Bay Farm Island, Alameda vs Baywood, San Mateo
Bay Farm Island, Alameda carries an effective property tax rate of 1.22% of assessed value and Baywood, San Mateo carries 1.11%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,917 and $9,764 — $153 apart, with Baywood, San Mateo lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Bay Farm Island, Alameda and 45 min by car from Baywood, San Mateo. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Bay Farm Island, Alameda (Alameda County) · Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Bay Farm Island, Alameda | Baywood, San Mateo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $750 | $1,400 | −$650 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.22% | 1.11% | +0.115% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,917 | $9,764 | +$153 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 45 min | 48 min | −3 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 45 min | −5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 35 min | 62 min | −27 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 45 min | −25 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 55 min | 30 min | +25 min |
Difference is Bay Farm Island, Alameda minus Baywood, San Mateo. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
San Mateo (Baywood) carries $650 more per square foot than Alameda (Bay Farm) — 87% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.22% in Alameda (Bay Farm) against 1.11% in San Mateo (Baywood), a 0.12% spread that has to be carried on top of the price difference.
What the same money buys
Harbor Bay Isle is the bulk of Bay Farm's detached inventory. Baywood comps run $1,200-$1,400 per square foot. At $750 and $1,400 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 87% more floor area in Alameda (Bay Farm).
The monthly, matched
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Alameda (Bay Farm) totals $9,917 a month at 1.22% and San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,627 and $1,473. No Mello-Roos anywhere on Bay Farm. No Mello-Roos in Baywood.
The trip each morning
To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 20 minutes by driving from Alameda (Bay Farm), 45 by driving from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 25-minute edge to Alameda (Bay Farm), or 4.2 hours across a ten-trip week. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 55 minutes by driving from Alameda (Bay Farm), 30 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 25-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 4.2 hours across a ten-trip week. Doolittle to I-880 or the Posey Tube gets Bay Farm to Oakland City Center in 15 minutes off-peak; the tube backs up 7:30-9:00. Baby Bullets stop at Hillsdale, 5 minutes from Baywood, for a 30-minute ride to 4th and King.
What the disclosure stack holds
Standard fire carriers are still writing Bay Farm without the hills' non-renewal wave. 1920s foundations, knob-and-tube and sewer laterals are the Baywood inspection items. Run the address through CAL FIRE's severity-zone viewer, the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the CGS seismic hazard maps, and treat the premium quote as a contingency item.
Which search this actually is
Bay Farm fits a need for a detached home with a garage inside the ferry catchment. Baywood is the answer when architecture and rail both have to be satisfied.
Sources. Tax figures come from Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26, composited in build/assets/metrics.json. They are county-level and not yet verified at the TRA, so the parcel's bill governs. Travel times are AM-peak door-to-door estimates from data/commute/static.csv. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Bay Farm Island, Alameda | Baywood, San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $750 | $1,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.22% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,917 | $9,764 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 55 min | 30 min |
Same reference loan on both sides; the tax line is the only variable. Commute figures are door-to-door AM-peak estimates. Sources are listed on each submarket page.
Bay Farm Island, Alameda detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.178% |
| Effective rate | 1.22% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26 (Alameda County), composited in
build/assets/metrics.json.
Tax Rate Area not yet verified parcel-by-parcel — confirm the rate on the parcel’s own tax bill.
Baywood, San Mateo detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.095% |
| Effective rate | 1.10% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26 (San Mateo County), composited in
build/assets/metrics.json.
Tax Rate Area not yet verified parcel-by-parcel — confirm the rate on the parcel’s own tax bill.
Bay Farm Island, Alameda vs Baywood, San Mateo: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Bay Farm Island, Alameda or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Baywood, San Mateo, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.22% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.110%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Bay Farm Island, Alameda and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $153 per month on the identical reference loan: Bay Farm Island, Alameda $9,917, Baywood, San Mateo $9,764. Baywood, San Mateo is lower. Principal and interest are held constant, so the difference is the tax line. Arithmetic only.
- Which has the shorter commute to Oakland City Center, Bay Farm Island, Alameda or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Bay Farm Island, Alameda. Bay Farm Island, Alameda is 20 min by car; Baywood, San Mateo is 45 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Bay Farm Island, Alameda and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $650 per square foot: Bay Farm Island, Alameda $750, Baywood, San Mateo $1,400. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.