Updated on: October 29, 2026
by Meryll | Apr 27, 2026 | blog

Rossmoor Walnut Creek’s monthly HOA fee averages $1,000 to $2,000 combined, by Rossmoor’s own figures, while Leisure Village in Camarillo charges about $671 to $833 a month on its 2026-27 dues schedule. One is in Ventura County and the other in the East Bay, so climate, transit and the 2026 real estate market in each region shape the choice as much as the fees do.

Key takeaway

Both are 55+ independent-living communities, and Leisure Village’s monthly dues sit below Rossmoor’s typical combined fee. The biggest upfront difference is Rossmoor’s one-time transfer fee, which the buyer pays at purchase. Rossmoor’s prices stretch from low-cost co-ops to single-family homes above a million dollars, while Leisure Village sells in a narrower band.

Who this guide is for

Buyers 55 and older, or the family helping them, who are choosing between Leisure Village in Camarillo and Rossmoor in Walnut Creek and need to budget what each costs.

Related guides: Utilities in Leisure Village Camarillo, History of Leisure Village Camarillo.

Leisure Village vs Rossmoor at a glance
- Leisure Village dues: $671 to $833 a month, one schedule.
- Rossmoor: community fee plus Mutual fee, averaging $1,000 to $2,000.
- Rossmoor buyers pay a one-time $18,000 transfer fee.
- Hospitals: John Muir and Kaiser ERs in Walnut Creek; Pleasant Valley in Camarillo.
- Neither community offers assisted living on site.
HOA fees: Rossmoor Walnut Creek vs Leisure Village Camarillo

Leisure Village charges one community-wide dues schedule, priced by floor plan. On the 2026-27 schedule the Avalon plan pays the least and the Camarillo plan the most. Per the association’s HOA page, the dues cover:
- 24-hour guarded gate, patrolling security and medical first-response personnel
- Water, sewer and trash
- Exterior paint and lifetime roof protection, the exterior maintenance owners would otherwise arrange themselves
- Flood and earthquake insurance under a master policy for exteriors and common areas
Electricity, billed by Southern California Edison, is not on the dues schedule, and neither are cable, internet or interior insurance. Before an offer, ask for Leisure Village’s current budget, reserve study and any special assessments.

Rossmoor’s monthly “coupon” has two parts, per its ownership guide:
- Community portion: $351.51 a month, the same for every household. It pays for security, golf, tennis, the fitness center, clubhouses, programming and administration. It includes a separate $60.35 cable charge, so cable is billed through the coupon.
- Mutual portion: set by each Mutual (neighborhood association) and usually covering building exteriors, landscaping, utilities, insurance coordination and reserves. Mutual 61 is the exception: its fee does not cover exterior or landscape maintenance, water, trash or insurance.
Rossmoor fees vary so widely because each Mutual folds in different costs. In co-op Mutuals, each manor’s property tax is added on top of the coupon. As an example, Second Walnut Creek Mutual’s 2026 coupon of $1,294 a month, before taxes, splits into $354.52 for the community trust, $708.00 for Mutual operations and $231.48 for Mutual reserves.

Total cost of living: Rossmoor vs Leisure Village

Living at Rossmoor costs the monthly coupon plus property tax, your own interior insurance and any utilities your Mutual does not cover. At Leisure Village, add property tax, interior insurance and the utilities the dues leave out. Everyday expenses and routines are covered in our breakdown of living in Leisure Village.
1. Property tax: Proposition 13 caps the base rate at 1% of assessed value, which is set at your purchase price. It also limits yearly increases in assessed value to 2% (or inflation, if lower). Local voter-approved bonds usually bring the effective rate to about 1.1% to 1.5%. To estimate, multiply your price by those rates: a $645,000 home works out to roughly $7,100 to $9,700 a year.
2. Insurance: At Rossmoor, the master policy (for all Mutuals except Mutuals 58 and 61) covers building structures, common areas and basic common-area liability, but not personal property. Interior “walls-in” coverage is included only if a Mutual’s governing documents require it. Owners share in a $250,000 master-policy deductible and must buy their own condominium (HO-6) policy for interior items, belongings and loss assessment. At Leisure Village, the dues fund flood and earthquake coverage for exteriors and common areas; owners insure their belongings and typically carry an HO-6-type interior policy.
3. One-time costs at purchase: Rossmoor’s Membership Transfer Fee rose from $14,000 to $18,000 on April 1, 2026. The buyer pays it once at purchase, separate from the coupon, and it goes into the capital fund for projects such as clubhouse renovations and golf course improvements. At Leisure Village, budget for HOA transfer and document fees plus prorated dues at closing, and ask escrow for the exact amounts.
Set the total for each community against what you spend now. Count the gardening, roof and exterior paint bills that the fees would replace.

