Burlingame vs Midtown, Palo Alto
Burlingame carries an effective property tax rate of 1.11% of assessed value and Midtown, Palo Alto carries 1.17%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,768 and $9,853 — $85 apart, with Burlingame lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 35 min by Caltrain from Burlingame and 18 min by Caltrain from Midtown, Palo Alto. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Burlingame (San Mateo County) · Midtown, Palo Alto (Santa Clara County)
| Metric | Burlingame | Midtown, Palo Alto | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,900 | −$400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.17% | −0.064% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,853 | −$85 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 40 min | 65 min | −25 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 65 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 90 min | −35 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 50 min | −5 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 35 min | 18 min | +17 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 35 min | 18 min | +17 min |
Difference is Burlingame minus Midtown, Palo Alto. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $1,500 per foot in Burlingame against $1,900 in Palo Alto (Midtown). On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $85, because Burlingame bills 1.11% and Palo Alto (Midtown) 1.17%.
The house at each price
Burlingame Village and the Lyon-Hoag area hold the $1.4M detached inventory. Midtown Palo Alto comps run $1,800-$2,200 per square foot for detached. The median foot costs $1,500 in Burlingame against $1,900 in Palo Alto (Midtown); on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $800,000 of purchase price.
What the bill looks like
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 Palo Alto (Midtown) $9,853 at 1.17% — tax lines of $1,477 and $1,563. Burlingame School District and San Mateo Union High parcel taxes run roughly $200-$400 combined. No Mello-Roos in Palo Alto.
Commute, measured
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 40 minutes by BART from Burlingame, 65 by Caltrain from Palo Alto (Midtown) — a 25-minute edge to Burlingame, or 4.2 hours across a ten-trip week. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 35 minutes by Caltrain from Burlingame, 18 by Caltrain from Palo Alto (Midtown) — a 17-minute edge to Palo Alto (Midtown), or 2.8 hours across a ten-trip week. Driving 101 from Burlingame to SoMa is 25 minutes at 6 a.m. and 45-55 at 8. Stanford is 10 minutes from Midtown, Google Mountain View 15, Apple Cupertino 25-35, and the Bryant Street bike boulevard carries a lot of it.
Hazard and insurance
The Burlingame flats east of El Camino sit in FEMA flood zones tied to the bayfront and creeks. Midtown Palo Alto is not WUI. 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.
The housing need each answers
Burlingame works for a buyer who will take two bedrooms to keep the train. Midtown assumes a condo at $1.4M or a step past $2.6M for a lot.
Sources. Tax figures come from San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Santa Clara County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26, composited in build/assets/metrics.json. They are county-level and not yet verified at the TRA, so the parcel's bill governs. Travel times are AM-peak door-to-door estimates 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 | Burlingame | Midtown, Palo Alto |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.17% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,853 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 40 min | 65 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 35 min | 18 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.
Midtown, Palo Alto detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.045% |
| School district measures | 0.127% |
| Effective rate | 1.17% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Santa Clara County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26 (Santa Clara 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 Midtown, Palo Alto: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Burlingame or Midtown, Palo Alto?
- Burlingame, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.17% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.060%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Burlingame and Midtown, Palo Alto?
- $85 per month on the identical reference loan: Burlingame $9,768, Midtown, Palo Alto $9,853. Burlingame is lower. Principal and interest are held constant, so the difference is the tax line. Arithmetic only.
- Which has the shorter commute to Sunnyvale / Mountain View, Burlingame or Midtown, Palo Alto?
- Midtown, Palo Alto. Burlingame is 35 min by Caltrain; Midtown, Palo Alto is 18 min by Caltrain. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Burlingame and Midtown, Palo Alto?
- $400 per square foot: Burlingame $1,500, Midtown, Palo Alto $1,900. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.