Cordelia, Fairfield vs Pleasanton
Cordelia, Fairfield carries an effective property tax rate of 1.18% of assessed value and Pleasanton carries 1.17%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,864 and $9,848 — $16 apart, with Pleasanton lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 60 min by car from Cordelia, Fairfield and 40 min by BART from Pleasanton. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Cordelia, Fairfield (Solano County) · Pleasanton (Alameda County)
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Pleasanton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $850 | −$470 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.17% | +0.012% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,848 | +$16 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 85 min | 58 min | +27 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 75 min | 68 min | +7 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 70 min | 40 min | +30 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 42 min | +18 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 95 min | 45 min | +50 min |
Difference is Cordelia, Fairfield minus Pleasanton. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Fairfield (Cordelia) is the cheaper foot by $470, 55% below Pleasanton. What that buys is a different house, not a different bill: at $1,600,000 the two are $16 apart a month at 1.18% and 1.17%.
Square footage per dollar
$1.4M in Cordelia is a 3,500-4,200 sq ft home in Green Valley, Rancho Solano or Paradise Valley with a three-car garage and pool. $1.4M in Pleasanton is a 2,000-2,400 sq ft four-bedroom from the 1970s-80s on a 6,000-7,000 sq ft lot with a pool. Posted medians are $380 per square foot in Fairfield (Cordelia) and $850 in Pleasanton, a $470 spread.
The monthly, matched
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Fairfield (Cordelia) totals $9,864 a month at 1.18% and Pleasanton $9,848 at 1.17% — tax lines of $1,573 and $1,557. Cordelia HOAs run $50-$150 a month, with gated Rancho Solano and Eastridge higher. No Mello-Roos on the 1970s-90s Pleasanton core.
Getting to work
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 95 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 45 by driving from Pleasanton — a 50-minute edge to Pleasanton, or 8.3 hours across a ten-trip week. To Oakland City Center (12th St BART): 60 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 40 by BART from Pleasanton — a 20-minute edge to Pleasanton, or 3.3 hours across a ten-trip week. The Vallejo ferry is 25 minutes from Cordelia, then 60 on the water; Travis AFB is 20 minutes east and Napa 25 north. Dublin/Pleasanton BART is 48-52 minutes to Embarcadero; West Dublin/Pleasanton is one stop closer.
What the disclosure stack holds
Cordelia hill non-renewals are live, with FAIR Plan quotes of $3K-$6K a year. Arroyo flood mapping touches Pleasanton lots along the Arroyo del Valle. 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
Cordelia fits a 3,000-plus square foot requirement with a three-car garage. Pleasanton is the ACE-to-San-Jose option rather than the BART-to-San-Francisco one. Rank the requirements first; the pair rarely splits on anything except the one that is non-negotiable.
Sources. Tax figures come from Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; City of Fairfield CFD reports; Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA 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 | Cordelia, Fairfield | Pleasanton |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $850 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.17% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,848 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 75 min | 58 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 60 min | 40 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 95 min | 45 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.
Cordelia, Fairfield detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.090% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD assessment | 0.080% |
| Effective rate | 1.18% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | Yes |
Source: Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; City of Fairfield CFD reports (Solano 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.
Pleasanton detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.126% |
| Effective rate | 1.17% |
| 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.
Cordelia, Fairfield vs Pleasanton: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Cordelia, Fairfield or Pleasanton?
- Pleasanton, at 1.17% of assessed value against 1.18% 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 Cordelia, Fairfield and Pleasanton?
- $16 per month on the identical reference loan: Cordelia, Fairfield $9,864, Pleasanton $9,848. Pleasanton 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, Cordelia, Fairfield or Pleasanton?
- Pleasanton. Cordelia, Fairfield is 60 min by car; Pleasanton is 40 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Cordelia, Fairfield and Pleasanton?
- $470 per square foot: Cordelia, Fairfield $380, Pleasanton $850. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.