Danville vs Baywood, San Mateo
Danville carries an effective property tax rate of 1.07% of assessed value and Baywood, San Mateo carries 1.11%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,713 and $9,764 — $51 apart, with Danville lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 55 min by car from Danville and 30 min by Caltrain from Baywood, San Mateo. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Danville (Contra Costa County) · Baywood, San Mateo (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Danville | Baywood, San Mateo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $900 | $1,400 | −$500 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.07% | 1.11% | −0.038% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,713 | $9,764 | −$51 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 60 min | 48 min | +12 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 65 min | 45 min | +20 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 42 min | 62 min | −20 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 42 min | 45 min | −3 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 55 min | 30 min | +25 min |
Difference is Danville minus Baywood, San Mateo. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Danville is the cheaper foot by $500, 36% below San Mateo (Baywood). What that buys is a different house, not a different bill: at $1,600,000 the two are $51 apart a month at 1.07% and 1.11%.
Square footage per dollar
The Danville gates change both the dues and the insurance file, so the $2M tier is a different market. Baywood comps run $1,200-$1,400 per square foot. Posted medians are $900 per square foot in Danville and $1,400 in San Mateo (Baywood), a $500 spread.
What the bill looks like
Holding the loan constant — $1,600,000, 20% down, 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, $2,400 of insurance, no HOA — Danville totals $9,713 a month at 1.07% and San Mateo (Baywood) $9,764 at 1.11% — tax lines of $1,423 and $1,473. Danville downtown condos carry $400-$600 a month in dues. No HOA on Baywood's detached homes; downtown townhomes and condos run $400-$800 a month. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
Getting to work
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 55 minutes by driving from Danville, 30 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 25-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 4.2 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 60 minutes by BART from Danville, 45 by Caltrain from San Mateo (Baywood) — a 15-minute edge to San Mateo (Baywood), or 2.5 hours across a ten-trip week. Bishop Ranch is 8 minutes from Danville, and Dublin BART 20 minutes south is often the easier parking. Door to door from Baywood to FiDi is 55-65 minutes.
Hazard and insurance
Insurance is priced off mapping, not off price per foot. The Greenbrook and Sycamore flats are not WUI and standard carriers still write them. Laurel Creek flood zones are on the Baywood disclosure stack. 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.
Choosing between them
Danville fits a four-bedroom-with-yard-and-pool requirement. Baywood fits a walkable-Caltrain requirement with a period house. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Tax figures come from Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26; San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26, composited in build/assets/metrics.json. They are county-level and not yet verified at the TRA, so the parcel's bill governs. Travel times are AM-peak door-to-door estimates 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 | Danville | Baywood, San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $900 | $1,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.07% | 1.11% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,713 | $9,764 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 42 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 55 min | 30 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.
Danville detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.055% |
| Effective rate | 1.07% |
| 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.
Baywood, San Mateo detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.095% |
| Effective rate | 1.10% |
| 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.
Danville vs Baywood, San Mateo: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Danville or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Danville, at 1.07% of assessed value against 1.11% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.040%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Danville and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $51 per month on the identical reference loan: Danville $9,713, Baywood, San Mateo $9,764. Danville 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, Danville or Baywood, San Mateo?
- Baywood, San Mateo. Danville is 55 min by car; Baywood, San Mateo is 30 min by Caltrain. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Danville and Baywood, San Mateo?
- $500 per square foot: Danville $900, Baywood, San Mateo $1,400. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.