Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Moraga
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley carries an effective property tax rate of 1.21% of assessed value and Moraga carries 1.08%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,904 and $9,728 — $176 apart, with Moraga lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by car from Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and 30 min by car from Moraga. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley (Alameda County) · Moraga (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Moraga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,000 | +$50 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.08% | +0.132% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,728 | +$176 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 35 min | 50 min | −15 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 50 min | −10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 22 min | 32 min | −10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 20 min | 30 min | −10 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 75 min | 70 min | +5 min |
Difference is Berkeley Hills, Berkeley minus Moraga. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Financed identically, Berkeley Hills costs $176 a month more than Moraga — $2,112 a year, all of it tax. Berkeley Hills is modelled at 1.21% and Moraga at 1.08%, which is the whole of the difference before either HOA or a district assessment is counted.
What the same money buys
Moraga's discount to Orinda and Lafayette is a commute penalty priced into the square foot. Against that, berkeley Hills comps run $850-$1,000 per square foot. At $1,050 and $1,000 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 5% more floor area in Moraga.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Berkeley Hills totals $9,904 a month at 1.21% and Moraga $9,728 at 1.08% — tax lines of $1,613 and $1,437. Berkeley parcel taxes for library, parks, paramedics, soft-story and streets stack to $2,500-$4,500 a year. Moraga School District and Acalanes parcel taxes plus town road and storm-drain measures total $900-$1,300 a year.
The trip each morning
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 35 minutes by BART from Berkeley Hills, 50 by BART from Moraga — a 15-minute edge to Berkeley Hills, or 2.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 20 minutes by driving from Berkeley Hills, 30 by driving from Moraga — a 10-minute edge to Berkeley Hills, or 1.7 hours across a ten-trip week. Door to door from the Berkeley Hills to FiDi is 50-65 minutes. Saint Mary's College is five minutes from most of Moraga.
What the disclosure stack holds
Everything east of Grizzly Peak and much of the 1991 fire footprint is mapped Very High. Moraga non-renewals track Orinda's; plan on FAIR Plan plus a wrap at $5K-$9K a year. 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 work when a 10-minute reach to campus outranks carrying cost. Moraga works when the insurance line is budgeted and a drive to the station is not a dealbreaker. The decision is which requirement is load-bearing, because neither submarket satisfies both lists.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; Contra Costa TRA 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. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Berkeley Hills, Berkeley | Moraga |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $1,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.21% | 1.08% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,904 | $9,728 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 35 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 20 min | 30 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 75 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.
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.
Moraga detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.066% |
| Effective rate | 1.08% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26 (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.
Berkeley Hills, Berkeley vs Moraga: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Berkeley Hills, Berkeley or Moraga?
- Moraga, at 1.08% of assessed value against 1.21% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.130%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Berkeley Hills, Berkeley and Moraga?
- $176 per month on the identical reference loan: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $9,904, Moraga $9,728. Moraga 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 Moraga?
- Berkeley Hills, Berkeley. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley is 20 min by car; Moraga is 30 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 Moraga?
- $50 per square foot: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley $1,050, Moraga $1,000. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.