Gale Ranch, San Ramon vs Vacaville
Gale Ranch, San Ramon carries an effective property tax rate of 1.35% of assessed value and Vacaville carries 1.09%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $10,086 and $9,737 — $349 apart, with Vacaville lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 45 min by BART from Gale Ranch, San Ramon and 70 min by car from Vacaville. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Gale Ranch, San Ramon (Contra Costa County) · Vacaville (Solano County)
| Metric | Gale Ranch, San Ramon | Vacaville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $700 | $360 | +$340 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.35% | 1.09% | +0.262% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $10,086 | $9,737 | +$349 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 65 min | 95 min | −30 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 70 min | 85 min | −15 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 45 min | 80 min | −35 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 70 min | −25 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 50 min | 105 min | −55 min |
Difference is Gale Ranch, San Ramon minus Vacaville. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $700 per foot in San Ramon (Gale Ranch) against $360 in Vacaville. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is $349, because San Ramon (Gale Ranch) bills 1.35% and Vacaville 1.09%.
The house at each price
Windemere next door prices about the same as Gale Ranch. The same $1.4M buys a new 3,500 sq ft Roberts Ranch or Southtown build with a three-car garage. The median foot costs $700 in San Ramon (Gale Ranch) against $360 in Vacaville; on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $680,000 of purchase price.
The monthly, matched
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, San Ramon (Gale Ranch) totals $10,086 a month at 1.35% and Vacaville $9,737 at 1.09% — tax lines of $1,796 and $1,447. The San Ramon CFD pushes the all-in rate to 1.4-1.6 percent, with most districts running through the 2030s. Well and septic on the Pleasants Valley lots is a $10K-plus Vacaville inspection item.
Commute, measured
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 50 minutes by driving from San Ramon (Gale Ranch), 105 by driving from Vacaville — a 55-minute edge to San Ramon (Gale Ranch), or 9.2 hours across a ten-trip week. Bishop Ranch and City Center are 5-8 minutes from Gale Ranch, which is where most of its commutes end. From Vacaville, Sacramento is 40 minutes, Davis 20, Travis AFB 15 and Napa 35 via Highway 121.
Fire, flood and the premium
Calaveras Fault distance is the other San Ramon disclosure item. Browns Valley, Pleasants Valley and the English Hills are mapped High fire hazard. 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.
Which search this actually is
Gale Ranch suits a buyer whose commute ends inside the Tri-Valley. Vacaville fits an acreage or 3,500-plus square foot requirement under $1.4M.
Sources. Tax figures come from Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26; City of San Ramon CFD annual special tax reports; 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. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Gale Ranch, San Ramon | Vacaville |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $700 | $360 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.35% | 1.09% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $10,086 | $9,737 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 65 min | 85 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 70 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 50 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.
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.
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.
Gale Ranch, San Ramon vs Vacaville: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Gale Ranch, San Ramon or Vacaville?
- Vacaville, at 1.09% of assessed value against 1.35% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.260%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Gale Ranch, San Ramon and Vacaville?
- $349 per month on the identical reference loan: Gale Ranch, San Ramon $10,086, 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 Oakland City Center, Gale Ranch, San Ramon or Vacaville?
- Gale Ranch, San Ramon. Gale Ranch, San Ramon is 45 min by BART; Vacaville is 70 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Gale Ranch, San Ramon and Vacaville?
- $340 per square foot: Gale Ranch, San Ramon $700, Vacaville $360. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.