Cordelia, Fairfield vs Orinda
Cordelia, Fairfield carries an effective property tax rate of 1.18% of assessed value and Orinda carries 1.08%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,864 and $9,730 — $133 apart, with Orinda lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 60 min by car from Cordelia, Fairfield and 20 min by BART from Orinda. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Cordelia, Fairfield (Solano County) · Orinda (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Orinda | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,150 | −$770 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.08% | +0.100% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,730 | +$133 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 85 min | 38 min | +47 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 75 min | 45 min | +30 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 70 min | 20 min | +50 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 25 min | +35 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 95 min | 70 min | +25 min |
Difference is Cordelia, Fairfield minus Orinda. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $380 per foot in Fairfield (Cordelia) against $1,150 in Orinda. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is $133, because Fairfield (Cordelia) bills 1.18% and Orinda 1.08%.
The house at each price
Cordelia offers the most square footage per dollar on I-80 west of Vacaville. At $1.4M the Orinda listing is a 1,600-1,900 sq ft three-bedroom from the 1950s-70s on a half-acre hillside lot. Posted medians are $380 per square foot in Fairfield (Cordelia) and $1,150 in Orinda, a $770 spread.
The monthly, matched
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Fairfield (Cordelia) totals $9,864 a month at 1.18% and Orinda $9,730 at 1.08% — tax lines of $1,573 and $1,440. The 1990s Green Valley core in Cordelia largely carries no Mello-Roos. No Mello-Roos in Orinda, and no HOA outside the Orinda Woods and Wilder tracts at $150-$400 a month.
Getting to work
To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 60 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 20 by BART from Orinda — a 40-minute edge to Orinda, or 6.7 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 75 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 38 by BART from Orinda — a 37-minute edge to Orinda, or 6.2 hours across a ten-trip week. The Fairfield-Vacaville Capitol Corridor station is 15 minutes from Cordelia, then 65 minutes to Emeryville. Orinda BART is the fastest ride in Lamorinda at 22 minutes to Embarcadero, with the station 5-10 minutes from most of town.
Fire, flood and the premium
Green Valley and the hills west of I-680 are mapped High fire hazard. Septic is still live on a share of Sleepy Hollow and Bear Creek lots, on top of Orinda's fire mapping. 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.
Choosing between them
Cordelia answers a Napa or Travis commute. Orinda is the choice when lot size and rail access both have to be satisfied. The decision is which requirement is load-bearing, because neither submarket satisfies both lists.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; City of Fairfield CFD reports; 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. Median price per foot is a trailing figure, not a valuation, and the local detail comes from the broker's own transactions.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Orinda |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.08% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,730 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 75 min | 38 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 60 min | 20 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 95 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.
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.
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.
Cordelia, Fairfield vs Orinda: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Cordelia, Fairfield or Orinda?
- Orinda, at 1.08% of assessed value against 1.18% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.100%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Cordelia, Fairfield and Orinda?
- $133 per month on the identical reference loan: Cordelia, Fairfield $9,864, 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, Cordelia, Fairfield or Orinda?
- Orinda. Cordelia, Fairfield is 60 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 Cordelia, Fairfield and Orinda?
- $770 per square foot: Cordelia, Fairfield $380, Orinda $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.