What a Harrisonburg 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, $278,200; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$2,810
1.010% of $278,200
- Electricity and gas$2,751
1032 kWh a month $1,328 · 49.87 therms $1,423
- Water and sewer$919
7,000 gallons a month on City of Harrisonburg: water $32, sewer $45 a month
- Trash$264
96-gallon Toter cart, $22 a month
- Home insurance$1,332
Typical premium $1,332
A Harrisonburg house at the typical market value ($278,200) costs about $8,100 a year: $2,810 property tax and charges, $920 water and sewer, $260 trash, $2,750 electricity and gas, $1,330 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 23, 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+ or disabled: real estate tax reliefReduced real estate tax if you qualify
Owners 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled as of Dec. 31 before the application year qualify if total household income does not exceed $55,000 and assets excluding the home and 1 acre do not exceed $100,000.
How: Apply to the Commissioner of the Revenue real estate office (540-432-7795); the application is due May 1.
Money dates
- Dec 5in 42 daysReal estate tax for July 1 to December 31 is due December 5.
- Jun 5Real estate tax for January 1 to June 30 is due June 5.
- After each due dateA late payment penalty of 10% or a $10.00 minimum is assessed; annual interest of 10% begins January 1 (first half) and July 1 (second half).
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Harrisonburg
- City water rates effective July 1, 2026: $4.71 for the first 250,000 gallons used and $4.41 over 250,000; a seasonal water charge per one thousand (1,000) gallons is added to water bills in July through November.
- Property tax
- 1.01% of value
- 2026-27 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), City of Harrisonburg
- Garbage
- City of Harrisonburg Public Works
- Residential $22.00 a month fee; one 48- or 96-gallon Toter cart
- Sewer
- City of Harrisonburg
- Sewer and authority rates effective July 1, 2026
- Electricity
- Harrisonburg Electric Commission
- Serves customers within the city limits of Harrisonburg
- Gas
- Columbia Gas of Virginia
- The minimum monthly charge is the Customer Charge
Other VA cities
Chesapeake home costsFairfax home costsRoanoke home costsNewport News home costsHerndon home costsLynchburg home costsHampton home costsSalem home costsDanville home costsSuffolk home costsSmithfield home costsRadford home costsManassas home costsBristol home costsWarrenton home costsNorfolk home costsPortsmouth home costsHopewell home costsWilliamsburg home costsMartinsville home costsPetersburg home costsVirginia Beach home costs
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: the City of Harrisonburg rate of $1.01 per $100 of assessed value for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Harrisonburg is an independent city, so there is no separate county or school district rate. Virginia has no general homestead exemption; relief for seniors and disabled owners is in the tips. Car tax is not included.
- The starting value is the Census ACS 2023 median home value ($278,200), a market value; we found no published assessed median for the city. The city's general reassessment took effect January 1, 2026, so this older figure may be lower than current values and the property tax line may be low. The city also adds a 20% utility tax on water bills (maximum $2.00 for residential) and a seasonal water charge July through November; neither amount is in the totals.
- Water and sewer: the city's minimum charge covers the first 3,000 gallons at the same per-1,000-gallon rate ($14.13 = 3 x $4.71; sewer $8.88 + $11.13 = 3 x $2.96 + 3 x $3.71), so the page uses no separate base fee. Sewer is the city sewer rate $2.96 plus the sewer authority rate $3.71.
- Electricity: Harrisonburg Electric Commission Schedule 1S1/1W1 ($9.50 customer charge, $0.095 for the first 800 kWh, then the average of the summer $0.105 and winter $0.081 rate), plus the state ($0.00102), local ($0.00038) and special regulatory ($0.000165) consumption taxes per kWh and the city residential utility tax capped at $2.00 a month. The fuel cost adjustment, which HEC passes through per kWh and shows on the bill, is not included because HEC publishes no amount on its rate-schedules page; it has changed in 2026, so check your bill. HEC's page says no Wholesale Power Adjustment is in effect. The schedule posted is the 2024 one. Starting use is 1,032 kWh, EIA's 2024 Virginia average.
- Gas: Columbia Gas of Virginia residential rate; see the tariff. Starting use is about 49.9 therms a month (EIA Virginia). Insurance is the 2022 Virginia average HO-3 premium (NAIC). The city charges a stormwater fee of $8.00 per year per 500 sq ft of impervious surface, shown as a separate line on the real estate tax bill; it is not in the totals because it varies by parcel and the city gives no typical figure.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- City of Harrisonburg: Real estate tax
- City of Harrisonburg: Tax relief for the elderly and disabled
- City of Harrisonburg: Water rates effective July 1, 2026 (PDF)
- City of Harrisonburg: Sewer and authority rates effective July 1, 2026 (PDF)
- City of Harrisonburg: Trash collection
- Harrisonburg Electric Commission: About
- HEC Schedule 1S1/1W1 residential (PDF)
- HEC schedule of tax rates (PDF)
- Columbia Gas of Virginia: Tariff (PDF)
- EIA: 2024 average monthly residential electricity use by state (PDF)
- Triple-I: homeowners insurance premiums by state (NAIC)
- Census ACS 2023 5-year DP04, Harrisonburg city
- Census ACS 2023 5-year: DP04_0089E variable definition
How Harrisonburg compares
A typical Harrisonburg house against the 23 Virginia cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Harrisonburg | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.01% | 1.06% | lower than 12 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Water | $380 | $571 | lower than 18 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $539 | $806 | lower than 18 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Trash | $264 | $300 | lower than 10 of the other 18 Virginia cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,751 | $3,284 | lower than 13 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $1,332 | $1,332 | in the middle of 18 other Virginia cities we cover |
| Total | $8,076 | $9,242 | lower than 14 of the other 22 Virginia 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 $380 a year at typical use, lower than 18 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover.
Ask: "Water here costs about $380 a year at typical use, lower than 18 of the other 22 Virginia 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 $539 a year, lower than 18 of the other 22 Virginia 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 $539 a year, lower than 18 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
Common questions about Harrisonburg house costs
What is the property tax rate in Harrisonburg?
About 1.01% of the value before exemptions a year (2026-27 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), City of Harrisonburg), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Harrisonburg?
About $5,050 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Harrisonburg?
About $77 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Harrisonburg.
How much does trash pickup cost in Harrisonburg?
$22 a month for a house.
Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Harrisonburg?
Yes. Seniors 65+ or disabled: real estate tax relief: Owners 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled as of Dec. 31 before the application year qualify if total household income does not exceed $55,000 and assets excluding the home and 1 acre do not exceed $100,000.
How much does a house in Harrisonburg cost to run each year?
A Harrisonburg house at the typical market value ($278,200) costs about $8,100 a year: $2,810 property tax and charges, $920 water and sewer, $260 trash, $2,750 electricity and gas, $1,330 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.