Menlo Park vs Redwood City
Menlo Park carries an effective property tax rate of 1.13% 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 $9,790 and $9,784 — $7 apart, with Redwood City lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 20 min by Caltrain from Menlo Park and 22 min by Caltrain from Redwood City. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Menlo Park (San Mateo County) · Redwood City (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Menlo Park | Redwood City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,700 | $1,150 | +$550 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.13% | 1.12% | +0.005% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,790 | $9,784 | +$7 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 60 min | 55 min | +5 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 60 min | 55 min | +5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 85 min | 80 min | +5 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 50 min | 50 min | 0 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 20 min | 22 min | −2 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 20 min | 25 min | −5 min |
Difference is Menlo Park minus Redwood City. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Put the two side by side and the gap is square footage, not tax: $1,700 per foot in Menlo Park against $1,150 in Redwood City. On the same $1,600,000 purchase the monthly separation is only $7, because Menlo Park bills 1.13% and Redwood City 1.12%.
The house at each price
Emerald Hills starts at $2M above Redwood City proper. Against that, $1.4M in Menlo Park is a 1,100-1,300 sq ft two-bedroom in the Willows or Belle Haven, or a 1,500 sq ft townhome. At $1,700 and $1,150 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 48% more floor area in Redwood City.
Carrying $1,600,000 in each
Modelled the same way in both ($1,600,000 purchase, 20% down, 6.5% fixed, $2,400 insurance, dues excluded), Menlo Park totals $9,790 a month at 1.13% and Redwood City $9,784 at 1.12% — tax lines of $1,500 and $1,493. No Mello-Roos in Menlo Park. Redwood City School District and Sequoia Union parcel taxes run roughly $200-$400. Neither figure includes dues or a district assessment, and both belong on the worksheet before an offer.
The trip each morning
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 60 minutes by Caltrain from Menlo Park, 55 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 5-minute edge to Redwood City, or 0.8 hours across a ten-trip week. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain): 20 minutes by Caltrain from Menlo Park, 22 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 2-minute edge to Menlo Park, or 0.3 hours across a ten-trip week. Menlo Park Caltrain has limited Baby Bullet service; most trains run 40-50 minutes to San Francisco. Redwood Shores has no rail of its own and is a 10-minute drive from the station; Oracle, EA and Kaiser are 5-10 minutes.
What the disclosure stack holds
The Menlo Park flats are not WUI. Redwood City hill non-renewals started in 2024; standard carriers write the flats. 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.
The housing need each answers
Menlo Park assumes a small footprint or a townhome at this price. Redwood City answers a need to be minutes from the 101 employers. Write the requirement down before the search: these two answer different ones.
Sources. Effective rates and carrying costs: San Mateo County Tax Rate 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. 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 | Menlo Park | Redwood City |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,700 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.13% | 1.12% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,790 | $9,784 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 60 min | 55 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 50 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 20 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.
Menlo Park detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.010% |
| School district measures | 0.115% |
| Effective rate | 1.13% |
| 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.
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.
Menlo Park vs Redwood City: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Menlo Park or Redwood City?
- Redwood City, at 1.12% of assessed value against 1.13% 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 Menlo Park and Redwood City?
- $7 per month on the identical reference loan: Menlo Park $9,790, 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, Menlo Park or Redwood City?
- Menlo Park. Menlo Park is 20 min by Caltrain; 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 Menlo Park and Redwood City?
- $550 per square foot: Menlo Park $1,700, Redwood City $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.