Castro Valley vs Mission San Jose, Fremont
Castro Valley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.20% of assessed value and Mission San Jose, Fremont carries 1.15%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,893 and $9,817 — $76 apart, with Mission San Jose, Fremont lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 28 min by BART from Castro Valley and 45 min by BART from Mission San Jose, Fremont. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Castro Valley (Alameda County) · Mission San Jose, Fremont (Alameda County)
| Metric | Castro Valley | Mission San Jose, Fremont | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $650 | $1,050 | −$400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.20% | 1.15% | +0.057% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,893 | $9,817 | +$76 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 45 min | 65 min | −20 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 50 min | 65 min | −15 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 28 min | 45 min | −17 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 28 min | 45 min | −17 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 50 min | 35 min | +15 min |
Difference is Castro Valley minus Mission San Jose, Fremont. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $650 per foot in Castro Valley against $1,050 in Fremont (Mission San Jose). On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $76, because Castro Valley bills 1.20% and Fremont (Mission San Jose) 1.15%.
The house at each price
The Castro Valley flats near the Boulevard run $950K-$1.1M for a 1,500-1,800 sq ft 1950s ranch on 6,000 sq ft. Mission San Jose comps run $1,000-$1,100 per square foot, well above the rest of Fremont. The median foot costs $650 in Castro Valley against $1,050 in Fremont (Mission San Jose); 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 — Castro Valley totals $9,893 a month at 1.20% and Fremont (Mission San Jose) $9,817 at 1.15% — tax lines of $1,603 and $1,527. A few Five Canyons tracts still carry a small CFD, so the Castro Valley bill has to be checked. No Mello-Roos in Mission San Jose.
Commute, measured
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 45 minutes by BART from Castro Valley, 65 by BART from Fremont (Mission San Jose) — a 20-minute edge to Castro Valley, or 3.3 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 28 minutes by BART from Castro Valley, 45 by BART from Fremont (Mission San Jose) — a 17-minute edge to Castro Valley, or 2.8 hours across a ten-trip week. Hayward and San Leandro job centers are 10-15 minutes from Castro Valley. Warm Springs/South Fremont BART is 10-12 minutes from Mission San Jose, then 55 minutes to Embarcadero.
Hazard and insurance
The Castro Valley flats are not WUI. The hillside lots east of Mission Boulevard and along Vargas Road are mapped High fire hazard. 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.
Which search this actually is
Castro Valley fits a four-bedroom-under-$1.2M requirement with a BART option. Mission San Jose fits a detached-home requirement with South Bay employers in reach.
Sources. Tax figures come from Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA 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 | Castro Valley | Mission San Jose, Fremont |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $650 | $1,050 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.20% | 1.15% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,893 | $9,817 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 45 min | 65 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 28 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 50 min | 35 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.
Castro Valley detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.160% |
| Effective rate | 1.20% |
| 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.
Mission San Jose, Fremont detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.103% |
| Effective rate | 1.15% |
| 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.
Castro Valley vs Mission San Jose, Fremont: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Castro Valley or Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- Mission San Jose, Fremont, at 1.15% of assessed value against 1.20% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.050%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Castro Valley and Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- $76 per month on the identical reference loan: Castro Valley $9,893, Mission San Jose, Fremont $9,817. Mission San Jose, Fremont 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, Castro Valley or Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- Castro Valley. Castro Valley is 28 min by BART; Mission San Jose, Fremont is 45 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Castro Valley and Mission San Jose, Fremont?
- $400 per square foot: Castro Valley $650, Mission San Jose, Fremont $1,050. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.