Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Foster City
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.21% of assessed value and Foster City carries 1.10%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,904 and $9,760 — $144 apart, with Foster City lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and 40 min by car from Foster City. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley (Alameda County) · Foster City (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Foster City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,000 | +$50 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.10% | +0.108% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,760 | +$144 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 35 min | 58 min | −23 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 45 min | −5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 22 min | 70 min | −48 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 40 min | −20 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 75 min | 30 min | +45 min |
Difference is Berkeley Hills, Berkeley minus Foster City. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain), Foster City is 45 minutes closer than Berkeley Hills on the fastest posted option each has. Ten trips a week makes that 7.5 hours. The tax side is nearly level at 1.21% and 1.10%.
What the same money buys
$1.4M in the Berkeley Hills is a 1920s-50s two or three bedroom, 1,500-1,900 sq ft, on a sloped lot. Foster City's interior lots hold the detached $1.4M inventory. Posted medians are $1,050 per square foot in Berkeley Hills and $1,000 in Foster City, a $50 spread.
What the bill looks like
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Berkeley Hills totals $9,904 a month at 1.21% and Foster City $9,760 at 1.10% — tax lines of $1,613 and $1,469. Berkeley parcel taxes for library, parks, paramedics, soft-story and streets stack to $2,500-$4,500 a year. San Mateo-Foster City School District parcel taxes run roughly $200-$300 a year.
Getting to work
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 75 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 30 by driving from Foster City — a 45-minute edge to Foster City, or 7.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 20 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 40 by driving from Foster City — 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. Gilead and Visa headquarters are inside Foster City, so a share of its commutes are on foot or bike.
Fire, flood and the premium
The Berkeley Hills are the most scrutinized WUI in the East Bay. The entire city is engineered fill inside a levee, so flood, liquefaction and sea-level rise drive the disclosure. 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.
The housing need each answers
The Berkeley Hills work when a 10-minute reach to campus outranks carrying cost. Foster City is the answer when lagoon townhome living beats a fixer.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; San Mateo County Tax Rate Book 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. Median price per foot is a trailing figure, not a valuation, and the local detail comes from the broker's own transactions.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Foster City |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.10% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,760 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 40 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 75 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.
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.
Foster City detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.092% |
| 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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Foster City: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Foster City?
- Foster City, at 1.10% of assessed value against 1.21% 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 Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Foster City?
- $144 per month on the identical reference loan: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $9,904, Foster City $9,760. Foster City 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 Foster City?
- Berkeley Hills, Berkeley. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley is 20 min by car; Foster City is 40 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Foster City?
- $50 per square foot: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $1,050, Foster City $1,000. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.