If you are 55 or older and selling your principal residence, Proposition 19 lets you transfer its taxable value to a replacement principal residence anywhere in California, up to three times in a lifetime. You must buy or build the replacement within two years of the sale and file the claim with the county assessor.

Geographic locations and climate: Camarillo vs. Walnut Creek

Camarillo sits in Ventura County in Southern California. Its mild, Mediterranean climate is shaped by the Pacific Ocean and suits year-round outdoor walking.

Walnut Creek is inland, in the East Bay region of Northern California. Rossmoor sits in a valley surrounded by open space, with Mount Diablo State Park as a prominent local landmark. Summers are warmer and winters cooler than in Ventura County, and residents often move activities indoors during the hottest months.

Walnut Creek’s BART station connects directly to San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area. Camarillo station has Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service between San Luis Obispo and San Diego and Metrolink trains to Los Angeles Union Station, but everyday errands in Camarillo lean more on driving than in Walnut Creek.

Property types, square footage, and 2026 price ranges

Leisure Village has over 2,100 single-story homes on roughly 400 acres. Most are attached homes, condominiums and townhomes, ranging from roughly 672 to 2,212 square feet. In the 12 months to October 2026, 95 homes sold for between $445,000 and $995,000, with a median sale price of $645,000 and an average of $471 per square foot.

Rossmoor has roughly 6,700 homes: 3,368 co-op manors, 3,245 condominium manors and a smaller group of single-family homes. According to Rossmoor’s website, co-ops start at about $250,000, condominiums at about $400,000 and single-family homes at about $1.9 million. Homes run from compact 600-square-foot units up to more than 2,500 square feet. With that spread, review specific floor plans rather than community averages. Buyers comfortable with co-op ownership get the lowest entry prices.

Amenities and lifestyle compared

Both communities run their own recreation facilities, funded through the monthly fees.

Leisure Village’s Association-owned recreation complex includes:
- An 18-hole, par-3 golf course
- A pool and a fitness center
- Tennis and pickleball courts
- Hobby rooms and dedicated RV parking
- More than 60 clubs and activities
Rossmoor works at a larger scale, on 1,800 acres in Walnut Creek’s Tice Valley:
- 27 holes of golf on an 18-hole and a 9-hole course
- Five clubhouses
- Three pool complexes, as described on Rossmoor’s amenities page
- A free weekday Dial-a-Bus that picks residents up at their entries for trips around the community and to downtown Walnut Creek stops such as BART and Trader Joe’s
All Rossmoor buses are wheelchair-accessible. They serve residents and their accompanied guests, and riders must carry a valid Rossmoor ID.

Both communities are gated. Leisure Village’s main entrance on Leisure Village Drive is staffed 24/7, while the East Gate off Santa Rosa Road and the West Gate off Los Pueblos Drive keep daytime hours (weekdays 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekends 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Rossmoor describes itself as a gated community with patrols and medical assistance.

Medical care, hospitals and urgent care near each community

Two 24-hour emergency departments in Walnut Creek serve Rossmoor: John Muir Medical Center-Walnut Creek Campus at 1601 Ygnacio Valley Road, and Kaiser Permanente’s Walnut Creek Medical Center at 1425 South Main Street. For problems that are not life-threatening, John Muir Health runs urgent care seven days a week at its Walnut Creek Outpatient Center, 1450 Treat Boulevard.

Closer still, John Muir Health’s Tice Valley Medical Office Building in the Rossmoor Shopping Center offers non-emergency, non-urgent care. It is open to the whole community, including patients whose doctors practice elsewhere.

