Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Burlingame
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.21% of assessed value and Burlingame carries 1.11%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,904 and $9,768 — $136 apart, with Burlingame lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and 45 min by car from Burlingame. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley (Alameda County) · Burlingame (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Burlingame | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,500 | −$450 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.11% | +0.102% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,768 | +$136 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 35 min | 40 min | −5 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 40 min | 0 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 22 min | 55 min | −33 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 45 min | −25 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 75 min | 35 min | +40 min |
Difference is Berkeley Hills, Berkeley minus Burlingame. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Burlingame carries $450 more per square foot than Berkeley Hills — 43% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.21% in Berkeley Hills against 1.11% in Burlingame, a 0.10% spread that has to be carried on top of the price difference.
What the same money buys
Below Grizzly Peak and north of the Claremont area the same money gets more house and less view. Burlingame Village and the Lyon-Hoag area hold the $1.4M detached inventory. At $1,050 and $1,500 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 43% more floor area in Berkeley Hills.
The monthly, matched
Holding the loan constant — $1,600,000, 20% down, 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, $2,400 of insurance, no HOA — Berkeley Hills totals $9,904 a month at 1.21% and Burlingame $9,768 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,613 and $1,477. Berkeley's effective rate runs 1.25-1.35 percent, among the highest in the East Bay. Burlingame School District and San Mateo Union High parcel taxes run roughly $200-$400 combined.
The trip each morning
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 75 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 35 by Caltrain from Burlingame — a 40-minute edge to Burlingame, or 6.7 hours across a ten-trip week. Highway 24 puts the Berkeley Hills 35 minutes from the Bay Bridge at 6 a.m., 60-75 at 8. SFO is eight minutes from Burlingame, and the flight path over the eastern flats is audible in the yard.
Hazard and insurance
Berkeley non-renewals from State Farm, Allstate and Farmers are routine; FAIR Plan plus a wrap runs $5K-$9K. The Burlingame flats east of El Camino sit in FEMA flood zones tied to the bayfront and creeks. 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.
Choosing between them
The Berkeley Hills fit a need for proximity to the university or the lab. Burlingame is the answer when the station has to be within walking distance.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; San Mateo County Tax Rate Book 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. 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 | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Burlingame |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,768 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 40 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 75 min | 35 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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.168% |
| Effective rate | 1.21% |
| 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.
Burlingame detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.098% |
| Effective rate | 1.11% |
| 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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Burlingame: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Burlingame?
- Burlingame, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.21% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.100%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Burlingame?
- $136 per month on the identical reference loan: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $9,904, Burlingame $9,768. Burlingame 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, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Burlingame?
- Berkeley Hills, Berkeley. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley is 20 min by car; Burlingame is 45 min by car. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Burlingame?
- $450 per square foot: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $1,050, Burlingame $1,500. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.