What a Seattle 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 $833,000 of value before exemptions. Typical use.
- Property tax$8,254
0.991% of $833,000
- Electricity and gas$2,947
955 kWh a month $1,677 · 64 therms $1,270
- Water and sewer$2,307
4.3 units (CCF) a month on Seattle Public Utilities: water $47, sewer $87, drainage (assumed 4,500-5,499 sq. ft. lot; on your property tax bill) $59 a month
- Trash$559
32-gallon cart, $47 a month
- Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.
A typical Seattle house costs about $14,100 a year: $8,250 property tax and charges, $2,310 water and sewer, $560 trash, $2,950 electricity and gas; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). 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:
Switch to the micro-cart, 12-gallon cartUp to $208 a year
Your cart costs $47 a month; the smallest costs $29. Worth it if you rarely fill it.
How: Putting more in your recycling and food waste carts may let you use a smaller garbage cart, which lowers your rate.
Money dates
- Apr 30First half of property taxes due
Who serves this house
- Water
- Seattle Public Utilities
- Inside Seattle: $21.35 a month for a 3/4" meter, plus $5.82 per CCF off-peak (Sept. 16 - May 15).
- Property tax
- 0.99% of value
- 2026 tax year, King County levy code 0010
- Garbage
- Seattle Public Utilities
- Billed every other month
- Sewer
- Seattle Public Utilities
- Based on water use
- Electricity
- Seattle City Light
- Residential rates
- Gas
- Puget Sound Energy
- Natural gas service
How these numbers are made
- Property tax uses King County's 2026 levy code 0010 (Seattle) rates, 9.90845 per $1,000 of assessed value, on the Assessor's district median assessed value.
- Water: 2026 Inside-Seattle base charge plus per-CCF rates; peak (May 16 - Sept. 15) and off-peak rates are blended by months (8 off-peak, 4 peak) and the 60-day tiers are halved to monthly.
- Sewer is $20.18 per CCF of water use.
- Drainage is the 2026 annual rate for a 4,500-5,499 sq. ft. parcel divided by 12. The lot size is an assumption about a typical lot; King County bills it on the property tax statement, not the utility bill.
- Drainage is the 2026 annual rate for a 4,500-5,499 sq. ft. parcel divided by 12.
- Electricity is City Light's flat rate: $0.3945 a day and $0.1338 per kWh, at 955 kWh a month, which is Washington's statewide average (not a Seattle figure); homes using less pay less. Gas is PSE's basic charge and energy charge for 64 therms from its March 2026 rate notice (bill effective May 1, 2026), divided by 64. Taxes and rider lines on utility bills are not included, and the sources checked do not say whether the published rates include the city utility tax.
- Gas: PSE is the natural gas utility for Seattle; the checked sources only confirm PSE's King County service area and its rates.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
How Seattle compares
A typical Seattle house against the 1000 cities we cover nationwide, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Seattle | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 0.99% | 1.36% | lower than 886 of the other 982 cities we cover nationwide |
| Water | $559 | $681 | lower than 642 of the other 999 cities we cover nationwide |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $1,748 | $692 | higher than 872 of the other 882 cities we cover nationwide |
| Trash | $559 | $336 | higher than 726 of the other 819 cities we cover nationwide |
| Electricity and gas | $2,947 | $2,439 | higher than 669 of the other 999 cities we cover nationwide |
| Total | $14,067 | $10,827 | higher than 744 of the other 999 cities we cover nationwide |
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: Seattle's property tax rate is 0.99%, lower than 886 of the other 982 cities we cover nationwide. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.
Ask: "Property tax in Seattle is 0.99%, lower than 886 of the other 982 cities we cover nationwide. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"
2. Sewer and utility-bill fees
The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,748 a year, higher than 872 of the other 882 cities we cover nationwide. 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 $1,748 a year, higher than 872 of the other 882 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
3. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $559 a year for the standard cart, higher than 726 of the other 819 cities we cover nationwide. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.
Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $559 a year for the standard cart, higher than 726 of the other 819 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
Common questions about Seattle house costs
What is the property tax rate in Seattle?
About 0.99% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, King County levy code 0010), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Seattle?
About $4,954 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Seattle?
About $192 a month for water and sewer at typical use (4.3 units, or 3,216 gallons a month) on Seattle Public Utilities.
How much does trash pickup cost in Seattle?
$29 to $140 a month, depending on the trash cart size (Micro-cart, 12-gallon, Mini-cart, 20-gallon, 32-gallon cart, 64-gallon cart, 96-gallon cart).
When is property tax due in Seattle?
Apr 30: First half of property taxes due
How much does a house in Seattle cost to run each year?
A typical Seattle house costs about $14,100 a year: $8,250 property tax and charges, $2,310 water and sewer, $560 trash, $2,950 electricity and gas; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.