Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Danville
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.21% of assessed value and Danville carries 1.07%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,904 and $9,713 — $191 apart, with Danville lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and 42 min by BART from Danville. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley (Alameda County) · Danville (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Danville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $900 | +$150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.07% | +0.143% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,713 | +$191 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 35 min | 60 min | −25 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 65 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 22 min | 42 min | −20 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 42 min | −22 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 75 min | 55 min | +20 min |
Difference is Berkeley Hills, Berkeley minus Danville. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
This pairing is a commute decision. Berkeley Hills reaches FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) 25 minutes faster than Danville, while the rates sit 1.21% against 1.07% and the monthly gap at $1,600,000 is $191.
The house at each price
$1.4M in the Berkeley Hills is a 1920s-50s two or three bedroom, 1,500-1,900 sq ft, on a sloped lot. The Danville gates change both the dues and the insurance file, so the $2M tier is a different market. Posted medians are $1,050 per square foot in Berkeley Hills and $900 in Danville, a $150 spread.
What the bill looks like
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Berkeley Hills totals $9,904 a month at 1.21% and Danville $9,713 at 1.07% — tax lines of $1,613 and $1,423. Berkeley's fixed levies are the largest annual add-on in this comparison set. San Ramon Valley Unified parcel taxes on a Danville parcel run roughly $150 a year.
Getting to work
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 35 minutes by BART from Berkeley Hills, 60 by BART from Danville — a 25-minute edge to Berkeley Hills, or 4.2 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 20 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 42 by BART from Danville — a 22-minute edge to Berkeley Hills, or 3.7 hours across a ten-trip week. Highway 24 puts the Berkeley Hills 35 minutes from the Bay Bridge at 6 a.m., 60-75 at 8. Bishop Ranch is 8 minutes from Danville, and Dublin BART 20 minutes south is often the easier parking.
What the disclosure stack holds
Berkeley non-renewals from State Farm, Allstate and Farmers are routine; FAIR Plan plus a wrap runs $5K-$9K. Blackhawk and Diablo sit inside the High fire mapping and non-renewals there are current. 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
The Berkeley Hills fit a need for proximity to the university or the lab. Danville is the I-680 answer when a quarter acre and four bedrooms both have to fit under $1.5M.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26, as composited in build/assets/metrics.json — unverified at tax-rate-area level, so read the bill. Minutes shown are AM-peak and door to door, 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 | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Danville |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $900 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.07% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,713 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 60 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 42 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 75 min | 55 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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.168% |
| Effective rate | 1.21% |
| 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.
Danville detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.055% |
| Effective rate | 1.07% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26 (Contra Costa 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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Danville: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Danville?
- Danville, at 1.07% of assessed value against 1.21% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.140%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Danville?
- $191 per month on the identical reference loan: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $9,904, Danville $9,713. Danville 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, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Danville?
- Berkeley Hills, Berkeley. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley is 20 min by car; Danville is 42 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Danville?
- $150 per square foot: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $1,050, Danville $900. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.