Baywood, San Mateo vs Vacaville
Baywood, San Mateo carries an effective property tax rate of 1.11% of assessed value and Vacaville carries 1.09%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,764 and $9,737 — $27 apart, with Vacaville lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 30 min by Caltrain from Baywood, San Mateo and 105 min by car from Vacaville. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County) · Vacaville (Solano County)
| Metric | Baywood, San Mateo | Vacaville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,400 | $360 | +$1,040 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.09% | +0.020% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,764 | $9,737 | +$27 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 48 min | 95 min | −47 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 85 min | −40 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 62 min | 80 min | −18 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 70 min | −25 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 30 min | 105 min | −75 min |
Difference is Baywood, San Mateo minus Vacaville. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $1,400 per foot in San Mateo (Baywood) against $360 in Vacaville. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $27, because San Mateo (Baywood) bills 1.11% and Vacaville 1.09%.
The house at each price
Vacaville's core market is $600K-$800K for 2,000-2,600 sq ft built 1990-2015. Against that, at $1.4M the search moves across El Camino to Hayward Park or Sunnybrae for 1,200-1,400 sq ft. At $1,400 and $360 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 289% more floor area in Vacaville.
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 Vacaville $9,737 at 1.09% — tax lines of $1,473 and $1,447. No Mello-Roos in Baywood. Well and septic on the Pleasants Valley lots is a $10K-plus Vacaville inspection item.
The trip each morning
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 30 minutes by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood), 105 by driving from Vacaville — a 75-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 12.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 45 minutes by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood), 85 by driving from Vacaville — a 40-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 6.7 hours across a ten-trip week. 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. From Vacaville, Sacramento is 40 minutes, Davis 20, Travis AFB 15 and Napa 35 via Highway 121.
Fire, flood and the premium
1920s foundations, knob-and-tube and sewer laterals are the Baywood inspection items. Browns Valley, Pleasants Valley and the English Hills are mapped High fire hazard. 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
Baywood works for a buyer who will take a renovation file to keep the walk to the station. Vacaville is the answer when land is the requirement and rail is not.
Sources. Tax figures come from San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Solano 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 | Baywood, San Mateo | Vacaville |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,400 | $360 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.09% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,764 | $9,737 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 45 min | 85 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 70 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 30 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.
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.
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.
Baywood, San Mateo vs Vacaville: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Baywood, San Mateo or Vacaville?
- Vacaville, at 1.09% of assessed value against 1.11% 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 Baywood, San Mateo and Vacaville?
- $27 per month on the identical reference loan: Baywood, San Mateo $9,764, 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, Baywood, San Mateo or Vacaville?
- Baywood, San Mateo. Baywood, San Mateo is 30 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 Baywood, San Mateo and Vacaville?
- $1,040 per square foot: Baywood, San Mateo $1,400, Vacaville $360. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.