Milwaukee, WI · Updated Oct 2026

What a Milwaukee 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.

Example · a Milwaukee house

$7,656a year · $638 a month

Starts at $193,500 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$4,025
2.080% of $193,500
Electricity and gas$2,549
660 kWh a month $1,732 · 72.1 therms $817
Water and sewer$730
5 units (CCF) a month on Milwaukee Water Works: water $23, sewer $29, storm water management charge (one eru) $9 a month
Trash$353
One garbage cart (the standard service), $29 a month
Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.

A typical Milwaukee house costs about $7,700 a year: $4,020 property tax and charges, $730 water and sewer, $350 trash, $2,550 electricity and gas; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 30, 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:

Who serves this house

Water: Milwaukee Water Works; Milwaukee Water Works bills residential customers quarterly.
Property tax: 2.08% of value; 2025 tax year, City of Milwaukee
Garbage: City of Milwaukee; Solid waste charge on the Municipal Services Bill
Sewer: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District; Billed on the Municipal Services Bill
Electricity: We Energies; Schedule Rg1
Gas: We Energies; Schedule Rg-1

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Service area: Milwaukee Water Works provides drinking water operations and billing services for Milwaukee, Greenfield, Hales Corners, St. Francis, and West Milwaukee.

Other WI cities

Waukesha home costs Oshkosh home costs Brookfield home costs Wausau home costs Oak Creek home costs Muskego home costs De Pere home costs Howard home costs Pleasant Prairie home costs Germantown home costs Oconomowoc home costs South Milwaukee home costs Marshfield home costs Fox Crossing home costs Menasha home costs Kaukauna home costs Ashwaubenon home costs Weston home costs Glendale home costs Shorewood home costs Greenville home costs Allouez home costs Suamico home costs Stoughton home costs Sussex home costs Grafton home costs Brown Deer home costs Oregon home costs Waupun home costs Monroe home costs New Richmond home costs Windsor home costs Green Bay home costs Madison home costs Sheboygan home costs New Berlin home costs Beloit home costs Stevens Point home costs River Falls home costs Beaver Dam home costs Cudahy home costs Pewaukee home costs Two Rivers home costs Hartland home costs Reedsburg home costs Appleton home costs Shawano home costs Portage home costs Delavan home costs Cottage Grove home costs McFarland home costs Plymouth home costs Mukwonago home costs Rhinelander home costs Jackson home costs Antigo home costs Hales Corners home costs Jefferson home costs Kimberly home costs Rib Mountain home costs Delafield home costs New London home costs Waupaca home costs Waterford home costs Milton home costs Berlin home costs Dodgeville home costs East Troy home costs Fox Point home costs Elm Grove home costs Evansville home costs Columbus home costs

How these numbers are made

Property tax uses the 2025 assessment-year net rate of $20.80 per $1,000 (gross 22.42: city 7.61, MPS 9.66, MATC 0.76, MMSD 1.24, county 3.15, less 1.62 state credit, MPS, MATC, MMSD, county, less the state credit) on the 2025 median assessed Residential value of $193,500; Wisconsin has no homestead exemption.
Water: $2.53 per Ccf plus $30.22 a quarter (service plus fire protection fee), divided by 3 for months.
Sewer: MMSD treatment $2.34 per Ccf plus city local sewerage $1.85 per Ccf, plus MMSD fixed $24.48 a quarter; the page bills on current water use rather than winter-quarter use.
Solid waste $67.95 a quarter and storm water $26.89 a quarter (one ERU) are divided by 3.
Electric adds the three per-kWh Rg1 charges; gas uses the Rg-1 effective rate per therm; daily customer charges are annualised.
The Milwaukee County Treasurer's rate table lists the City of Milwaukee at $22.93 for tax year 2024 and $20.80 for tax year 2025, so $20.80 is the 2025 bill rate and 22.93 is the prior year's.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Milwaukee compares

A typical Milwaukee house against the 47 Wisconsin cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Milwaukee	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	2.08%	1.54%	higher than 42 of the other 45 Wisconsin cities we cover
Water	$273	$461	lower than 46 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$457	$687	lower than 43 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover
Trash	$353	$199	higher than 30 of the other 30 Wisconsin cities we cover
Electricity and gas	$2,549	$1,905	higher than 39 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover
Total	$7,656	$7,415	higher than 25 of the other 46 Wisconsin 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: Milwaukee's property tax rate is 2.08%, higher than 42 of the other 45 Wisconsin cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Milwaukee is 2.08%, higher than 42 of the other 45 Wisconsin 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 $273 a year at typical use, lower than 46 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover.

Ask: "Water here costs about $273 a year at typical use, lower than 46 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

3. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $457 a year, lower than 43 of the other 46 Wisconsin 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 $457 a year, lower than 43 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

4. Trash

The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $353 a year for the standard cart, higher than 30 of the other 30 Wisconsin cities we cover. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.

Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $353 a year for the standard cart, higher than 30 of the other 30 Wisconsin cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"

5. Electricity and gas

The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,549 a year, higher than 39 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.

Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,549 a year for a typical house, higher than 39 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"

Common questions about Milwaukee house costs

What is the property tax rate in Milwaukee?

About 2.08% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year, City of Milwaukee), plus flat charges on the same bill.

How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Milwaukee?

About $10,400 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Milwaukee?

About $61 a month for water and sewer at typical use (5 units, or 3,740 gallons a month) on Milwaukee Water Works.

How much does trash pickup cost in Milwaukee?

$29 a month for a house.

How much does a house in Milwaukee cost to run each year?

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