Record numbers of Northern San Joaquin Valley residents cross county lines to get to work, according to Census Bureau data released today.

But don't blame the Bay Area. Many workers simply trek north to jobs in other valley towns.

Most Stanislaus County commuters, for instance, don't make it to the Altamont Pass. They work in San Joaquin County.

Most Merced County commuters, likewise, never weave through Pacheco Pass. Their jobs are in Stanislaus County.

But no matter where they wind up, more and more valley residents head out of their home counties to work. The trend is the same in Tuolumne, Calaveras and Mariposa counties.

In 1990, fewer than 17 percent of the valley's workers had jobs outside their counties. In 2000, that number topped 20 percent, according to statistics gathered during Census 2000.

The biggest boost was in Merced County, where out-of-county commuting increased from 15 percent in 1990 to 25 percent in 2000.

Willie Mixon joined the Merced County commute during the '90s. He leaves his Merced home just after dawn each morning and heads north to Modesto.

"Usually it's pretty smooth sailing until I hit Turlock, and then the slowdowns occur," said Mixon, who works for the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency.

Mixon gets stuck in the southbound pack heading home every evening.

"Right at 5 p.m., it's kind of tough to get on the freeway," he said. "Getting home takes probably about an hour, and 15 minutes of it is just trying to get to the freeway."

The Census Bureau's commute data demonstrate the need to address the valley's traffic problems, said Gary Dickson, executive director of the Stanislaus Council of Governments.

"Statistics like these just emphasize the economic interdependence of these counties," Dickson said. "We see these numbers, and we see the outcome of them, which is increased traffic volume on Highway 99 and roads like Lander Avenue."

One reason for the commute, Dickson said, is that Merced County's lower-priced housing attracts people with jobs in Stanislaus County.

Likewise, those with jobs in San Joaquin County are lured by lower-priced Stanislaus County homes, according to Mike Locke, chief executive officer of the San Joaquin Partnership, a private nonprofit economic development agency in Stockton.

Commuters' choice: Less house or longer drive

Home prices drop about $5,000 per mile for every mile farther from the Bay Area houses are located, so Stanislaus County homes are more affordable than those in San Joaquin County, Locke said.

In January, the median home sales price -- half sold for more and half for less -- was $302,000 in Tracy, $250,000 in Manteca and $195,000 in Modesto, according to the Central Valley Association of Realtors.

"It's only a 25-minute drive to San Joaquin County," Locke said. "It's worth the thousands they save in housing for them to live in Stanislaus County and work in San Joaquin."

Michael Brinton, who resides in Modesto and works in Manteca, can attest to that.

"We have considered moving," Brinton said, "but it costs more to live in Manteca. The price of homes is much higher, even though it's just a few miles up 99."

Brinton, who is Manteca's public works director, said his morning drive takes "30 to 35 minutes," as long as he leaves by 7:15 a.m. But if he gets out the door late, traffic through Modesto eats up an extra 10 minutes or so.

Increasing numbers of commuters endure such northbound traffic these days because San Joaquin County's economy is booming.

In 2002, 10 light-industrial companies opened or expanded in San Joaquin County, creating 1,400 new jobs.

MetroPark Laundry, which opened in Stockton last year, has about 400 employees -- including 80 Stanislaus County residents, plus others from Merced County.

"We get 'em from all over the place," said Judy Jasperson, MetroPark's controller. She said her company's work force is unionized, with wages ranging from $7.25 to about $17 an hour.

Job opportunities tend to improve the farther up the valley you go, according to Carletta Evans Steele, manager at the state Employment Development Department office in Modesto.

"Typically, we're seeing bigger corporations in San Joaquin County," Steele said. "There is more tech in San Joaquin County, and anything in the import-export field (because of the Port of Stockton) is a big magnet there. We don't have anything like that in Stanislaus County."

Steele said San Joaquin County also has a much more sophisticated distribution-center industry.

"I don't think it's a single kind of job" that lures workers north, said Steele, adding that Stanislaus County commuters "might end up leaving San Joaquin County for the same kind of job here when it becomes available."

Attracting comparable jobs to Stanislaus County is one of Bill Bassitt's goals as chief executive officer of the Stanislaus Economic Development and Workforce Alliance.

But Bassitt said commuting isn't new, unusual or necessarily bad.

"People aren't concerned whether they work in Stanislaus or San Joaquin County," Bassitt said. "They'll go where the job is. People will go everywhere to find the job that matches their skills."

Some people, Bassitt said, overreact about having to commute, but "that's consistent with the rural nature of the county. Around the rest of the country, it's nothing to drive 40 to 50 miles one way to work."

In fact, the census data show that the percentage of Northern San Joaquin Valley workers who commute to other counties is about average for California.

Stanislaus County ranks dead-center -- 29th among the 58 counties -- when it comes to the percentage of workers who commute (20.9 percent).

That's not the case, however, in Calaveras County, where 41.2 percent of workers are employed outside the county. Only seven California counties have a higher percentage of commuters.

San Benito County has the most, with 48.5 percent of its workers employed elsewhere. The fewest out-of-county workers are in Humboldt -- 2 percent -- and San Diego -- 3.5 percent.

Bee staff writers Jeff Jardine, Bob White, John Holland and Patty Guerra contributed to this report.

Reprinted by permission of the Modesto Bee.