Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Dublin
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.21% of assessed value and Dublin carries 1.18%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,904 and $9,869 — $35 apart, with Dublin lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and 38 min by BART from Dublin. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley (Alameda County) · Dublin (Alameda County)
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Dublin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $720 | +$330 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.18% | +0.026% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,869 | +$35 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 35 min | 55 min | −20 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 65 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 22 min | 38 min | −16 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 40 min | −20 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 75 min | 45 min | +30 min |
Difference is Berkeley Hills, Berkeley minus Dublin. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $1,050 per foot in Berkeley Hills against $720 in Dublin. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $35, because Berkeley Hills bills 1.21% and Dublin 1.18%.
The house at each price
Below Grizzly Peak and north of the Claremont area the same money gets more house and less view. Positano, Jordan Ranch and Wallis Ranch hold Dublin's newest inventory. At $1,050 and $720 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 46% more floor area in Dublin.
The monthly, matched
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 Dublin $9,869 at 1.18% — tax lines of $1,613 and $1,579. Berkeley parcel taxes for library, parks, paramedics, soft-story and streets stack to $2,500-$4,500 a year. Most east Dublin tracts carry a CFD of $1,200-$3,500 a year on top of the base rate.
The trip each morning
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 75 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 45 by driving from Dublin — a 30-minute edge to Dublin, or 5.0 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 35 minutes by BART from Berkeley Hills, 55 by BART from Dublin — a 20-minute edge to Berkeley Hills, or 3.3 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. The I-580/680 interchange is Dublin's daily choke point; the Bay Bridge is 45 minutes at 6 a.m., 80-100 at 8.
What the disclosure stack holds
Everything east of Grizzly Peak and much of the 1991 fire footprint is mapped Very High. The Tassajara Hills tracts on Dublin's northeast edge sit at the boundary of moderate fire mapping. None of this substitutes for the parcel: check CAL FIRE zoning, the FEMA flood panel and CGS seismic hazard mapping, then price the policy in writing.
Which search this actually is
The Berkeley Hills fit a need for proximity to the university or the lab. Dublin is the answer when square footage per dollar outranks commute length. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA 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 | Dublin |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $720 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.18% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,869 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 55 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 38 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 75 min | 45 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.
Dublin detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.142% |
| Effective rate | 1.18% |
| 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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Dublin: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Dublin?
- Dublin, at 1.18% of assessed value against 1.21% 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 Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Dublin?
- $35 per month on the identical reference loan: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $9,904, Dublin $9,869. Dublin 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 Dublin?
- Berkeley Hills, Berkeley. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley is 20 min by car; Dublin is 38 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 Dublin?
- $330 per square foot: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $1,050, Dublin $720. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.