Burlingame vs Redwood City
Burlingame carries an effective property tax rate of 1.11% of assessed value and Redwood City carries 1.12%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,768 and $9,784 — $16 apart, with Burlingame lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 35 min by Caltrain from Burlingame and 22 min by Caltrain from Redwood City. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Burlingame (San Mateo County) · Redwood City (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Burlingame | Redwood City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,150 | +$350 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.12% | −0.012% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,784 | −$16 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 40 min | 55 min | −15 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 40 min | 55 min | −15 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 55 min | 80 min | −25 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 50 min | −5 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 35 min | 22 min | +13 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 35 min | 25 min | +10 min |
Difference is Burlingame minus Redwood City. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Redwood City is the cheaper foot by $350, 23% below Burlingame. What that buys is a different house, not a different bill: at $1,600,000 the two are $16 apart a month at 1.11% and 1.12%.
Square footage per dollar
Redwood City comps run $1,100-$1,250 per square foot detached and $900-$1,000 in Redwood Shores. Against that, $1.4M in Burlingame is a two-bedroom, one-bath of 1,100-1,300 sq ft on a 5,000 sq ft lot, or a 1,400 sq ft townhome. Posted medians are $1,500 per square foot in Burlingame and $1,150 in Redwood City, a $350 spread.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
Holding the loan constant — $1,600,000, 20% down, 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, $2,400 of insurance, no HOA — Burlingame totals $9,768 a month at 1.11% and Redwood City $9,784 at 1.12% — tax lines of $1,477 and $1,493. Burlingame HOAs appear only in condo and townhome buildings at $500-$800 a month. Redwood Shores dues run $200-$500 a month plus a lagoon maintenance assessment. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
Getting to work
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 40 minutes by BART from Burlingame, 55 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 15-minute edge to Burlingame, or 2.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 35 minutes by Caltrain from Burlingame, 22 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 13-minute edge to Redwood City, or 2.2 hours across a ten-trip week. Burlingame and Broadway Caltrain stations are both in town. Redwood Shores has no rail of its own and is a 10-minute drive from the station; Oracle, EA and Kaiser are 5-10 minutes.
Hazard and insurance
Hazard mapping is the line item buyers most often leave out of the comparison. Burlingame is not WUI. The Redwood City flats and Redwood Shores are not WUI. Verify any parcel against the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the California Geological Survey seismic hazard zones before removing contingencies.
The housing need each answers
Burlingame assumes square footage will be traded to get both. Redwood City answers a need to be minutes from the 101 employers. The decision is which requirement is load-bearing, because neither submarket satisfies both lists.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: 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 | Burlingame | Redwood City |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,500 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.11% | 1.12% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,768 | $9,784 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 40 min | 55 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 35 min | 22 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.
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.
Redwood City detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.110% |
| Effective rate | 1.12% |
| 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.
Burlingame vs Redwood City: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Burlingame or Redwood City?
- Burlingame, at 1.11% of assessed value against 1.12% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.010%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Burlingame and Redwood City?
- $16 per month on the identical reference loan: Burlingame $9,768, Redwood City $9,784. Burlingame 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, Burlingame or Redwood City?
- Redwood City. Burlingame is 35 min by Caltrain; Redwood City is 22 min by Caltrain. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Burlingame and Redwood City?
- $350 per square foot: Burlingame $1,500, Redwood City $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.