Origin
San Jose, CA
Late night in San Jose on Tuesday
Local time
5:52 AM
PDT
Current temp
49°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from San Jose, CA to Union City, CA
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
30m
Distance
23 mi
37 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$5
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 28m
★
6 AM
0h 31m
8 AM
0h 36m
10 AM
0h 32m
12 PM
0h 32m
3 PM
0h 33m
5 PM
0h 36m
8 PM
0h 29m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
San Jose, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Union City, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Stretching just 23.3 miles, this quick trip from San Jose to Union City is an ideal day outing that typically takes about 30 minutes to complete. You will navigate primarily via Coleman Avenue and I-880 North, also known as the Nimitz Freeway, to reach your destination within the Pacific Coast region. Because the journey is so short, you certainly won't need an overnight stay, making it a perfect candidate for a flexible, single-day excursion. Budgeting about $3 for fuel should be plenty to cover the transit between these two California cities. It is a straightforward, practical route that prioritizes efficiency over sightseeing, allowing you to move between these urban hubs with minimal planning.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Nimitz Freeway | 10 mi | 11m |
| I 880 | 8.5 mi | 9m |
| Alvarado Boulevard | 2.1 mi | 4m |
| Coleman Avenue | 1.4 mi | 2m |
| Union City Boulevard | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| Cambridge Way | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Fremont Boulevard | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| North Market Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Nimitz Freeway
— 10 mi, about 11m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between San Jose, CA and Union City, CA.
1
Start on North Market Street
196 ft
·
8 sec
·
North Market Street
2
Continue on Coleman Avenue
1.4 mi
·
2 min
·
Coleman Avenue
Use the straight lane.
3
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
42 sec
Toward I 880 North: Oakland
Use the right lane.
4
Merge onto I 880
8.5 mi
·
9 min
·
I 880
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
5
Keep slight right at fork onto I 880
10.0 mi
·
11 min
·
Nimitz Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
24 sec
Exit 22
Toward Alvarado Boulevard, Fremont Boulevard North
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Turn left onto Fremont Boulevard
227 ft
·
9 sec
·
Fremont Boulevard
Use the left / straight lanes.
8
Continue on Alvarado Boulevard
2.1 mi
·
4 min
·
Alvarado Boulevard
Use the left lane.
9
Turn right onto Union City Boulevard
0.3 mi
·
38 sec
·
Union City Boulevard
Use the right lane.
10
Turn left onto Cambridge Way
246 ft
·
10 sec
·
Cambridge Way
Use the left lane.
11
Arrive at destination
Cambridge Way
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 75 decision points cluster between mile 1.5 and 23 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
1.5 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Take the ramp toward I 880 North: Oakland
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Toward I 880 North: Oakland
6
10.3 mi into trip
|
~13m in
|
I 880 / Nimitz Freeway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 880 / Nimitz Freeway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
20.3 mi into trip
|
~24m in
Take the exit toward Alvarado Boulevard, Fremont Boulevard North
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 22
Toward Alvarado Boulevard, Fremont Boulevard No...
6
22.7 mi into trip
|
~29m in
|
Union City Boulevard
Turn right onto Union City Boulevard
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
6
23 mi into trip
|
~30m in
|
Cambridge Way
Turn left onto Cambridge Way
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$5.29 one way
$10.57 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
8 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $5.45 | $10.90 |
| premium | $6.18 | $5.59 | $11.19 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $5.08 | $10.16 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$5
Estimated CO2 emission: 8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 6.9 | 0 | $2.41 | $1.10 |
| Efficient EV | 5.8 | 0 | $2.01 | $0.92 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 9.2 | 0 | $3.22 | $1.47 |
Gas CO2
8 kg
EV CO2
3 kg (63% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Union City, CA
Late night in Union City on Tuesday
Local time
5:52 AM
PDT
Current temp
52°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
3 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
30m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive that transitions quickly into a high-traffic interstate environment. You will spend your initial time navigating the local streets of San Jose, where the longest stretch of road is a brief segment on Coleman Avenue before you merge onto the Nimitz Freeway. While the highway share is technically listed at 0 percent, you will rely heavily on I-880 North as your primary corridor to head north. The character of this drive is functional and utilitarian, lacking long, uninterrupted stretches of open road. Behind the wheel, you should prepare for a steady pace as you navigate the transition from city surface streets onto the arterial flow of the I-880 corridor.
80% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
11 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 10 mi on Nimitz Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
6/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Nimitz Freeway and I 880. You will hit about 7 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 1.5 miles in.
Driving Effort
6/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 23 miles you will encounter 7 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 1.5 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 10.3 miles (I 880 / Nimitz Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 20.3 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from San Jose, CA to Union City, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Fremont Boulevard North along the way.
Fremont Boulevard North
20.3 mi in
|
~24m
About the Cities
Starting in San Jose, CA
Full guide →Founded 1777
Often called "the capital of Silicon Valley", San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area, 3rd largest in California, and the 12th largest city in the United States, with a population of over 997,000 residents as of 2024. It was named the 6th safest big city in the U.S. in 2015. This clean, sprawling metropolis has sports, beautiful vistas, and ethnic enclaves and bleeds into the greater Bay Area for travelers who want to take their time in Northern California.
Top landmarks
- • Winchester Mystery House — Mansion in San Jose, California.
- • San Jose Diridon station — railway station complex in San Jose, California
- • Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum — building in San Jose, California, United States
Arriving in Union City, CA
Full guide →Union City is a city of 70,000 people (in 2020) in the southern part of the East Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area region of California. It is bordered to the north by the city of Hayward and to the south by the city of Fremont. It is part of the Tri-Cities area, which consists of Union City, Fremont, and Newark.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 30m. Total distance: 23 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
30m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (80%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 10 miles on Nimitz Freeway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Union City, CA before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 1.5 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 10.3 miles (I 880 / Nimitz Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 20.3 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes — San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Union City, CA before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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