The residents of a quiet Bay Area suburb have the country’s worst work commutes – and people are quitting their jobs because of it.
Situated approximately 60 miles east of San Francisco, residents of Brentwood in Contra Costa County—not to be mistaken for the wealthy Los Angeles neighborhood with the same name—experience the longest daily commutes in the nation.
US Census Bureau data collected in 2023 revealed that the average commute time of its approximately 65,000 residents is 46 minutes – about 19 minutes more than the national mean.
About 75 percent of Brentwood commuters drive to work and more than 20 percent of them leave their homes before 6am, the survey revealed.
While the average commute time is 46 minutes, 38 percent of residents spend an hour or more traveling to get to or come home from their jobs.
Brentwood is technically a city, but it has a suburban feel and a family-friendly nature.
It is also relatively affordable compared to the cost of living in other Bay Area cities. According to Realtor.com, Brentwood’s median home cost is $800,000, which is about $500,000 less than the region’s median.
There are not many high-paying jobs, so residents must make the trip to more bustling areas such as San Francisco, Oakland and Silicon Valley.
US Census Bureau data collected in 2023 revealed that the average commute time of its approximately 65,000 residents is 46 minutes (pictured: traffic going toward Oakland and San Francisco)
There are not many high-paying jobs, so residents must make the trip to more bustling areas such as San Francisco (pictured), Oakland and Silicon Valley
Brentwood (pictured) is technically a city, but it has a suburban feel and a family-friendly nature
And these treks are not for the faint of heart – with many people leaving their big city jobs or finding new positions that allow them to work from the comfort of their homes.
Resident Chris Moyer, 59, commuted from Brentwood to Oakland every day for 12 years, leaving every morning at 4:30am to make it in on time for his 7:30am shift as a union carpenter.
But more than a decade of sitting in grueling, gridlocked traffic and hardly getting to spend time with his family caught up to him, he explained to the San Francisco Chronicle.
‘The commute was killing me,’ he confessed to the outlet. ‘It got to the point where I just couldn’t stand it anymore. That’s when I started thinking seriously about retirement.’
Even though he was a few years away from cashing in on his full benefits, the wasted time was not worth it for him.
‘Folks are so dang tired,’ Sean McCauley, a Brentwood-based real estate developer, told the Chronicle.
‘They moved here for the great quality of life, but they’re so exhausted by the time they get home that they can’t really enjoy it during the workweek.’
With no solutions to the crowded highways leading to big cities and the lack of efficient public transit options in Brentwood, some people have been forced to consider leaving the Bay Area completely.
‘Folks are so dang tired,’ Sean McCauley (pictured), a Brentwood-based real estate developer, told the Chronicle
About 75 percent of Brentwood commuters drive to work and more than 20 percent of them leave their homes before 6am, the survey revealed (pictured: downtown Brentwood)
Mathew Scolari, 27, a software engineer, drives 60 miles to and from work in Foster City each day. His trip takes him about two hours.
He used to live closer to work in Mountain View, but his one-bedroom apartment rent soared to $2,900 each month in 2023. This is when he moved back in with his parents in Brentwood.
Feeling torn between long travel times and high costs, Scolari may consider leaving a massive move.
‘Maybe I’ll leave the Bay Area completely,’ he told the Chronicle. ‘“I might go to Seattle or something.’
