Kern County, California

Kern County has a population of 915,075 and has grown 2.0% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $338,300, about 4.8 times the county's median household income of $70,210.

Home price
$338,300
Income
$70,210
Population
915,075
Unemployment
8.6%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$338,300county
Median gross rent$1,300county
Median year homes here were built1984county
Share of homes built before 198043.0%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile7.6%county
Share of homes that are vacant7.2%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented39.9%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use2.1%county
Typical monthly rent$1,776county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,483county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,140county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$2,062county
Home insurance / yr$1,616(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living142.3(statewide)
Median household income$70,210county
Family health premium / yr$24,143(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$21,945(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$5.593(statewide)
Poverty rate19.1%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home7.5%county
Unemployment rate8.6%county
Share of adults in the labor force58.8%county
Share of workers who are self-employed6.6%county
Share of workers employed by government18.2%county
Share of workers in the largest industry22.7%county
Economic output per resident$68,923county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate0.88%county
Top state income tax13.30%(statewide)
Capital gains tax13.30%(statewide)
Combined sales tax9.03%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time24.4 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service7.9 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport195148county
Miles to nearest general aviation field4.4 micounty
Airports with airline service located here1county
General aviation airfields located here14county
Passenger train stations and the railway network2county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station3.7 micounty
Households without a vehicle6.7%county
Traffic deaths52.7county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-1.8(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher18.8%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher77.0%county
Public schools in the county271county
Public school enrollment197431county
Students per full-time teacher22.4county
Free lunch eligible75.7%county
Elementary schools164county
Middle schools47county
High schools48county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above4county
Share of local colleges that are public57.1%county
Two-year institutions3county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution3.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians48county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county10county
Hospitals here with an emergency department8county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here2county
Fine particulate matter21.1 µgcounty
Without health insurance7.8%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year26.8%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year25.6%county
Frequent mental distress18.8%county
No leisure-time physical activity30.5%county
Diagnosed diabetes12.8%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population915,075county
Land area in square miles8,135county
People per square mile of land112.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores196county
Convenience stores88county
Share living far from a food store11.7%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract11.9%county
Population change since 2020+2.0%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents5county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents1county
Median age32.7 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1828.6%county
Share of residents 65 and over11.9%county
Share of households that are one person20.6%county
Share of residents born outside the United States20.2%county
Second languages45.7%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls45.6%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents68county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-3county
Households that moved in12,379county
Households that moved away13,668county
Average income of arriving households$55,079county
Average income of departing households$62,419county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes10county
Housing units authorised in the latest year3,159county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings11.6%county
Violent crime rate486(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature63.5°Fcounty
Annual precipitation11.7 incounty
Annual snowfall1.8 incounty
Average daily solar energy5.39 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F90 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing9 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 7bcounty
Frost-free days239 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMar 23county
Average first fall frostNov 16county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$181county
Electric utilities serving this county2county
Electricity price per kWh36.0¢county
Household electricity use503 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$20.81(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity31.2%county
Homes heated by utility gas58.9%county
Homes heated by propane3.7%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.1%county
Homes heated by wood1.5%county
Households with broadband91.6%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk98.5county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk94.5county
Landslide risk98.5county
Hail risk67.7county
Earthquake risk99.4county
Tornado risk19.8county
Tropical cyclone risk0.0county
Extreme heat risk99.5county
Winter weather risk82.2county
Strong wind risk46.0county
Wildfire risk99.7county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here1county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Kern County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the California figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

Similar counties in California

Compare Kern with anywhere else

Put this county side by side with any other in the country, or weight the factors that matter to you and rank all 50 states.

Open Kern in the map