Menlo Park vs Vacaville
Menlo Park carries an effective property tax rate of 1.13% of assessed value and Vacaville carries 1.09%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,790 and $9,737 — $53 apart, with Vacaville lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by Caltrain from Menlo Park and 105 min by car from Vacaville. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Menlo Park (San Mateo County) · Vacaville (Solano County)
| Metric | Menlo Park | Vacaville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,700 | $360 | +$1,340 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.13% | 1.09% | +0.040% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,790 | $9,737 | +$53 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 85 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 85 min | 80 min | +5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 50 min | 70 min | −20 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 20 min | 105 min | −85 min |
Difference is Menlo Park minus Vacaville. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Vacaville is the cheaper foot by $1,340, 79% below Menlo Park. What that buys is a different house, not a different bill: at $1,600,000 the two are $53 apart a month at 1.13% and 1.09%.
Square footage per dollar
Vacaville comps run $330-$380 per square foot, the lowest in this set. Against that, belle Haven runs $1,000-$1,200 per square foot, the lowest in Menlo Park. The median foot costs $1,700 in Menlo Park against $360 in Vacaville; on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $2,680,000 of purchase price.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
Holding the loan constant — $1,600,000, 20% down, 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, $2,400 of insurance, no HOA — Menlo Park totals $9,790 a month at 1.13% and Vacaville $9,737 at 1.09% — tax lines of $1,500 and $1,447. Belle Haven sits in Ravenswood City with a smaller levy than the rest of Menlo Park. Vacaville's newer south and east tracts carry Mello-Roos of $1,000-$2,500 a year. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
Commute, measured
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 20 minutes by Caltrain from Menlo Park, 105 by driving from Vacaville — a 85-minute edge to Menlo Park, or 14.2 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 60 minutes by Caltrain from Menlo Park, 85 by driving from Vacaville — a 25-minute edge to Menlo Park, or 4.2 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. Genentech Vacaville is inside the city limits.
Hazard and insurance
The Sharon Heights hills near 280 carry moderate fire mapping with no Menlo Park non-renewals observed. The Vacaville city flats are not WUI; Alamo Creek and Ulatis Creek flood mapping touches the older core. 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
Menlo Park works for a buyer trading square footage for proximity. Vacaville answers a commute toward Sacramento, Davis, Travis or Genentech. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Solano 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. 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 | Menlo Park | Vacaville |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,700 | $360 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.13% | 1.09% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,790 | $9,737 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 85 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 50 min | 70 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 20 min | 105 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.
Vacaville detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.075% |
| Effective rate | 1.08% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26 (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.
Menlo Park vs Vacaville: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Menlo Park or Vacaville?
- Vacaville, at 1.09% of assessed value against 1.13% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.040%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Menlo Park and Vacaville?
- $53 per month on the identical reference loan: Menlo Park $9,790, Vacaville $9,737. Vacaville 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 Vacaville?
- Menlo Park. Menlo Park is 20 min by Caltrain; Vacaville is 105 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Menlo Park and Vacaville?
- $1,340 per square foot: Menlo Park $1,700, Vacaville $360. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.