Yes.
According to data from 2023, San Benito County had the longest commute time in California with an average of 36.1 minutes.Â
However, this study was done during the three-year construction project on Hwy 156 between Union Road and San Juan Bautista, beginning in August 2022 and ending in June of 2025 when traffic delays were common.
That construction project turned the freeway’s two lanes into four lanes. With its completion, San Benito County may no longer have the state’s longest commute time.
By comparison, Contra Costa County had the longest commute time in 2022.
In 2025, Bay Area newspapers determined that Brentwood, California (in Contra Costa County) had the longest commute time in the nation, at 46 minutes.
In an interview on May 1, 2025, Binu Abraham, the director of the San Benito Council of Governments (COG), noted San Benito County had the third longest commute time in California.
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Sources
- Data USA San Benito County Profile
- KTLA California’s Worst Counties for Commuters; No, L.A. isn’t #1
- SFGate America’s Longest Commute starts deep in the East Bay Suburbs
- BenitoLink Backbone of the Community: Q&A on Hwy 25 with Binu Abraham
- Council of San Benito County Governments Transportation Updates SR 156 Improvement Project