California’s most dreaded commute revealed in new ranking — and it’s not in SoCal

California commuters have crowned the state’s ultimate traffic nightmare — and it’s not in Los Angeles.

The infamous “MacArthur Maze” near the Bay Bridge has been ranked the worst commute in California, beating out the notorious freeway gridlock that routinely brings Southern California to a crawl.

A new survey from Resume.io asked 3,017 employees how much of their annual salary they’d be willing to sacrifice to escape their daily commute.

Workers said they would be willing to sacrifice $3,220 to avoid the I-80, I-580, I-880 connection, Mercury News reported.

The poll noted the amount of money workers were willing to sacrifice which didn’t even include the dough they would save on gas and wear and tear on their car.

It was simply based on how much they would hypothetically be willing to give up to get that time back in their lives each day.

The portion of US 101-Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles, connecting the City of Angeles to the San Fernando Valley, came in as a close second, at $3,112 to avoid the nightmare area.

Taking the third place spot was the part of the I-405 through Sepulveda Pass, connecting the west side of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Workers said they would give up a little more than $3,000 to skip this part of their commute everyday.

The online survey, which was taken in July 2026, also found 46% of those polled said they were willing to turn down a job if the commute to work was going to be too hard or long. 

The emotional toll a stressful commute can garner was one of the greatest costs for one-third of those who responded. 

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However, the city with the worst traffic in the US, is still held by LA, where Angelenos are spending more than a full workday –– 8 hours and 27 minutes –– in traffic every week.

“It may be the City of Angels, but traffic in Los Angeles can be downright devilish,” reads the latest report by Consumer Affairs that ranked America’s 50 most populous cities on commute times, traffic congestion and fatal crash rates. LA climbed up from last year’s No. 2 rank on the list.

Angelenos are spending 36 minutes more per week than last year stuck in traffic, with an average daily commute time of around 30 minutes –– the sixth highest daily commute in the US.

The same report placed San Francisco as having the fourth-worst traffic in the country. Drivers in the Bay Area spend an average of  5 hours and 56 minutes in congestion each week.