Bay Farm Island, Alameda vs Midtown, Palo Alto
Bay Farm Island, Alameda carries an effective property tax rate of 1.22% of assessed value and Midtown, Palo Alto carries 1.17%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,917 and $9,853 — $64 apart, with Midtown, Palo Alto lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 55 min by car from Bay Farm Island, Alameda and 18 min by Caltrain from Midtown, Palo Alto. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Bay Farm Island, Alameda (Alameda County) · Midtown, Palo Alto (Santa Clara County)
| Metric | Bay Farm Island, Alameda | Midtown, Palo Alto | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $750 | $1,900 | −$1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.22% | 1.17% | +0.048% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,917 | $9,853 | +$64 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 65 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 35 min | 90 min | −55 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 50 min | −30 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 55 min | 18 min | +37 min |
Difference is Bay Farm Island, Alameda minus Midtown, Palo Alto. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $750 per foot in Alameda (Bay Farm) against $1,900 in Palo Alto (Midtown). On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $64, because Alameda (Bay Farm) bills 1.22% and Palo Alto (Midtown) 1.17%.
The house at each price
Harbor Bay Isle is the bulk of Bay Farm's detached inventory. Detached Midtown starts at $2.6M for a 1,300 sq ft 1950s Eichler-era three-bedroom on 6,000 sq ft. Posted medians are $750 per square foot in Alameda (Bay Farm) and $1,900 in Palo Alto (Midtown), a $1,150 spread.
What the bill looks like
Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Alameda (Bay Farm) totals $9,917 a month at 1.22% and Palo Alto (Midtown) $9,853 at 1.17% — tax lines of $1,627 and $1,563. Alameda city and school parcel taxes add a few hundred dollars a year on Bay Farm. Palo Alto runs its own municipal utility, so utility rates are set locally.
Getting to work
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 55 minutes by driving from Alameda (Bay Farm), 18 by Caltrain from Palo Alto (Midtown) — a 37-minute edge to Palo Alto (Midtown), or 6.2 hours across a ten-trip week. Bay Farm has no BART; Coliseum station is a 12-minute drive. Door to door from Midtown to FiDi is 60-70 minutes, and local trains run 55 minutes to the city.
Fire, flood and the premium
Most of Bay Farm is engineered fill, so liquefaction is the standing disclosure. Standard fire carriers write Midtown; the Foothill and Palo Alto Hills homes west of 280 are mapped High instead. 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.
The housing need each answers
Bay Farm works for a buyer who wants lagoon access and level ground. Midtown is the answer when the bike commute is the point.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; Santa Clara 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 | Bay Farm Island, Alameda | Midtown, Palo Alto |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $750 | $1,900 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.22% | 1.17% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,917 | $9,853 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 65 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 55 min | 18 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.
Bay Farm Island, Alameda detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.178% |
| Effective rate | 1.22% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26 (Alameda 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.
Midtown, Palo Alto detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.045% |
| School district measures | 0.127% |
| Effective rate | 1.17% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Santa Clara County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26 (Santa Clara 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.
Bay Farm Island, Alameda vs Midtown, Palo Alto: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Bay Farm Island, Alameda or Midtown, Palo Alto?
- Midtown, Palo Alto, at 1.17% of assessed value against 1.22% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.050%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Bay Farm Island, Alameda and Midtown, Palo Alto?
- $64 per month on the identical reference loan: Bay Farm Island, Alameda $9,917, Midtown, Palo Alto $9,853. Midtown, Palo Alto 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, Bay Farm Island, Alameda or Midtown, Palo Alto?
- Midtown, Palo Alto. Bay Farm Island, Alameda is 55 min by car; Midtown, Palo Alto is 18 min by Caltrain. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Bay Farm Island, Alameda and Midtown, Palo Alto?
- $1,150 per square foot: Bay Farm Island, Alameda $750, Midtown, Palo Alto $1,900. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.