa
- Residential sewer is based on the December to February average
- Schools
- Ector County ISD
- Homestead exemption 20% or $5,000 plus $140,000
Your water
- Source
- The City buys all its water, untreated, from the Colorado River Municipal Water District, mostly surface water from Lake Ivie, Lake Thomas and Lake Spence.
- Lead
- Lead and copper is analyzed once every three years, with samples collected from 50 sites in the system.
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 costsMission home costsCopperas Cove home costsPrinceton home costsSeguin home costsWhite Settlement home costsGatesville home costsUvalde home costsRobinson home costsGranbury home costsLockhart home costsBuda home costs
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: 2026 adopted rates from the Ector County Appraisal District rate table: City of Odessa 0.471578, Ector County 0.411665, Ector County ISD 0.9939, Odessa College 0.176859 and Ector County Hospital District 0.15 per $100.
- Homestead: the state's $140,000 school exemption plus the local percentage exemptions the appraisal district lists (20% or $5,000 minimum for city, county, ISD and college; 10% for the hospital district); we apply the percentage before the $140,000.
- Water: city rate table for a 3/4-inch residential meter, $22.94 minimum for the first 2,000 gallons plus the $0.1133 per 1,000 gallons energy surcharge added to each block rate. Sewer: the city's $53.27 for a 7,000-gallon average; its separate minimum and per-1,000-gallon table gives a different total, so we use the stated monthly figure.
- Not included: stormwater fee ($1.85 to $2.25 a month by impervious area), natural gas (Atmos Energy), and some city areas on county utility district or MUD/PID taxes. Trash sales tax is not added.
- Water uses the page's default of 9 ccf; the city publishes no typical use.
- Electricity: this is the EIA Texas statewide average residential price (16.06 cents per kWh) with no monthly charge, not an Odessa rate; it does not include a local delivery (wires) charge, so the real bill may be higher. Odessa is in the competitive Texas market. Typical use is 1,096 kWh. Insurance is the 2022 Texas statewide figure, likely out of date.
- Natural gas (Atmos Energy) is NOT included in the total; gas is a common extra household cost here.
- Water, sewer and trash figures come from the city's Billing and Collection page, which dates its water table to the Nov. 1, 2022 statements and gives no date for the sewer and trash figures; they may be somewhat higher now.
- Texas caps homestead taxable value growth at 10% a year, so long-time homesteads may be taxed on less than market value.
- Electricity uses the Texas statewide residential average as a stand-in for Odessa's price.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
How Odessa compares
A typical Odessa house against the 31 Texas cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Odessa | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 2.20% | 2.03% | higher than 22 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Water | $645 | $690 | lower than 18 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $639 | $687 | lower than 18 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Trash | $288 | $276 | higher than 19 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,112 | $2,690 | lower than 21 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 | $9,188 | $11,060 | lower than 26 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. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,112 a year, lower than 21 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,112 a year for a typical house, lower than 21 of the other 30 Texas cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Odessa house costs
What is the property tax rate in Odessa?
About 2.20% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Ector County), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Odessa?
About $7,500 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the school homestead exemption.
How much is the water bill in Odessa?
About $107 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Odessa.
How much does trash pickup cost in Odessa?
$24 a month for a house.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Odessa?
Yes. Seniors 65+: local over-65 exemptions: Ector CAD lists over-65 amounts of $60,000 (Ector County ISD), $40,000 (Odessa College), $25,000 (Ector County) and $15,000 (City of Odessa).
How much does a house in Odessa cost to run each year?
A Odessa house at the typical market value ($252,997) costs about $9,200 a year: $3,110 property tax and charges, $1,280 water and sewer, $290 trash, $2,110 electricity, $2,400 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.