Best Time to Drive from Oakland to Sacramento

Right now (10:18 am PDT): about 77 minutes via I-80 East, usually 83 at this time.

Only 46% of this drive is measured by working traffic sensors right now. The rest is estimated from nearby sensors, typical speeds and street traffic, so times can be off. Why so few sensors work.

About this drive

On weekdays the 82-mile drive from Oakland to Sacramento (via I-80 East) usually takes as little as 73 minutes and up to 128 minutes, when leaving around 3 pm on Fridays. The fastest times to leave are before 9:30 am or after 7 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 86 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 1:30 pm on Saturdays (95 minutes).

About 81 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 1.3 miles surface streets (2 to 6 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from downtown Oakland (Broadway) to downtown Sacramento (the Capitol) (9th Street) along the route on the map. Starting or ending elsewhere in a big city can add or save several minutes.

Simulated from typical freeway speeds at each point of the drive for the time you would reach it, from every 5-minute reading we have recorded. We don't have sensors on surface streets yet, so the time on them is estimated from how congested the freeways around each end of the drive are at that time, in both directions: streets jam when the freeways do.

Questions

What is the best time to drive from Oakland to Sacramento?

On weekdays, leave before 9:30 am or after 7 pm. The drive usually takes about 73 minutes then, versus up to 128 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Oakland to Sacramento?

The 82-mile drive usually takes 73 to 128 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 86 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Oakland to Sacramento?

Leaving around 3 pm on Fridays is usually slowest, about 128 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-80 East in Bay Area (50 miles) · I-80 East in Sacramento (22 miles) · US-50 East in Sacramento (3 miles) · I-980 East in Bay Area (1.6 miles) · I-580 East in Bay Area (1.5 miles) · I-5 North in Sacramento (1 mile)

Bay Area traffic right now · Bay Area traffic tomorrow · Sacramento traffic right now · Sacramento traffic tomorrow

More drives

Sacramento to Oakland (return trip) · Oakland to San Jose · Oakland to Palo Alto · Oakland to Fremont · Oakland to Walnut Creek · Oakland to San Mateo · Oakland to Hayward · Oakland to Mountain View · Oakland to Pleasanton · Oakland to Santa Clara · Oakland to Richmond · Oakland to SFO

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