Why Uber and Other Tech Companies Are Spreading Across the Bay to Oakland

The Northern California counties that lie across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco have missed out on much of the technology boom. In 2014, tech employment increased 21 percent in San Francisco, to 59,000 jobs, and 4 percent, to 50,000 jobs combined, in the neighboring counties of Contra Costa and Alameda. About half of Alameda County residents, including those living in Oakland, commute beyond it to work and most cross the San Francisco Bay to get to their tech jobs, because average San Francisco apartment rents have climbed above $3,000 a month, 40 percent higher than rents in the East Bay. Highways, bridges, Bay Area Rapid Transit trains, and ferries are nearing capacity.

Simply put: “We have overrun the infrastructure,” says Carl Bass, chief executive officer at business software maker Autodesk, which has 8,000 employees spread across several Bay Area offices. “With San Francisco becoming super-crowded and super-expensive, Oakland is now a real alternative.”