Burlingame vs Lafayette
Burlingame carries an effective property tax rate of 1.11% of assessed value and Lafayette carries 1.07%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,768 and $9,717 — $51 apart, with Lafayette lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 45 min by car from Burlingame and 22 min by BART from Lafayette. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Burlingame (San Mateo County) · Lafayette (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Burlingame | Lafayette | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,150 | +$350 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.07% | +0.038% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,717 | +$51 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 40 min | 40 min | 0 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 48 min | −8 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 22 min | +33 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 27 min | +18 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 35 min | 68 min | −33 min |
Difference is Burlingame minus Lafayette. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
This pairing is a commute decision. Burlingame reaches Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) 33 minutes faster than Lafayette, while the rates sit 1.11% against 1.07% and the monthly gap at $1,600,000 is $51.
The house at each price
Burlingame comps run $1,300-$1,500 per square foot for detached. Burton Valley and the Trail neighborhoods hold Lafayette's $1.4M inventory. At $1,500 and $1,150 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 30% more floor area in Lafayette.
The monthly, matched
Holding the loan constant — $1,600,000, 20% down, 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, $2,400 of insurance, no HOA — Burlingame totals $9,768 a month at 1.11% and Lafayette $9,717 at 1.07% — tax lines of $1,477 and $1,427. No Mello-Roos in Burlingame. Lafayette's surcharge is two overlapping parcel taxes rather than a CFD. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
The trip each morning
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 35 minutes by Caltrain from Burlingame, 68 by driving from Lafayette — a 33-minute edge to Burlingame, or 5.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 45 minutes by driving from Burlingame, 22 by BART from Lafayette — a 23-minute edge to Lafayette, or 3.8 hours across a ten-trip week. A Baby Bullet from Burlingame to 4th and King runs 28-35 minutes; locals 40, plus a 15-minute walk or Muni ride. Walnut Creek is 10 minutes east of Lafayette, which matters for the medical campuses.
Hazard and insurance
Insurance is priced off mapping, not off price per foot. The Burlingame flats east of El Camino sit in FEMA flood zones tied to the bayfront and creeks. Most of Lafayette outside the downtown flats is mapped High or Very High fire hazard. Lafayette non-renewals are routine; FAIR Plan plus a difference-in-conditions wrap runs $5K-$9K a year. Pull the parcel's own mapping — CAL FIRE severity zone, FEMA flood panel, CGS liquefaction zone — and get a written quote before the contingency date.
Choosing between them
Burlingame assumes square footage will be traded to get both. Lafayette requires $6K-plus a year budgeted for insurance before the search starts. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Contra Costa TRA 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. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Burlingame | Lafayette |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.07% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,717 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 40 min | 40 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 22 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 35 min | 68 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.
Burlingame detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.098% |
| Effective rate | 1.11% |
| 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.
Lafayette detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.058% |
| 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.
Burlingame vs Lafayette: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Burlingame or Lafayette?
- Lafayette, at 1.07% of assessed value against 1.11% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.040%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Burlingame and Lafayette?
- $51 per month on the identical reference loan: Burlingame $9,768, Lafayette $9,717. Lafayette 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, Burlingame or Lafayette?
- Lafayette. Burlingame is 45 min by car; Lafayette is 22 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Burlingame and Lafayette?
- $350 per square foot: Burlingame $1,500, Lafayette $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.