Foster City vs Baywood, San Mateo
Foster City carries an effective property tax rate of 1.10% of assessed value and Baywood, San Mateo carries 1.11%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,760 and $9,764 — $4 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 30 min by Caltrain from Baywood, San Mateo. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Foster City (San Mateo County) · Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Foster City | Baywood, San Mateo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,000 | $1,400 | −$400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.11% | −0.003% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,760 | $9,764 | −$4 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 58 min | 48 min | +10 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 55 min | 45 min | +10 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 45 min | 0 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 70 min | 62 min | +8 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 45 min | −5 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 40 min | 30 min | +10 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 30 min | 30 min | 0 min |
Difference is Foster City minus Baywood, San Mateo. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Foster City is the cheaper foot by $400, 29% below San Mateo (Baywood). What that buys is a different house, not a different bill: at $1,600,000 the two are $4 apart a month at 1.10% and 1.11%.
Square footage per dollar
Foster City's interior lots hold the detached $1.4M inventory. $1.4M does not buy detached in Baywood; its 1920s-40s Spanish and Tudor three-bedrooms start at $2.2M. The median foot costs $1,000 in Foster City against $1,400 in San Mateo (Baywood); on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $800,000 of purchase price.
The monthly, matched
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Foster City totals $9,760 a month at 1.10% and San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,469 and $1,473. Foster City townhome dues run $400-$600 a month. No HOA on Baywood's detached homes; downtown townhomes and condos run $400-$800 a month. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
Commute, measured
To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 40 minutes by driving from Foster City, 45 by driving from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 5-minute edge to Foster City, or 0.8 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) the two post the same 45 minutes, driving from Foster City and Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood). Gilead and Visa headquarters are inside Foster City, so a share of its commutes are on foot or bike. Baby Bullets stop at Hillsdale, 5 minutes from Baywood, for a 30-minute ride to 4th and King.
Fire, flood and the premium
The two carry different disclosure files, and the premium follows the file. Lenders still sometimes ask for Foster City flood coverage; $500-$1,200 a year is the conservative quote. Baywood is 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.
Which search this actually is
Foster City fits a flat, bike-scale layout requirement. Baywood assumes either a stretch to $2.2M or the flats east of El Camino at $1.4M. Rank the requirements first; the pair rarely splits on anything except the one that is non-negotiable.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: San Mateo County Tax Rate 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. 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 | Baywood, San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,000 | $1,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,760 | $9,764 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 45 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 40 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 30 min | 30 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.
Baywood, San Mateo detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.095% |
| 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.
Foster City vs Baywood, San Mateo: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Foster City or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Foster City, at 1.10% of assessed value against 1.11% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.010%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Foster City and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $4 per month on the identical reference loan: Foster City $9,760, Baywood, San Mateo $9,764. 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 Baywood, San Mateo?
- Foster City. Foster City is 30 min by car; Baywood, San Mateo is 30 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 Baywood, San Mateo?
- $400 per square foot: Foster City $1,000, Baywood, San Mateo $1,400. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.