Cordelia, Fairfield vs Piedmont
Cordelia, Fairfield carries an effective property tax rate of 1.18% of assessed value and Piedmont carries 1.25%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,864 and $9,960 — $96 apart, with Cordelia, Fairfield lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 60 min by car from Cordelia, Fairfield and 15 min by car from Piedmont. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Cordelia, Fairfield (Solano County) · Piedmont (Alameda County)
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Piedmont | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,200 | −$820 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.25% | −0.072% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,960 | −$96 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 85 min | 35 min | +50 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 75 min | 35 min | +40 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 70 min | 20 min | +50 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 15 min | +45 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 95 min | 65 min | +30 min |
Difference is Cordelia, Fairfield minus Piedmont. 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 $1,200 in Piedmont. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $96, because Fairfield (Cordelia) bills 1.18% and Piedmont 1.25%.
The house at each price
The Cordelia sweet spot is $700K-$900K for 2,200-2,800 sq ft built 1995-2010. $1.4M in Piedmont is a 1,500-1,800 sq ft 1920s two or three bedroom on a small lot, usually needing foundation or systems work. Posted medians are $380 per square foot in Fairfield (Cordelia) and $1,200 in Piedmont, a $820 spread.
What the bill looks like
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 Piedmont $9,960 at 1.25% — tax lines of $1,573 and $1,669. Cordelia HOAs run $50-$150 a month, with gated Rancho Solano and Eastridge higher. Piedmont Unified's school support tax runs $3,000-$4,500 a year, scaled by lot size.
Getting to work
To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 60 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 15 by driving from Piedmont — a 45-minute edge to Piedmont, or 7.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 75 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 35 by BART from Piedmont — a 40-minute edge to Piedmont, or 6.7 hours across a ten-trip week. The Vallejo ferry is 25 minutes from Cordelia, then 60 on the water; Travis AFB is 20 minutes east and Napa 25 north. Piedmont has no BART; Rockridge and MacArthur are each 8-10 minutes by car, then 15 minutes to Embarcadero.
Fire, flood and the premium
Cordelia hill non-renewals are live, with FAIR Plan quotes of $3K-$6K a year. Hayward Fault distance, 1920s foundations and sewer lateral compliance are Piedmont's standing disclosures. 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
Cordelia answers a Napa or Travis commute. Piedmont works for a car or transbay-bus commute rather than a walk-to-BART one. 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; Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA 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 | Piedmont |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,200 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.25% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,960 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 75 min | 35 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 60 min | 15 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 95 min | 65 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.
Piedmont detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.210% |
| Effective rate | 1.25% |
| 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.
Cordelia, Fairfield vs Piedmont: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Cordelia, Fairfield or Piedmont?
- Cordelia, Fairfield, at 1.18% of assessed value against 1.25% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.070%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Cordelia, Fairfield and Piedmont?
- $96 per month on the identical reference loan: Cordelia, Fairfield $9,864, Piedmont $9,960. Cordelia, Fairfield 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 Piedmont?
- Piedmont. Cordelia, Fairfield is 60 min by car; Piedmont is 15 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Cordelia, Fairfield and Piedmont?
- $820 per square foot: Cordelia, Fairfield $380, Piedmont $1,200. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.