Property tax
Mello-Roos in North San Diego County
The most-asked question in 92127, and the one almost no agent site answers — because answering it means reading the County Auditor’s own district list rather than guessing. Below is that list, for all 31 communities we cover, including the seven where the honest answer is “none.”
Look up a community
Del Sur
Del Sur does carry Mello-Roos.
Del Sur sits inside the Black Mountain Ranch master plan and inside Poway Unified. Homes there can carry both a school-district CFD and a community CFD — which is why two similar homes on the same street can have materially different tax bills.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Poway Unified CFD #12 (Blk Mtn Rch) | 6122-20 | KeyAnalytics (877) 575-0265 |
| Black Mountain Ranch Villages CFD #4 | 6086-09 | Charmane Custodio (888) 892-2480 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
4S Ranch
4S Ranch does carry Mello-Roos.
Poway Unified administers at least 19 separate community facilities districts across its boundary — the reason a single '4S Ranch Mello-Roos' figure does not exist. Which one applies depends on the parcel.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Poway Unified CFD #6 and #6 IA B | 6122-06 / 6122-18 | KeyAnalytics (877) 575-0265 |
| Poway Unified CFD #10 and #10 IA B | 6122-10 / 6122-12 | KeyAnalytics (877) 575-0265 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Scripps Ranch
No active district in the county list is named for Scripps Ranch.
No community facilities district in the County Auditor's active FY 2025-26 list is named for Scripps Ranch. That is the documented basis for the widely-repeated claim that Scripps Ranch homes generally do not carry Mello-Roos — but it is a statement about district names, not a parcel-level guarantee.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Carmel Valley
No active district in the county list is named for Carmel Valley.
No community facilities district in the County Auditor's active FY 2025-26 list is named for Carmel Valley or Torrey Highlands. Neighbouring Black Mountain Ranch villages do carry districts, so the boundary matters and the tax bill is the place to confirm it.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Del Mar
No active district in the county list is named for Del Mar.
The Auditor's active FY 2025-26 list carries no community facilities district named for the city of Del Mar. Del Mar's property-tax questions are usually about Prop 13 basis after a long hold, and about Coastal Zone permitting, rather than CFDs.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Rancho Santa Fe
Rancho Santa Fe does carry Mello-Roos.
Rancho Santa Fe has one community facilities district in the active list, administered by the Community Service District. It is not the dominant cost question in the Covenant — HOA and club membership obligations, septic, and Art Jury review usually are.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Rancho Santa Fe CFD #1 (Community Service District) | 6870-04 | Paula Melendrez (760) 479-4150 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Escondido
Escondido does carry Mello-Roos.
Escondido has one active district in the county list, a school district CFD formed in 2019, so it applies to newer development rather than the older housing stock that makes up most of the city. Most Escondido homes carry no CFD at all.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Escondido Union SD CFD No. 2019-1 | 6121-01 | KeyAnalytics (877) 575-0265 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Oceanside
No active district in the county list is named for Oceanside.
No community facilities district in the County Auditor's active FY 2025-26 list is named for Oceanside. For a buyer comparing Oceanside against San Marcos or 92127, that is a real monthly difference and it is rarely mentioned.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Fallbrook
No active district in the county list is named for Fallbrook.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Fallbrook. Rural parcels there raise different cost questions instead — well, septic and fire insurance.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
San Marcos
San Marcos does carry Mello-Roos.
San Marcos carries 91 active community facilities districts in the County Auditor's list — more than any other city in San Diego County. Most are improvement areas within CFD 98-02, numbered individually, and which one applies is a question about the parcel rather than the city. Anyone quoting a single 'San Marcos Mello-Roos figure' has not looked.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| San Marcos CFD 98-02 — dozens of numbered improvement areas | 6090-xx | CFD Administration (760) 744-1050 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Carlsbad
Carlsbad does carry Mello-Roos.
Carlsbad has three active districts — one city, two school. Coverage is uneven across the four ZIPs, so the tax bill is the only reliable answer for a specific address.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Carlsbad CFD #1 | 6010-15 | Special District Financing (760) 233-2630 |
| Carlsbad Unified CFD #1 and #4 | 6115-01 / 6115-04 | Willdan Public Info (866) 807-6864 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Vista
No active district in the county list is named for Vista.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Vista. Note that searching that list for 'Vista' returns Chula Vista districts, which are in South Bay — a confusion worth avoiding.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Poway
Poway does carry Mello-Roos.
