Foster City vs Menlo Park
Foster City carries an effective property tax rate of 1.10% 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 $9,760 and $9,790 — $31 apart, with Foster City lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 30 min by car from Foster City and 20 min by Caltrain from Menlo Park. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Foster City (San Mateo County) · Menlo Park (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Foster City | Menlo Park | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,000 | $1,700 | −$700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.13% | −0.023% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,760 | $9,790 | −$31 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 55 min | 60 min | −5 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 45 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 | 40 min | 50 min | −10 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 40 min | 20 min | +20 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 30 min | 20 min | +10 min |
Difference is Foster City minus Menlo Park. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $1,000 per foot in Foster City against $1,700 in Menlo Park. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $31, because Foster City bills 1.10% and Menlo Park 1.13%.
The house at each price
Foster City's interior lots hold the detached $1.4M inventory. $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. Posted medians are $1,000 per square foot in Foster City and $1,700 in Menlo Park, a $700 spread.
What the bill looks like
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Foster City totals $9,760 a month at 1.10% and Menlo Park $9,790 at 1.13% — tax lines of $1,469 and $1,500. No Mello-Roos on Foster City resale stock; Pilgrim-Triton condos carry $600-$900 a month. No Mello-Roos in Menlo Park. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
Getting to work
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 45 minutes by driving from Foster City, 60 by Caltrain from Menlo Park — a 15-minute edge to Foster City, or 2.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 40 minutes by driving from Foster City, 50 by driving from Menlo Park — a 10-minute edge to Foster City, or 1.7 hours across a ten-trip week. Highway 92 across the San Mateo Bridge is 20 minutes off-peak from Foster City and doubles at rush hour. Palo Alto station, minutes south of Menlo Park, carries the 33-minute express.
What the disclosure stack holds
Insurance is priced off mapping, not off price per foot. Foster City is not WUI. The Menlo Park flats are not WUI. 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.
Choosing between them
Foster City works for a buyer who wants level ground and a short bike commute. Menlo Park assumes a small footprint or a townhome at this price. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Tax figures come from San Mateo 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 | Foster City | Menlo Park |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,000 | $1,700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.13% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,760 | $9,790 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 45 min | 60 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 40 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 30 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.
Foster City detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.092% |
| Effective rate | 1.10% |
| 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.
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.
Foster City vs Menlo Park: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Foster City or Menlo Park?
- Foster City, at 1.10% of assessed value against 1.13% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.030%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Foster City and Menlo Park?
- $31 per month on the identical reference loan: Foster City $9,760, Menlo Park $9,790. Foster City 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, Foster City or Menlo Park?
- Menlo Park. Foster City is 30 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 Foster City and Menlo Park?
- $700 per square foot: Foster City $1,000, Menlo Park $1,700. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.