Moraga vs Baywood, San Mateo
Moraga carries an effective property tax rate of 1.08% 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 $9,728 and $9,764 — $36 apart, with Moraga lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 30 min by car from Moraga and 45 min by car from Baywood, San Mateo. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Moraga (Contra Costa County) · Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Moraga | Baywood, San Mateo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,000 | $1,400 | −$400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.08% | 1.11% | −0.027% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,728 | $9,764 | −$36 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 50 min | 48 min | +2 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 50 min | 45 min | +5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 32 min | 62 min | −30 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 30 min | 45 min | −15 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 70 min | 30 min | +40 min |
Difference is Moraga minus Baywood, San Mateo. 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 Moraga against $1,400 in San Mateo (Baywood). On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $36, because Moraga bills 1.08% and San Mateo (Baywood) 1.11%.
The house at each price
At $1.4M the search moves across El Camino to Hayward Park or Sunnybrae for 1,200-1,400 sq ft. Against that, moraga's discount to Orinda and Lafayette is a commute penalty priced into the square foot. At $1,000 and $1,400 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 40% more floor area in Moraga.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Moraga totals $9,728 a month at 1.08% and San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,437 and $1,473. Moraga's fixed levies are municipal measures, not a developer district. Baywood's carrying cost is ad valorem plus two modest parcel taxes and nothing else.
The trip each morning
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 70 minutes by driving from Moraga, 30 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 40-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 6.7 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 30 minutes by driving from Moraga, 45 by driving from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 15-minute edge to Moraga, or 2.5 hours across a ten-trip week. Saint Mary's College is five minutes from most of Moraga. 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.
Fire, flood and the premium
Landslide history on the Rheem and Sanders Ranch slopes appears on the Moraga NHD. 1920s foundations, knob-and-tube and sewer laterals are the Baywood inspection items. 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
Moraga fits a need for Lamorinda square footage at the lowest price per foot. Baywood fits a walkable-Caltrain requirement with a period house.
Sources. Tax figures come from Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26; 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. 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 | Moraga | Baywood, San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,000 | $1,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.08% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,728 | $9,764 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 50 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 30 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 70 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.
Moraga detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.066% |
| Effective rate | 1.08% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26 (Contra Costa 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.
Moraga vs Baywood, San Mateo: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Moraga or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Moraga, at 1.08% of assessed value against 1.11% 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 Moraga and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $36 per month on the identical reference loan: Moraga $9,728, Baywood, San Mateo $9,764. Moraga 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, Moraga or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Moraga. Moraga is 30 min by car; Baywood, San Mateo is 45 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Moraga and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $400 per square foot: Moraga $1,000, Baywood, San Mateo $1,400. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.