Poway is inside Poway Unified, which administers 19 active districts — but most of that CFD load sits in the newer 92127 communities rather than in the city of Poway itself. That distinction is exactly the comparison inland buyers are trying to make, and almost nobody spells it out.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Poway Unified CFDs — 19 active districts across the boundary | 6122-xx | KeyAnalytics (877) 575-0265 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Encinitas
Encinitas does carry Mello-Roos.
Encinitas has a single active district in the county list. Most of the city's housing predates CFD formation and carries none.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Encinitas CFD #1 | 6036-42 | Willdan Financial (866) 807-6864 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Valley Center
Valley Center does carry Mello-Roos.
Valley Center's active district is a fire protection CFD rather than a school or development one — which is itself the useful signal for a buyer weighing a rural parcel: fire service here is funded, and separately assessed.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Valley Center Fire Protection District CFD 2000-1 | 3150-02 | Joe Napier (760) 751-7600 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Ramona
No active district in the county list is named for Ramona.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Ramona. As with Fallbrook, the real cost questions on a large parcel are well, septic and fire insurance rather than Mello-Roos.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
La Jolla
No active district in the county list is named for La Jolla.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for La Jolla. Property-tax questions there are usually Proposition 13 basis after long ownership, and reassessment at sale — a different conversation entirely.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Pacific Beach
No active district in the county list is named for Pacific Beach.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Pacific Beach. The carrying costs that actually surprise buyers here are coastal: insurance, and the licensing economics of short-term rental plans.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Ocean Beach
No active district in the county list is named for Ocean Beach.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Ocean Beach. The cost conversations that matter are condition and coastal exposure on older cottages, not special taxes.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Hillcrest
No active district in the county list is named for Hillcrest.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Hillcrest. Maintenance assessment districts — a different, smaller instrument — do operate in San Diego's urban neighborhoods, and the tax bill itemizes any that apply.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
North Park
No active district in the county list is named for North Park.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for North Park. Where a home is a designated historic resource, the relevant tax program runs the other way — a Mills Act contract can reduce property taxes in exchange for preservation obligations.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Downtown San Diego
No active district in the county list is named for Downtown San Diego.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Downtown San Diego. The monthly obligation that behaves like a second tax downtown is the HOA assessment, and it is read in the association's budget and CC&Rs rather than on the county bill.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
College Area
No active district in the county list is named for College Area.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for the College Area. The community's cost questions are rental-market questions — what a property can lawfully be, not what it is taxed.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Chula Vista
Chula Vista does carry Mello-Roos.
The split is geographic: western Chula Vista's older stock largely predates the Mello-Roos era, while nearly all of the load sits east of Interstate 805. Which districts apply, and at what amount, is parcel-specific — the tax bill names every line.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| City districts — Otay Ranch villages, Eastlake, Millenia, Sunbow; 33 lines in the county list | 6014-xx / 6015-xx | Spicer Consulting Group (866) 504-2067 |
| Chula Vista Elementary CFDs #1–#21 | 3798-xx | Chula Vista Elementary School District (619) 425-9600 |
| Sweetwater Union High CFDs #1–#6 | 6159-xx | Sweetwater Union High School District (619) 691-5575 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Santee
Santee does carry Mello-Roos.
Most of Santee's housing stock predates community facilities financing entirely. The city publishes its own CFD information; the county list and the bill are the checkable record.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Santee CFD 2015-1 Zone 1 | 6091-46 | City of Santee (619) 258-4100 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
El Cajon
No active district in the county list is named for El Cajon.
No community facilities district in the County Auditor's active FY 2025-26 list is named for El Cajon. On older East County stock that is the quiet half of the affordability math: the same loan payment buys more house when no special-tax line sits on top of it.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Spring Valley
No active district in the county list is named for Spring Valley.
No community facilities district in the active list is named for Spring Valley. As unincorporated county territory its cost questions run to county service levels and parcel condition rather than special taxes.
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Lemon Grove
Lemon Grove does carry Mello-Roos.
A district named in the list is not the same thing as a tax on the housing stock — the Promenade district exists to fund a commercial corridor. Residential Lemon Grove's property-tax story is ordinary base rates on mid-century stock.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Main St Promenade CFD 2013-1 | 6060-14 | City of Lemon Grove (619) 825-3800 |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Temecula
Temecula does carry Mello-Roos.
