Benicia vs Rockridge, Oakland
Benicia carries an effective property tax rate of 1.10% of assessed value and Rockridge, Oakland carries 1.36%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,750 and $10,104 — $353 apart, with Benicia lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 45 min by car from Benicia and 12 min by BART from Rockridge, Oakland. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Benicia (Solano County) · Rockridge, Oakland (Alameda County)
| Metric | Benicia | Rockridge, Oakland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $480 | $1,000 | −$520 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.36% | −0.265% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,750 | $10,104 | −$353 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 70 min | 25 min | +45 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 35 min | +25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 12 min | +43 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 15 min | +30 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 85 min | 70 min | +15 min |
Difference is Benicia minus Rockridge, Oakland. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Rockridge carries $520 more per square foot than Benicia — 108% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.10% in Benicia against 1.36% in Rockridge, a 0.27% spread that has to be carried on top of the price difference.
What the same money buys
Benicia comps sit at $450-$520 per square foot, the cheapest water view in this set. $1.4M in Rockridge is a 1910s-20s Craftsman bungalow, 1,400-1,700 sq ft, on a 4,000-5,000 sq ft lot. The median foot costs $480 in Benicia against $1,000 in Rockridge; on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $1,040,000 of purchase price.
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, Benicia totals $9,750 a month at 1.10% and Rockridge $10,104 at 1.36% — tax lines of $1,460 and $1,813. Benicia HOAs are rare outside newer waterfront townhomes at $200-$350 a month. Oakland's sewer lateral and sidewalk compliance rules add $5K-$15K in seller-side or negotiated cost.
Commute, measured
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 60 minutes by driving from Benicia, 25 by BART from Rockridge — a 35-minute edge to Rockridge, or 5.8 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 45 minutes by driving from Benicia, 12 by BART from Rockridge — a 33-minute edge to Rockridge, or 5.5 hours across a ten-trip week. Benicia to FiDi is 55 minutes at 5:30 a.m. and 80-100 minutes at 8. Door to door from the Rockridge bungalows to FiDi is 25-35 minutes, the shortest rail commute in this set.
Fire, flood and the premium
The hills above Rose Drive and the Southampton ridge are mapped moderate to high fire hazard. Lower Rockridge below Broadway 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
Benicia fits a square-footage-and-view requirement under $1M. Rockridge suits a buyer who prefers a 1920s house to new construction. Rank the requirements first; the pair rarely splits on anything except the one that is non-negotiable.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26, as composited in build/assets/metrics.json — unverified at tax-rate-area level, so read the bill. Minutes shown are AM-peak and door to door, from data/commute/static.csv. Price per square foot is a trailing median and is not an appraisal. Qualitative detail is the broker's own field observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Benicia | Rockridge, Oakland |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $480 | $1,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.10% | 1.36% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,750 | $10,104 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 25 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 12 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 85 min | 70 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.
Benicia detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.085% |
| Effective rate | 1.09% |
| 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.
Rockridge, Oakland detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.152% |
| School district measures | 0.208% |
| Effective rate | 1.36% |
| 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.
Benicia vs Rockridge, Oakland: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Benicia or Rockridge, Oakland?
- Benicia, at 1.10% of assessed value against 1.36% 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 Benicia and Rockridge, Oakland?
- $353 per month on the identical reference loan: Benicia $9,750, Rockridge, Oakland $10,104. Benicia 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, Benicia or Rockridge, Oakland?
- Rockridge, Oakland. Benicia is 45 min by car; Rockridge, Oakland is 12 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Benicia and Rockridge, Oakland?
- $520 per square foot: Benicia $480, Rockridge, Oakland $1,000. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.