What a River Falls 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 $325,153 of value before exemptions. Typical use.
- Property tax$4,657
1.508% of $325,153, minus the $186 lottery and gaming credit and the $62 first dollar credit
- Electricity$1,127
636 kWh a month $1,127
- Water and sewer$1,203
7,000 gallons a month on River Falls Municipal Utility water: water $30, sewer $65, stormwater (single residential household) $3, streetlight special charge (single residential) $2 a month
- Trash$271
Garbage and recycling cart (35, 64 or 96 gallon, same price) plus CORE fee, $23 a month
- Home insuranceNot included
We don't have a typical premium for this city yet. Add yours with Adjust.
A typical River Falls house costs about $7,300 a year: $4,660 property tax and charges, $1,200 water and sewer, $270 trash, $1,130 electricity; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 31, 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
- River Falls Municipal Utility water
- Residential single family: monthly service charge for 3/4" or smaller meter plus public fire protection, and volume per 1,000 gallons.
- Property tax
- 1.51% of value
- 2025 tax year, City of River Falls, Pierce County (River Falls School District)
- Garbage
- Waste Management
- Refuse and Recycling services from Waste Management are billed monthly on the River Falls Municipal Utility Bill.
- Water and sewer
- River Falls Municipal Utilities
- Water Utility Rates and Sewer Utility Rates are listed in the River Falls fee schedule.
- Electricity
- River Falls Municipal Utilities
- Electric Utility Rates, Residential Service.
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How these numbers are made
- Property tax uses the 2025 net rate of 15.084657 mills (city 4.779191, Pierce County 3.7062, school district 7.249484 less 1.321895 state credit, technical college 0.671677) on an average assessed residential value of $325,153 (916,933,100 / 2,820 parcels). The lottery and first dollar credits come off the bill.
- Water: $8.90 meter charge plus $7.91 public fire protection monthly; volume tiers per 1,000 gallons at 4,000 and 8,000 gallons. Sewer: $17.60 monthly plus $7.04 per 1,000 gallons. Water use is a modelling assumption.
- Trash: $21.30 refuse collection fee plus $1.25 CORE fee per month. Stormwater $3.14 and streetlight $2.00 are monthly.
- Electric uses the Rg-1 customer charge and $0.1257 per kWh energy charge. The monthly power cost adjustment (PCAC) is not published as a figure and is not included. Typical use is 2024 residential sales per customer from EIA (51,215 MWh / 6,709 customers / 12).
- Natural gas is not modelled: Xcel Energy (NSP-Wisconsin) supplies most River Falls gas, but its current (January 2026) residential Rg-1 tariff sheet could not be loaded from any free or capped paid source; only a 2020 archived sheet was reachable, which is superseded.
- The lottery and gaming credit goes to an owner's primary residence; the first dollar credit goes to every taxable parcel with a building. Both amounts are the 2025 figures the Pierce County treasurer lists for the River Falls school district. The average value comes from all Class 1 residential parcels, which can include condos and duplexes.
- The city also extends into St. Croix County, where school and county rates differ; this model uses the Pierce County part.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
How River Falls compares
A typical River Falls house against the 47 Wisconsin cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | River Falls | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.51% | 1.54% | lower than 24 of the other 45 Wisconsin cities we cover |
| Water | $361 | $461 | lower than 35 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $842 | $687 | higher than 32 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover |
| Trash | $271 | $199 | higher than 26 of the other 30 Wisconsin cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $1,127 | $1,905 | lower than 42 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover |
| Total | $7,258 | $7,415 | lower 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. Water
The fact: Water here costs about $361 a year at typical use, lower than 35 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover.
Ask: "Water here costs about $361 a year at typical use, lower than 35 of the other 46 Wisconsin cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
2. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $271 a year for the standard cart, higher than 26 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 $271 a year for the standard cart, higher than 26 of the other 30 Wisconsin cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
3. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $1,127 a year, lower than 42 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 $1,127 a year for a typical house, lower than 42 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 River Falls house costs
What is the property tax rate in River Falls?
About 1.51% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year, City of River Falls, Pierce County (River Falls School District)), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in River Falls?
About $7,294 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in River Falls?
About $100 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on River Falls Municipal Utility water.
How much does trash pickup cost in River Falls?
$23 a month for a house.
How much does a house in River Falls cost to run each year?
A typical River Falls house costs about $7,300 a year: $4,660 property tax and charges, $1,200 water and sewer, $270 trash, $1,130 electricity; home insurance is not included (no typical premium yet). Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.