Official Federal Data
Kern County, California
FIPS 06029 · Bakersfield-Delano, CA · Population 915,075
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$70,210 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
9% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$63.1B ▲
GDP
18.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$70,210 ▲
Per Capita
$29,699 ▲
Mean Household
$93,147 ▲
Poverty Rate
19.1% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Kern County$70,210
California$99,122
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 28.6%
18-34 · 24.9%
35-54 · 24.4%
55-64 · 10.3%
65+ · 11.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
77%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 12.6 pts
18.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 16.9 pts
6.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 7.6 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
915,075
Population
402,783
Labor Force
Employed
365,769
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
9% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 2 min below national avg
24.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.5%
Key Takeaways
- Elevated poverty: At 19.1%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 16.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Young population: Median age of 33 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting employs 50,780 workers (21.2% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $40,322.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $63.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $87,243 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $29,506, a 3.0x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
87,092
Cluster Employment
1.73x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
46.55x 39,332
Crop Production
8.08x 9,520
Support Activities for Mining
7.35x 4,360
Oil and Gas Extraction
4.22x 1,098
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
3.25x 793
Animal Production and Aquaculture
3.18x 1,911
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
2.87x 1,203
Warehousing and Storage
2.20x 9,301
Truck Transportation
1.74x 5,723
1.73x 87,092
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.07x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
139 employed
0.10x
Paper Manufacturing
80 employed
0.10x
Primary Metal Manufacturing
83 employed
0.10x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
247 employed
0.19x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
186 employed
0.20x
Machinery Manufacturing
474 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry concentrates at 46.55x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$338,300 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,300 ▲
Rent/Mo
60.1% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.2% ▼
Vacancy
4.8x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,132/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,140/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,483/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,062/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,488/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,755/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.8x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,755/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
545,025 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 2 min below national avg
24.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.5%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
71.5%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
18.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
77% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
77,028/yr
15,215/yr
14,884/yr
12,110/yr
12,064/yr
11,468/yr
11,287/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
17.2%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
29.9%
Service
18.9%
Sales & Office
18.3%
Construction / Maint.
17.6%
Production / Transport
15.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 365,769 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 42,209 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Kern County shows strong potential for support activities for agriculture and forestry attraction, with a 46.55x concentration and 39,332 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across support activities for agriculture and forestry, crop production, and support activities for mining creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Kern County, California, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Kern County, California?
915,075 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Kern County, California?
$70,210 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Kern County, California?
9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Kern County, California?
$63.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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