Baywood, San Mateo vs Gale Ranch, San Ramon
Baywood, San Mateo carries an effective property tax rate of 1.11% of assessed value and Gale Ranch, San Ramon carries 1.35%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,764 and $10,086 — $323 apart, with Baywood, San Mateo lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 30 min by Caltrain from Baywood, San Mateo and 50 min by car from Gale Ranch, San Ramon. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County) · Gale Ranch, San Ramon (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Baywood, San Mateo | Gale Ranch, San Ramon | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,400 | $700 | +$700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.35% | −0.242% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,764 | $10,086 | −$323 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 48 min | 65 min | −17 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 70 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 62 min | 45 min | +17 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 45 min | 0 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 30 min | 50 min | −20 min |
Difference is Baywood, San Mateo minus Gale Ranch, San Ramon. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
San Mateo (Baywood) carries $700 more per square foot than San Ramon (Gale Ranch) — 100% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.11% in San Mateo (Baywood) against 1.35% in San Ramon (Gale Ranch), a 0.24% spread that has to be carried on top of the price difference.
What the same money buys
Windemere next door prices about the same as Gale Ranch. Against that, baywood comps run $1,200-$1,400 per square foot. At $1,400 and $700 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 100% more floor area in San Ramon (Gale Ranch).
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, San Mateo (Baywood) totals $9,764 a month at 1.11% and San Ramon (Gale Ranch) $10,086 at 1.35% — tax lines of $1,473 and $1,796. Baywood's carrying cost is ad valorem plus two modest parcel taxes and nothing else. A Gale Ranch offer should be priced off the actual tax bill, not the county composite rate.
The trip each morning
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 45 minutes by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood), 65 by BART from San Ramon (Gale Ranch) — a 20-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 3.3 hours across a ten-trip week. San Mateo Caltrain is a 10-minute walk from lower Baywood. Door to door from Gale Ranch to FiDi runs 80-95 minutes.
Fire, flood and the premium
Baywood's hillside lots west of Alameda de las Pulgas carry moderate fire mapping, with no non-renewals observed. The developed San Ramon valley floor is not WUI. Pull the parcel's own mapping — CAL FIRE severity zone, FEMA flood panel, CGS liquefaction zone — and get a written quote before the contingency date.
Which search this actually is
Baywood assumes either a stretch to $2.2M or the flats east of El Camino at $1.4M. Gale Ranch suits a buyer whose commute ends inside the Tri-Valley.
Sources. Tax figures come from San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26; City of San Ramon CFD annual special tax reports, 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 | Baywood, San Mateo | Gale Ranch, San Ramon |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,400 | $700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.35% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,764 | $10,086 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 45 min | 65 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 30 min | 50 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.
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.
Gale Ranch, San Ramon detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.055% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD assessment | 0.280% |
| Effective rate | 1.35% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | Yes |
Source: Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26; City of San Ramon CFD annual special tax reports (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 vs Gale Ranch, San Ramon: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Baywood, San Mateo or Gale Ranch, San Ramon?
- Baywood, San Mateo, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.35% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.240%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Baywood, San Mateo and Gale Ranch, San Ramon?
- $323 per month on the identical reference loan: Baywood, San Mateo $9,764, Gale Ranch, San Ramon $10,086. 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, Baywood, San Mateo or Gale Ranch, San Ramon?
- Baywood, San Mateo. Baywood, San Mateo is 30 min by Caltrain; Gale Ranch, San Ramon is 50 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Baywood, San Mateo and Gale Ranch, San Ramon?
- $700 per square foot: Baywood, San Mateo $1,400, Gale Ranch, San Ramon $700. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.