Menlo Park vs Baywood, San Mateo
Menlo Park carries an effective property tax rate of 1.13% 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 $9,790 and $9,764 — $27 apart, with Baywood, San Mateo lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by Caltrain from Menlo Park and 30 min by Caltrain from Baywood, San Mateo. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Menlo Park (San Mateo County) · Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Menlo Park | Baywood, San Mateo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,700 | $1,400 | +$300 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.13% | 1.11% | +0.020% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,790 | $9,764 | +$27 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 60 min | 45 min | +15 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 45 min | +15 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 85 min | 62 min | +23 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 50 min | 45 min | +5 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 20 min | 30 min | −10 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 20 min | 30 min | −10 min |
Difference is Menlo Park minus Baywood, San Mateo. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Menlo Park carries $300 more per square foot than San Mateo (Baywood) — 21% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.13% in Menlo Park against 1.11% in San Mateo (Baywood), close enough that price per foot, not the levy, is what moves the payment.
What the same money buys
Three-bedrooms west of El Camino in Menlo Park start at $2.8M. A 1,600 sq ft townhome is the other $1.4M option near Baywood. Posted medians are $1,700 per square foot in Menlo Park and $1,400 in San Mateo (Baywood), a $300 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), Menlo Park totals $9,790 a month at 1.13% and San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,500 and $1,473. Menlo Park downtown condos and townhomes carry $500-$900 a month. San Mateo-Foster City and San Mateo Union High parcel taxes run roughly $300-$400 combined in Baywood.
Getting to work
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 60 minutes by Caltrain from Menlo Park, 45 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 15-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 2.5 hours across a ten-trip week. Meta's Willow Road campus is 5-10 minutes from anywhere in Menlo Park, and Sand Hill Road is 10. Driving 101 or I-280 from Baywood to SoMa is 25 minutes at 6 a.m. and 50-65 at 8; Highway 92 to the East Bay is 20 off-peak.
What the disclosure stack holds
The Sharon Heights hills near 280 carry moderate fire mapping with no Menlo Park non-renewals observed. 1920s foundations, knob-and-tube and sewer laterals are the Baywood inspection items. 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.
The housing need each answers
Menlo Park fits a requirement to be within ten minutes of the Willow Road or Sand Hill cores. Baywood assumes either a stretch to $2.2M or the flats east of El Camino at $1.4M.
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. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Menlo Park | Baywood, San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,700 | $1,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.13% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,790 | $9,764 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 50 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 20 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.
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.
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.
Menlo Park vs Baywood, San Mateo: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Menlo Park or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Baywood, San Mateo, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.13% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.020%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Menlo Park and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $27 per month on the identical reference loan: Menlo Park $9,790, Baywood, San Mateo $9,764. Baywood, San Mateo 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, Menlo Park or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Menlo Park. Menlo Park is 20 min by Caltrain; 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 Menlo Park and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $300 per square foot: Menlo Park $1,700, Baywood, San Mateo $1,400. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.