Benicia vs Mission San Jose, Fremont
Benicia carries an effective property tax rate of 1.10% of assessed value and Mission San Jose, Fremont carries 1.15%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,750 and $9,817 — $67 apart, with Benicia lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 85 min by car from Benicia and 35 min by car from Mission San Jose, Fremont. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Benicia (Solano County) · Mission San Jose, Fremont (Alameda County)
| Metric | Benicia | Mission San Jose, Fremont | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $480 | $1,050 | −$570 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.15% | −0.050% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,750 | $9,817 | −$67 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 70 min | 65 min | +5 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 65 min | −5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 45 min | +10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 45 min | 0 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 85 min | 35 min | +50 min |
Difference is Benicia minus Mission San Jose, Fremont. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Fremont (Mission San Jose) carries $570 more per square foot than Benicia — 119% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.10% in Benicia against 1.15% in Fremont (Mission San Jose), close enough that price per foot, not the levy, is what moves the payment.
What the same money buys
The Benicia core is $700K-$950K for 1,600-2,200 sq ft built 1975-1995. $1.4M in Mission San Jose is a 1,300-1,500 sq ft 1960s three-bedroom on a 6,000 sq ft lot, usually original inside. The median foot costs $480 in Benicia against $1,050 in Fremont (Mission San Jose); on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $1,140,000 of purchase price.
What the bill looks like
Holding the loan constant — $1,600,000, 20% down, 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, $2,400 of insurance, no HOA — Benicia totals $9,750 a month at 1.10% and Fremont (Mission San Jose) $9,817 at 1.15% — tax lines of $1,460 and $1,527. A Benicia tax bill should still be read for the residual assessment districts. Mission San Jose's fixed levies are the lightest among the high-price submarkets here.
Commute, measured
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 85 minutes by driving from Benicia, 35 by driving from Fremont (Mission San Jose) — a 50-minute edge to Fremont (Mission San Jose), or 8.3 hours across a ten-trip week. The Benicia Bridge toll is $7 southbound, and Concord, Martinez and Fairfield work sites are 20-25 minutes out. Door to door from Mission San Jose to FiDi is 80-90 minutes, so most commutes here run south instead.
Hazard and insurance
Downtown Benicia and the flats near the water are not WUI. The hillside lots east of Mission Boulevard and along Vargas Road are mapped High fire hazard. 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.
The housing need each answers
Benicia fits a square-footage-and-view requirement under $1M. Mission San Jose assumes the buyer will pay for location rather than finish.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26, composited in build/assets/metrics.json; TRA-level verification pending, so confirm the rate on the parcel's own bill. Commute times: door-to-door AM-peak estimates, 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 | Benicia | Mission San Jose, Fremont |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $480 | $1,050 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.15% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,750 | $9,817 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 65 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 85 min | 35 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.
Benicia detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.085% |
| Effective rate | 1.09% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26 (Solano 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.
Mission San Jose, Fremont detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.103% |
| Effective rate | 1.15% |
| 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.
Benicia vs Mission San Jose, Fremont: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Benicia or Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- Benicia, at 1.10% of assessed value against 1.15% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.050%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Benicia and Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- $67 per month on the identical reference loan: Benicia $9,750, Mission San Jose, Fremont $9,817. Benicia is lower. Principal and interest are held constant, so the difference is the tax line. Arithmetic only.
- Which has the shorter commute to Sunnyvale / Mountain View, Benicia or Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- Mission San Jose, Fremont. Benicia is 85 min by car; Mission San Jose, Fremont is 35 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Benicia and Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- $570 per square foot: Benicia $480, Mission San Jose, Fremont $1,050. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.