Benicia vs Menlo Park
Benicia carries an effective property tax rate of 1.10% of assessed value and Menlo Park carries 1.13%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,750 and $9,790 — $40 apart, with Benicia lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 85 min by car from Benicia and 20 min by Caltrain from Menlo Park. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Benicia (Solano County) · Menlo Park (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Benicia | Menlo Park | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $480 | $1,700 | −$1,220 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.13% | −0.030% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,750 | $9,790 | −$40 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 60 min | 0 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 85 min | −30 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 50 min | −5 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 85 min | 20 min | +65 min |
Difference is Benicia minus Menlo Park. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Menlo Park carries $1,220 more per square foot than Benicia — 254% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.10% in Benicia against 1.13% in Menlo Park, close enough that price per foot, not the levy, is what moves the payment.
What the same money buys
$1.4M in Menlo Park is a 1,100-1,300 sq ft two-bedroom in the Willows or Belle Haven, or a 1,500 sq ft townhome. Against that, restored Victorians on First Street are Benicia's other $1.4M option. The median foot costs $480 in Benicia against $1,700 in Menlo Park; on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $2,440,000 of purchase price.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Benicia totals $9,750 a month at 1.10% and Menlo Park $9,790 at 1.13% — tax lines of $1,460 and $1,500. Benicia HOAs are rare outside newer waterfront townhomes at $200-$350 a month. Menlo Park downtown condos and townhomes carry $500-$900 a month.
Commute, measured
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 85 minutes by driving from Benicia, 20 by Caltrain from Menlo Park — a 65-minute edge to Menlo Park, or 10.8 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 45 minutes by driving from Benicia, 50 by driving from Menlo Park — a 5-minute edge to Benicia, or 0.8 hours across a ten-trip week. Benicia's closest rail is the Vallejo ferry, 15 minutes away then 60 on the water, or Martinez Amtrak. Palo Alto station, minutes south of Menlo Park, carries the 33-minute express.
Fire, flood and the premium
The hills above Rose Drive and the Southampton ridge are mapped moderate to high fire hazard. The Menlo Park flats are not WUI. 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 is the answer when a water view has to fit a sub-$1M budget. Menlo Park assumes a small footprint or a townhome at this price.
Sources. Tax figures come from Solano County Tax Rate Book 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. Price per square foot is a trailing median and is not an appraisal. Qualitative detail is the broker's own field observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Benicia | Menlo Park |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $480 | $1,700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.13% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,750 | $9,790 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 60 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 85 min | 20 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.
Menlo Park detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.115% |
| Effective rate | 1.13% |
| 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.
Benicia vs Menlo Park: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Benicia or Menlo Park?
- Benicia, at 1.10% of assessed value against 1.13% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.030%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Benicia and Menlo Park?
- $40 per month on the identical reference loan: Benicia $9,750, Menlo Park $9,790. 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 Menlo Park?
- Menlo Park. Benicia is 85 min by car; Menlo Park is 20 min by Caltrain. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Benicia and Menlo Park?
- $1,220 per square foot: Benicia $480, Menlo Park $1,700. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.