The city's districts are obligations of the property owners within each district boundary, not of the City of Temecula — and the school district's levies are separate again, so a Temecula tax bill can carry both a city and a school CFD line. The bill names each district that applies to the parcel.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Crowne Hill | 03-01 | City of Temecula temeculaca.gov |
| Roripaugh Ranch | 03-02 | City of Temecula temeculaca.gov |
| Wolf Creek | 03-03 | City of Temecula temeculaca.gov |
| Harveston II | 03-06 | City of Temecula temeculaca.gov |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Murrieta
Murrieta does carry Mello-Roos.
New districts are still being formed — the city formed the Gierson Ranch district in June 2026 with bonds authorized up to $8 million — so a brand-new tract's special-tax load is set at formation, before the first home sells. Western Municipal Water District also operates community facilities financing in the area. The tax bill names every district that applies.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Springbrook | 2005-1 | City of Murrieta murrietaca.gov |
| Gierson Ranch — formed June 2026, bonds authorized to $8M | 2026-1 | City of Murrieta murrietaca.gov |
| Murrieta Valley USD districts | 2001-4 and 2004-1 among them | the school district murrieta.k12.ca.us |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
Menifee
Menifee does carry Mello-Roos.
Menifee's special taxes are billed through the County of Riverside and appear as separate line items on the property tax bill — the same reading skill the San Diego pages teach applies here, with different district names. Eastern Municipal Water District participates in community facilities financing for new development as well.
| District | Fund | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Citywide maintenance CFD — every new development annexes in; 34 zones to date | 2015-2 | City of Menifee menifee.ca.gov |
| Original city bond districts | four formed at incorporation era | City of Menifee menifee.ca.gov |
| Menifee Union School District CFDs | 2014-3 among them | the school district menifeeusd.org |
A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel, not the neighborhood: it varies by district, improvement area and the phase a home was built in. The authoritative figure is the line item on the property tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
What is Mello-Roos?
Mello-Roos is an additional property tax levied inside a community facilities district (CFD), used in San Diego County and across California to pay for the schools, roads and parks that a new development required. It is charged on top of the ordinary property tax, it is set per parcel rather than per neighborhood, and it appears as a separate line item on the tax bill.
The name comes from the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, passed after Proposition 13 limited what cities could raise through ordinary property tax. The practical effect for a buyer today: two similar homes on the same street can carry materially different monthly costs, and the difference is invisible in a listing price.
How much is Mello-Roos in San Diego County?
No single San Diego County figure exists, and any source quoting one for a whole city has not read the county's list. A Mello-Roos amount is specific to the parcel: it varies by district, by improvement area within that district, and by the phase a home was built in. The authoritative number is the line item on that property's tax bill, which names the district and gives a contact number.
That is why this page gives you district names and administrator phone numbers rather than a dollar figure. The administrator can tell you the current levy and the remaining term for a specific address; a website cannot.
Which San Diego city has the most Mello-Roos?
San Marcos, by a wide margin. The County Auditor's active FY 2025-26 list carries 91 community facilities districts for San Marcos — more than any other city in San Diego County. Most are separately numbered improvement areas within a small number of parent districts, which is precisely why no single San Marcos figure exists.
Can I get Poway Unified schools without a big Mello-Roos bill?
The city of Poway is where to look. Poway Unified administers 19 active districts, but the bulk of that load sits in the newer 92127 communities the district also serves — Del Sur, 4S Ranch, the Black Mountain Ranch villages — rather than in the older city of Poway itself, which was largely built before those districts were formed.
Same school district, materially different total monthly cost, older housing stock and larger lots in exchange. It is a parcel-level question rather than a guarantee — the tax bill confirms it — but it is real, checkable, and almost nobody spells it out. See the Poway guide.
Want the number for a specific address?
The district administrator can give you the current levy and remaining term once you know which district applies. If you would rather we just pulled it together — the districts, the schools, and what comparable homes on that street actually sold for — send the address.
Source: County of San Diego Auditor & Controller, Active Mello-Roos Districts (CFD) for FY 2025-2026, retrieved 2026-07-25. The Auditor’s list names districts; it does not map parcels. “No district is named for X” is a fact about that list, not a parcel-level guarantee — a homeowner can sit inside a differently-named district. The tax bill is where the truth for a given parcel lives.
Last updated 2026-08-04