Mission San Jose, Fremont vs Walnut Creek
Mission San Jose, Fremont carries an effective property tax rate of 1.15% of assessed value and Walnut Creek carries 1.08%, both for fiscal year 2025-26. On one identical reference loan the monthly carrying costs are $9,817 and $9,733 — $84 apart, with Walnut Creek lower. To Oakland City Center at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 45 min by BART from Mission San Jose, Fremont and 27 min by BART from Walnut Creek. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Mission San Jose, Fremont (Alameda County) · Walnut Creek (Contra Costa County)
| Metric | Mission San Jose, Fremont | Walnut Creek | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $800 | +$250 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.15% | 1.08% | +0.063% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,817 | $9,733 | +$84 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — BART | 65 min | 45 min | +20 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 65 min | 55 min | +10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 45 min | 27 min | +18 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 45 min | 32 min | +13 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 35 min | 62 min | −27 min |
Difference is Mission San Jose, Fremont minus Walnut Creek. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $1,050 per foot in Fremont (Mission San Jose) against $800 in Walnut Creek. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $84, because Fremont (Mission San Jose) bills 1.15% and Walnut Creek 1.08%.
The house at each price
Mission San Jose comps run $1,000-$1,100 per square foot, well above the rest of Fremont. Walnut Creek is one of the few places here where a pool comes with the four-bedroom at $1.4M. Posted medians are $1,050 per square foot in Fremont (Mission San Jose) and $800 in Walnut Creek, a $250 spread.
What the bill looks like
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Fremont (Mission San Jose) totals $9,817 a month at 1.15% and Walnut Creek $9,733 at 1.08% — tax lines of $1,527 and $1,443. No Mello-Roos in Mission San Jose. Walnut Creek parcels sit in Walnut Creek School District, Mt. Diablo Unified or Acalanes, so parcel taxes run $300-$700.
Getting to work
To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 35 minutes by driving from Fremont (Mission San Jose), 62 by driving from Walnut Creek — a 27-minute edge to Fremont (Mission San Jose), or 4.5 hours across a ten-trip week. To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 65 minutes by BART from Fremont (Mission San Jose), 45 by BART from Walnut Creek — a 20-minute edge to Walnut Creek, or 3.3 hours across a ten-trip week. From Mission San Jose, Tesla Fremont is 10 minutes, Santa Clara 25-40 and Cupertino 35-50. Highway 24 from Walnut Creek hits the Bay Bridge in 30 minutes at 6 a.m., 60-75 at 8.
What the disclosure stack holds
A few Mission San Jose hill non-renewals appeared in 2025-26; the flats are still being written. The Walnut Creek flats near downtown and the Northgate valley floor are not WUI. Run the address through CAL FIRE's severity-zone viewer, the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the CGS seismic hazard maps, and treat the premium quote as a contingency item.
The housing need each answers
Mission San Jose assumes the buyer will pay for location rather than finish. Walnut Creek covers a four-bedroom-with-pool need without a hillside insurance file.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: Alameda County Tax Rates by TRA FY 2025-26; Contra Costa TRA Book FY 2025-26, composited in build/assets/metrics.json; TRA-level verification pending, so confirm the rate on the parcel's own bill. Commute times: door-to-door AM-peak estimates, 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 | Mission San Jose, Fremont | Walnut Creek |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,050 | $800 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.15% | 1.08% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,817 | $9,733 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 65 min | 45 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 45 min | 27 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 35 min | 62 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.
Mission San Jose, Fremont detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.042% |
| School district measures | 0.103% |
| Effective rate | 1.15% |
| 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.
Walnut Creek detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.012% |
| School district measures | 0.070% |
| Effective rate | 1.08% |
| 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.
Mission San Jose, Fremont vs Walnut Creek: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Mission San Jose, Fremont or Walnut Creek?
- Walnut Creek, at 1.08% of assessed value against 1.15% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.070%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Mission San Jose, Fremont and Walnut Creek?
- $84 per month on the identical reference loan: Mission San Jose, Fremont $9,817, Walnut Creek $9,733. Walnut Creek 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, Mission San Jose, Fremont or Walnut Creek?
- Walnut Creek. Mission San Jose, Fremont is 45 min by BART; Walnut Creek is 27 min by BART. Door-to-door, AM peak. Source: data/commute/static.csv.
- What is the price per square foot difference between Mission San Jose, Fremont and Walnut Creek?
- $250 per square foot: Mission San Jose, Fremont $1,050, Walnut Creek $800. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.