Leisure Village is near St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, and the dues-funded medical first-response personnel work inside the gates.

In either community, use urgent care for sprains, minor cuts, fevers and infections. Call 911 or go to the ER for chest pain, stroke signs, trouble breathing, serious injuries or a bad fall.

Assisted living and care options

Rossmoor’s ownership guide states that it offers no assisted living on site: residents must be able to live independently or hire their own caregivers privately. Some directory listings describe care services or medication management at Rossmoor. Those claims conflict with the community’s own guide, so treat any such help as something you would hire yourself.

The Waterford, known as Mutual 58, is the closest thing to a service-enriched option inside the gates. Its units are individually owned, and it is not managed by RWC Property Management. As of 2026, monthly fees there start at about $2,997 and include one daily meal and weekly housecleaning. It is independent congregate living, not a licensed assisted-living or skilled-nursing facility.

Leisure Village has no on-site care either. Residents who need daily help typically hire in-home caregivers or move to a licensed assisted-living or memory-care community elsewhere in Camarillo or nearby Ventura County.

Pros and cons of each community

Leisure Village pros:
- Lower monthly dues and no large published transfer fee
- Mild coastal climate and rail service at Camarillo station
- Single-story homes in a predictable price band
- Gated main entrance staffed around the clock, plus first responders
Leisure Village cons:
- Fewer entry options for buyers on the tightest budgets
- More driving for daily errands
- A smaller amenity footprint than Rossmoor’s
Rossmoor pros:
- Wide price spread, from co-ops to single-family homes
- More golf and clubhouses, plus a free internal bus
- BART access and two nearby 24-hour ERs
- An on-site medical office and The Waterford’s added services
Rossmoor cons:
- The large one-time transfer fee
- Fees that vary sharply by Mutual
- Hotter summers and cooler winters
- Co-op financing is harder to arrange
Either community suits buyers who want less upkeep and more time for clubs, golf and travel. In both, HOA rules limit exterior changes, and attached homes have no large private yard or room for a workshop. Buyers who value control over their home’s exterior may be happier elsewhere.

Buying or renting in either community

Rossmoor’s ownership guide requires one resident to be at least 55, so a younger spouse can live with a qualifying resident. Confirm Leisure Village’s age and occupancy rules in its governing documents before making an offer.

Homes in both communities are listed on the MLS. Buying a Rossmoor co-op works differently from buying a condo: co-op owners hold a share certificate, not deeded property, so conventional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages do not apply. Buyers need a co-op share loan from one of the few lenders that handle this structure.

Rossmoor owners may rent out their homes, with leasing rules set by each Mutual. If you plan to rent out a Leisure Village home, ask the association for its leasing rules before you buy.

Reviews only tell part of the story. Visit at different times of day, talk with residents, compare floor plans, and read the HOA rules and recent board minutes. Leisure Village rent prices, days on market and active listings shift month to month, so check them close to your decision.

If you are weighing a Leisure Village home, I’m happy to walk you through current listings and HOA documents.

Frequently asked questions

How often do HOA fees go up at Rossmoor and Leisure Village?

Rossmoor’s draft 2027 budget raises the community portion by $13.47 a month, from $291.16 to $304.63 (a 3.83% increase), before the cable charge and each Mutual’s own fee. Leisure Village sets a new dues schedule each fiscal year.

Can I bring my pet to Rossmoor or Leisure Village?

At Rossmoor, pet rules can vary by Mutual, so check the rules for the specific Mutual you are buying into. At Leisure Village, ask the association for its current pet rules before you commit.

Can a live-in caregiver under 55 stay with me?

At Rossmoor, ask your Mutual how a live-in caregiver under 55 must be registered or approved. At Leisure Village, ask the association about its caregiver rules before anyone moves in.

Was Rossmoor in Walnut Creek once called Leisure World?

Yes. It began in 1964 as Rossmoor Leisure World of Walnut Creek, developer Ross Cortese’s third Leisure World after Seal Beach and Laguna Hills, and it dropped the Leisure World name between 1970 and 1990. It is a different place from the Rossmoor neighborhood and the Leisure World communities in Southern California.

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