Midtown, Palo Alto vs Redwood City
Midtown, Palo Alto carries an effective property tax rate of 1.17% 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 $9,853 and $9,784 — $69 apart, with Redwood City lower. To Sunnyvale / Mountain View at AM peak the fastest published commutes are 18 min by Caltrain from Midtown, Palo Alto and 22 min by Caltrain from Redwood City. Every figure is an objective public metric or arithmetic on one, and names its source.
Midtown, Palo Alto (Santa Clara County) · Redwood City (San Mateo County)
| Metric | Midtown, Palo Alto | Redwood City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,900 | $1,150 | +$750 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.17% | 1.12% | +0.052% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,853 | $9,784 | +$69 |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Caltrain | 65 min | 55 min | +10 min |
| FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) — Drive | 65 min | 55 min | +10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — BART | 90 min | 80 min | +10 min |
| Oakland City Center (12th St BART) — Drive | 50 min | 50 min | 0 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Caltrain | 18 min | 22 min | −4 min |
| Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) — Drive | 18 min | 25 min | −7 min |
Difference is Midtown, Palo Alto minus Redwood City. Sources are cited on each submarket page.
Palo Alto (Midtown) carries $750 more per square foot than Redwood City — 65% — and that single spread decides most searches that start with both names on the list. The tax rates land 1.17% in Palo Alto (Midtown) against 1.12% in Redwood City, close enough that price per foot, not the levy, is what moves the payment.
What the same money buys
$1.4M in Redwood City is a 1,300-1,600 sq ft 1950s three-bedroom in Roosevelt, Woodside Plaza or Mount Carmel. Against that, $1.4M in Midtown Palo Alto does not buy detached; it buys a 1,000-1,200 sq ft condo, townhome or duplex share. At $1,900 and $1,150 per foot respectively, a fixed budget buys about 65% 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), Palo Alto (Midtown) totals $9,853 a month at 1.17% and Redwood City $9,784 at 1.12% — tax lines of $1,563 and $1,493. No Mello-Roos in Palo Alto. Redwood Shores dues run $200-$500 a month plus a lagoon maintenance assessment.
The trip each morning
To FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART): 65 minutes by Caltrain from Palo Alto (Midtown), 55 by Caltrain from Redwood City — a 10-minute edge to Redwood City, or 1.7 hours across a ten-trip week. Palo Alto Caltrain is 10 minutes from Midtown by bike or car; the Baby Bullet is 33 minutes to 4th and King. Driving 101 from Redwood City to SoMa is 30 minutes at 6 a.m., 60-75 at 8.
What the disclosure stack holds
Midtown Palo Alto is not WUI. The Redwood City flats and Redwood Shores 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.
Which search this actually is
Midtown assumes a condo at $1.4M or a step past $2.6M for a lot. Redwood City answers a need to be minutes from the 101 employers.
Sources. Rate and payment figures: Santa Clara County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26; San Mateo County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26, as composited in build/assets/metrics.json — unverified at tax-rate-area level, so read the bill. Minutes shown are AM-peak and door to door, from data/commute/static.csv. Median price per foot is a trailing figure, not a valuation, and the local detail comes from the broker's own transactions.
Compare any two submarkets
| Metric | Midtown, Palo Alto | Redwood City |
|---|---|---|
| Median $/sqft (SFR) | $1,900 | $1,150 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.17% | 1.12% |
| Monthly cost, reference loan | $9,853 | $9,784 |
| Fastest to FiDi SF (Montgomery St BART) | 65 min | 55 min |
| Fastest to Oakland City Center (12th St BART) | 50 min | 50 min |
| Fastest to Sunnyvale / Mountain View (Sunnyvale Caltrain) | 18 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.
Midtown, Palo Alto detail
| Component | Rate of assessed value |
|---|---|
| Prop 13 general levy | 1.000% |
| County / city voter-approved bonds | 0.045% |
| School district measures | 0.127% |
| Effective rate | 1.17% |
| Mello-Roos / CFD | None recorded |
Source: Santa Clara County Tax Rate Book FY 2025-26 (Santa Clara 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.
Midtown, Palo Alto vs Redwood City: questions and answers
- Which has the lower effective property tax rate, Midtown, Palo Alto or Redwood City?
- Redwood City, at 1.12% of assessed value against 1.17% for fiscal year 2025-26 — a gap of 0.050%. Rates are composited from county tax rate books; each parcel bill governs.
- How much do monthly carrying costs differ between Midtown, Palo Alto and Redwood City?
- $69 per month on the identical reference loan: Midtown, Palo Alto $9,853, 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, Midtown, Palo Alto or Redwood City?
- Midtown, Palo Alto. Midtown, Palo Alto is 18 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 Midtown, Palo Alto and Redwood City?
- $750 per square foot: Midtown, Palo Alto $1,900, Redwood City $1,150. Single-family medians, trailing twelve months. A median is not a valuation of any specific property.