Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Baywood, San Mateo
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.21% of assessed value and Baywood, San Mateo carries 1.11%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,904 and $9,764 — $140 apart, with Baywood, San Mateo lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and 45 min by car from Baywood, San Mateo. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley (Alameda County) · Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Baywood, San Mateo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,400 | −$350 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.11% | +0.105% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,764 | +$140 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 35 min | 48 min | −13 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 45 min | −5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 22 min | 62 min | −40 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 45 min | −25 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 75 min | 30 min | +45 min |
Difference is Berkeley Hills, Berkeley minus Baywood, San Mateo. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain), San Mateo (Baywood) 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 1.11%.
What the same money buys
A 1,600 sq ft townhome is the other $1.4M option near Baywood. Against that, below Grizzly Peak and north of the Claremont area the same money gets more house and less view. Posted medians are $1,050 per square foot in Berkeley Hills and $1,400 in San Mateo (Baywood), a $350 spread.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
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 San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,613 and $1,473. Berkeley's fixed levies are the largest annual add-on in this comparison set. San Mateo-Foster City and San Mateo Union High parcel taxes run roughly $300-$400 combined in Baywood.
Getting to work
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 75 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 30 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 45-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 7.5 hours across a ten-trip week. UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Lab are 10 minutes from the hills; station parking is the constraint, not the train. Driving 101 or I-280 from Baywood to SoMa is 25 minutes at 6 a.m. and 50-65 at 8; Highway 92 to the East Bay is 20 off-peak.
What the disclosure stack holds
Berkeley's Zone 0 rules require five feet of ember-resistant clearance from the structure. Baywood's hillside lots west of Alameda de las Pulgas carry moderate fire mapping, with no non-renewals observed. 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.
Choosing between them
The Berkeley Hills fit a need for proximity to the university or the lab. Baywood is the answer when architecture and rail both have to be satisfied.
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 | Baywood, San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,764 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 45 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.
Baywood, San Mateo detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.095% |
| 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 Baywood, San Mateo: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Baywood, San Mateo, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.21% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.100%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $140 per month on the identical reference loan: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $9,904, Baywood, San Mateo $9,764. Baywood, San Mateo 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 Baywood, San Mateo?
- Berkeley Hills, Berkeley. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley is 20 min by car; Baywood, San Mateo is 45 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 Baywood, San Mateo?
- $350 per square foot: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $1,050, Baywood, San Mateo $1,400. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.