Cordelia, Fairfield vs Menlo Park
Cordelia, Fairfield carries an effective property tax rate of 1.18% of assessed value and Menlo Park carries 1.13%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,864 and $9,790 — $73 apart, with Menlo Park lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 95 min by car from Cordelia, Fairfield and 20 min by Caltrain from Menlo Park. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Cordelia, Fairfield (Solano County) · Menlo Park (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Menlo Park | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,700 | −$1,320 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.13% | +0.055% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,790 | +$73 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 75 min | 60 min | +15 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 70 min | 85 min | −15 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 50 min | +10 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 95 min | 20 min | +75 min |
Difference is Cordelia, Fairfield minus Menlo Park. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Menlo Park carries $1,320 more per square foot than Fairfield (Cordelia) — 347% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.18% in Fairfield (Cordelia) against 1.13% in Menlo Park, close enough that price per foot, not the levy, is what moves the payment.
What the same money buys
Cordelia offers the most square footage per dollar on I-80 west of Vacaville. $1.4M in Menlo Park is a 1,100-1,300 sq ft two-bedroom in the Willows or Belle Haven, or a 1,500 sq ft townhome. The median foot costs $380 in Fairfield (Cordelia) against $1,700 in Menlo Park; on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $2,640,000 of purchase price.
The monthly, matched
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Fairfield (Cordelia) totals $9,864 a month at 1.18% and Menlo Park $9,790 at 1.13% — tax lines of $1,573 and $1,500. Cordelia HOAs run $50-$150 a month, with gated Rancho Solano and Eastridge higher. Belle Haven sits in Ravenswood City with a smaller levy than the rest of Menlo Park.
Commute, measured
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 95 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 20 by Caltrain from Menlo Park — a 75-minute edge to Menlo Park, or 12.5 hours across a ten-trip week. The Fairfield-Vacaville Capitol Corridor station is 15 minutes from Cordelia, then 65 minutes to Emeryville. Menlo Park Caltrain has limited Baby Bullet service; most trains run 40-50 minutes to San Francisco.
What the disclosure stack holds
Green Valley and the hills west of I-680 are mapped High fire hazard. The Sharon Heights hills near 280 carry moderate fire mapping with no Menlo Park non-renewals observed. Verify any parcel against the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the California Geological Survey seismic hazard zones before removing contingencies.
The housing need each answers
Cordelia is the answer when square footage per dollar is the governing constraint. Menlo Park is the answer when the commute has to be under fifteen minutes.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; City of Fairfield CFD reports; San Mateo County Tax Rate 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 | Cordelia, Fairfield | Menlo Park |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.13% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,790 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 75 min | 60 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 60 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 95 min | 20 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.
Cordelia, Fairfield detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.090% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD assessment | 0.080% |
| Effective rate | 1.18% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | Yes |
Source: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; City of Fairfield CFD reports (Solano 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.
Menlo Park detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.115% |
| Effective rate | 1.13% |
| 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.
Cordelia, Fairfield vs Menlo Park: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Cordelia, Fairfield or Menlo Park?
- Menlo Park, at 1.13% of assessed value against 1.18% 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 Cordelia, Fairfield and Menlo Park?
- $73 per month on the identical reference loan: Cordelia, Fairfield $9,864, Menlo Park $9,790. Menlo Park 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, Cordelia, Fairfield or Menlo Park?
- Menlo Park. Cordelia, Fairfield is 95 min by car; Menlo Park is 20 min by Caltrain. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Cordelia, Fairfield and Menlo Park?
- $1,320 per square foot: Cordelia, Fairfield $380, Menlo Park $1,700. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.