Burlingame vs Baywood, San Mateo

Burlingame carries $100 more per square foot than San Mateo (Baywood) — 7% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.11% in Burlingame against 1.11% in San Mateo (Baywood), close enough that price per foot, not the levy, is what moves the payment.

What the same money buys

At $1.4M the search moves across El Camino to Hayward Park or Sunnybrae for 1,200-1,400 sq ft. Against that, burlingame Village and the Lyon-Hoag area hold the $1.4M detached inventory. The median foot costs $1,500 in Burlingame against $1,400 in San Mateo (Baywood); on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $200,000 of purchase price.

Carrying $1,600,000 in each

Against an identical $1,600,000 note at 6.5% with 20% down and $2,400 a year of coverage, Burlingame totals $9,768 a month at 1.11% and San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,477 and $1,473. Burlingame's fixed levies are modest by Peninsula standards. No HOA on Baywood's detached homes; downtown townhomes and condos run $400-$800 a month.

Commute, measured

To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 40 minutes by BART from Burlingame, 45 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 5-minute edge to Burlingame, or 0.8 hours across a ten-trip week. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 35 minutes by Caltrain from Burlingame, 30 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 5-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 0.8 hours across a ten-trip week. SFO is eight minutes from Burlingame, and the flight path over the eastern flats is audible in the yard. Driving 101 or I-280 from Baywood to SoMa is 25 minutes at 6 a.m. and 50-65 at 8; Highway 92 to the East Bay is 20 off-peak.

Fire, flood and the premium

The hills west of I-280 carry moderate fire mapping with no Burlingame non-renewals observed, and liquefaction near the bay shows on the NHD. Baywood is not WUI. 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.

Which search this actually is

Burlingame fits a walkable-Caltrain requirement paired with a detached house. Baywood assumes either a stretch to $2.2M or the flats east of El Camino at $1.4M.

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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. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.