What a Petersburg 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, $189,000; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$2,400
1.270% of $189,000
- Electricity$2,339
1078 kWh a month $2,339
- Water and sewer$1,288
9 units (CCF) a month on City of Petersburg: water $32, sewer $72, storm water $4 a month
- Trash$240
Residential cart, $20 a month
- Home insurance$1,332
Typical premium $1,332
A Petersburg house at the typical market value ($189,000) costs about $7,600 a year: $2,400 property tax and charges, $1,290 water and sewer, $240 trash, $2,340 electricity, $1,330 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
Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:
Low income: Dominion Energy PIPP sets your electric bill by income6% or 10% of income
Households with income up to 150% of the federal poverty level pay a monthly electric bill based on income: 10% of income if they heat with electricity, 6% with another heat source.
How: Apply online at commonhelp.virginia.gov, or in person, by mail or by fax through your local Department of Social Services.
Elderly and veterans tax relief: ask the Commissioner of the RevenuePrograms exist; call 804-733-2315
The Commissioner of the Revenue's FAQ lists the Elderly Tax Relief and Veterans Tax Relief programs.
How: Email corteam@petersburg-va.org or call 804-733-2315.
Money dates
- Dec 31 · Mar 30 · Jun 30in 68 daysThe FY2027 real estate tax billing calendar lists quarterly installments: Sept. 30 first quarter, Dec. 31 second, Mar. 30 third, June 30 fourth.
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Petersburg
- Current water rates as of January 1, 2026 (updated February 2, 2026): $0.734 per ccf for 0-3, $3.104 for 4-122, $1.992 for 123-9999; monthly capacity charge $10.86 for a 5/8 or .625 inch and .75 inch meter
- Property tax
- 1.27% of value
- City of Petersburg, rate as listed on the city tax rate page
- Sewer
- City of Petersburg Utility Billing
- Monthly sewer capacity charge and per-ccf rates are on the city rate schedule
- Garbage
- Meridian Waste (trash) and CVWMA (recycling)
- The city is serviced by Meridian Waste for trash pick-up and by CVWMA for recycling
- Electricity
- Dominion Energy Virginia
- Schedule 1 residential service: $7.58 basic customer charge a month
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 costsHarrisonburg home costsVirginia Beach home costs
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: the $1.27 per $100 city real estate rate (the city tax rate page, undated; the adopted FY2027 rate was not confirmed) on the value you enter; the Census median market value is the start, not an assessed value, so enter your own assessed value. Petersburg is an independent city, so no separate county or school levy is added. Virginia has no general homestead exemption; personal property tax is not included.
- Water and sewer: city rates as of January 1, 2026, with the monthly capacity charges for a 5/8 or .75 inch meter. The first 3 ccf are priced at the lower tier ($0.734 water, $1.640 sewer); the sewer first-3-ccf amount ($4.92) is folded into the fixed sewer charge. Monthly billing is assumed. The top tier (above 122 ccf) is not reached by a typical house.
- Flat charges: $20.00 refuse/trash, $3.75 storm water are shown on the city's own total for a residential 5/8 or 3/4 inch meter. A $1.98 'Tax' line (about $24 a year) on that same total is left out because the source does not say what it covers or is calculated on, so no further tax on usage charges is modelled; the total is slightly understated by it.
- Electricity: Dominion Schedule 1 with all per-kWh riders, 4 summer / 8 other months generation weighting (same method as the Hopewell page). Typical use is the Chesapeake tax comparison's 1,078 kWh from EIA. Any local electric utility tax is not confirmed, so it is not included. The Schedule 1 customer charge and rates were not matched to a tariff effective date, so they may predate a 2026 base-rate change.
- Natural gas is not included in the total: Petersburg's gas utility and tariff were not confirmed from a primary source, so gas is not priced. Insurance is a Virginia state average for 2022, not Petersburg-specific. Water use of 9 ccf a month is an assumed typical household figure.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- Utility-Billing-and-Analysis
- 6421
- Garbage-Recycling
- City-of-Petersburg-Tax-Rates
- acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B25077&geo_ids=16000US516183
- Commissioner-of-Revenue
- Assessment-Calendar
- schedule-1.pdf?rev=8d2a08dc7d4841c4988a5fe9ccacef0
- rider-a.pdf?rev=de0194afcc82492cb85e708a5864d5ca&h
- rider-c1a.pdf?rev=578a19b51d6141188a47f7598985634d
- rider-c4a.pdf?rev=23b5b5ed2cc841feb22511bc646422d1
- rider-cerc.pdf?rev=642589e54f574a148f01bf73f09f324
- rider-dist.pdf?rev=9e5554fcdc544190b48edac52687314
- rider-e.pdf?rev=2168c6e55852431d8a5cc4149dd6020d&h
- rider-gen.pdf?rev=5d5a3c3c30d04cc1aa11fa3733fc05f8
- rider-smr.pdf?rev=99ad8878bbbb460f8e7bd99b98269024
- rider-sna.pdf?rev=392a801f12c84caf9ee71ec6adafec13
- rider-t1.pdf?rev=df08275f75e94ce288772b750003b1c7&
- rider-ccr.pdf?rev=3b74751b96fe4299a45e45500b3428fe
- rider-ce.pdf?rev=e73281ce2adf4b03a8776b2e1e666f96&
- rider-osw.pdf?rev=efecdba6edc34aad946556b726caefaa
- rider-rps.pdf?rev=ddfb368bc5244104aa4a06257f564b49
- deferred-fuel-cost-charge-tariff.pdf?rev=e617a20e6
- consumption-tax.pdf?rev=964d9254139f42aca6d4a49e25
- FY-2027-Local-Tax-Comparisons-PDF
- facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance
- percentage-of-income-payment-program
- Collections
- Dominion Energy Blue Book
How Petersburg compares
A typical Petersburg house against the 23 Virginia cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Petersburg | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.27% | 1.06% | higher than 21 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 | $908 | $806 | higher than 12 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover |
| Trash | $240 | $300 | lower than 11 of the other 18 Virginia cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,339 | $3,284 | lower than 16 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 | $7,599 | $9,242 | lower than 16 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. Property tax rate
The fact: Petersburg's property tax rate is 1.27%, higher than 21 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.
Ask: "Property tax in Petersburg is 1.27%, higher than 21 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"
2. 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?"
3. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,339 a year, lower than 16 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,339 a year for a typical house, lower than 16 of the other 22 Virginia cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Petersburg house costs
What is the property tax rate in Petersburg?
About 1.27% of the value before exemptions a year (City of Petersburg, rate as listed on the city tax rate page), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Petersburg?
About $6,350 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Petersburg?
About $107 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on City of Petersburg.
How much does trash pickup cost in Petersburg?
$20 a month for a house.
How much does a house in Petersburg cost to run each year?
A Petersburg house at the typical market value ($189,000) costs about $7,600 a year: $2,400 property tax and charges, $1,290 water and sewer, $240 trash, $2,340 electricity, $1,330 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.