SoCal's Brutal Commutes Not As Bad For The Rich: Report

Southern California’s housing affordability crisis has costs beyond high rent and mortgage payments, according to a recent report from the Los Angeles Times, which detailed how long and expensive commutes disproportionately affect those living in cheaper areas across the region.

The pandemic only made things worse because the work-from-home option tends to be more available to higher-income workers.

“Far-flung suburbs offer significantly cheaper housing than core areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, but they have far fewer jobs,” the Times reported. “And that is what is driving the hellish commutes.”

Census data revealed that from 2016 to 2020, 60,000 more commuters were driving from Riverside County to Orange County daily compared to motorists traveling the opposite direction, while about 16,000 more commuters drove from homes in Los Angeles County to work centers in Orange County, according to the Times. The difference during the same years was 24,000 commuters going to Orange County from San Bernardino County vs. the other way around, the newspaper reported.

Riverside County drivers bound for Los Angeles County from 2016 to 2020 numbered 40,000 more than motorists going the opposite direction, and for San Bernardino County, the number of drivers heading into Los Angeles County was 70,000 more than those leaving it, according to the Times.

Within Los Angeles County, commutes are particularly long in the San Fernando Valley and South Los Angeles, the newspaper reported.

But what about those with no commute?

As of 2022, median annual earnings for California residents who work mainly from home come in around $80,000, about $30,000 more than those who drive to work alone, according to the newspaper.

The paper did find a silver lining in the data, however.

Rush hour commute times during the pandemic declined overall thanks to the increase in remote work and flexible hours. It being SoCal traffic, there was, naturally, a catch: though congestion is less severe during rush hour, it's more spread out throughout the day.

Read more from the Times.