Cordelia, Fairfield vs Redwood City
Cordelia, Fairfield carries an effective property tax rate of 1.18% 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 $9,864 and $9,784 — $80 apart, with Redwood City lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 95 min by car from Cordelia, Fairfield and 22 min by Caltrain from Redwood City. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Cordelia, Fairfield (Solano County) · Redwood City (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Redwood City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,150 | −$770 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.12% | +0.060% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,784 | +$80 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 75 min | 55 min | +20 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 70 min | 80 min | −10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 50 min | +10 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 95 min | 25 min | +70 min |
Difference is Cordelia, Fairfield minus Redwood City. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $380 per foot in Fairfield (Cordelia) against $1,150 in Redwood City. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $80, because Fairfield (Cordelia) bills 1.18% and Redwood City 1.12%.
The house at each price
$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 Redwood City is a 1,300-1,600 sq ft 1950s three-bedroom in Roosevelt, Woodside Plaza or Mount Carmel. The median foot costs $380 in Fairfield (Cordelia) against $1,150 in Redwood City; on a 2,000 sq ft house that is $1,540,000 of purchase price.
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 Redwood City $9,784 at 1.12% — tax lines of $1,573 and $1,493. Cordelia HOAs run $50-$150 a month, with gated Rancho Solano and Eastridge higher. No Mello-Roos in the older Redwood City core.
Commute, measured
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 95 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 22 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 73-minute edge to Redwood City, or 12.2 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 75 minutes by driving from Fairfield (Cordelia), 55 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 20-minute edge to Redwood City, or 3.3 hours across a ten-trip week. Cordelia to the Bay Bridge is 50 minutes at 5:30 a.m. and 75-100 minutes at 7:30. Redwood City Caltrain has Baby Bullet stops: 30-35 minutes to 4th and King.
What the disclosure stack holds
Green Valley and the hills west of I-680 are mapped High fire hazard. Redwood City hill non-renewals started in 2024; standard carriers write the flats. 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
Cordelia answers a Napa or Travis commute. Redwood City is the answer when a lagoon townhome is acceptable.
Sources. Tax figures come from Solano County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; City of Fairfield CFD reports; 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. The per-foot medians are trailing and carry no appraisal weight; the neighborhood detail is first-hand broker observation.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Cordelia, Fairfield | Redwood City |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $380 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.18% | 1.12% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,864 | $9,784 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 75 min | 55 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 60 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 95 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.
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.
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.
Cordelia, Fairfield vs Redwood City: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Cordelia, Fairfield or Redwood City?
- Redwood City, at 1.12% of assessed value against 1.18% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.060%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Cordelia, Fairfield and Redwood City?
- $80 per month on the identical reference loan: Cordelia, Fairfield $9,864, Redwood City $9,784. Redwood City 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, Cordelia, Fairfield or Redwood City?
- Redwood City. Cordelia, Fairfield is 95 min by car; 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 Cordelia, Fairfield and Redwood City?
- $770 per square foot: Cordelia, Fairfield $380, Redwood City $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.