Burlingame vs Orinda
Burlingame carries an effective property tax rate of 1.11% of assessed value and Orinda carries 1.08%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,768 and $9,730 — $37 apart, with Orinda lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 45 min by car from Burlingame and 20 min by BART from Orinda. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Burlingame (San Mateo County) · Orinda (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Burlingame | Orinda | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,150 | +$350 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.08% | +0.028% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,730 | +$37 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 40 min | 38 min | +2 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 45 min | −5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 20 min | +35 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 25 min | +20 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 35 min | 70 min | −35 min |
Difference is Burlingame minus Orinda. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain), Burlingame is 35 minutes closer than Orinda on the fastest posted option each has. Ten trips a week makes that 5.8 hours. The tax side is nearly level at 1.11% and 1.08%.
What the same money buys
Sleepy Hollow, Glorietta and Orinda Downs hold the $1.4M inventory, usually level-in at the entry with the house stepping down. Against that, burlingame Village and the Lyon-Hoag area hold the $1.4M detached inventory. At $1,500 and $1,150 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 30% more floor area in Orinda.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
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 Orinda $9,730 at 1.08% — tax lines of $1,477 and $1,440. No Mello-Roos in Burlingame. Orinda's add-ons are parcel taxes and a road bond rather than a CFD, so they do not amortize away. 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, 70 by driving from Orinda — a 35-minute edge to Burlingame, or 5.8 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 45 minutes by driving from Burlingame, 20 by BART from Orinda — a 25-minute edge to Orinda, or 4.2 hours across a ten-trip week. Driving 101 from Burlingame to SoMa is 25 minutes at 6 a.m. and 45-55 at 8. Orinda runs on two modes: BART for San Francisco, Highway 24 for everything else.
Hazard and insurance
Insurance is priced off mapping, not off price per foot. Burlingame is not WUI. Nearly all of Orinda is mapped Very High on the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps. 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. Orinda only works with the insurance quote in hand before the offer is written. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: San Mateo County Tax Rate Book 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. 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 | Orinda |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.08% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,730 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 40 min | 38 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 20 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 35 min | 70 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.
Orinda detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.068% |
| Effective rate | 1.08% |
| 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 Orinda: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Burlingame or Orinda?
- Orinda, at 1.08% of assessed value against 1.11% 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 Burlingame and Orinda?
- $37 per month on the identical reference loan: Burlingame $9,768, Orinda $9,730. Orinda 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 Orinda?
- Orinda. Burlingame is 45 min by car; Orinda is 20 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Burlingame and Orinda?
- $350 per square foot: Burlingame $1,500, Orinda $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.