Bakersfield, California had 422,165 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #47 nationally and #9 in California. cost of living runs 0.9% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $96,521/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID0603526
Last build2026-05-29
At a glance.
2025 population
422,165
Census Vintage 2025
Median HH income
$80,540
+3.6% vs US $77,719
Median home value
$371,700
+22.5% vs US $303,400
Avg July high
99°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
27%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Unemployment
6.3%
Bakersfield · BLS LAUS
Key statistics.
2025 population
422,165
Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
2020 base
404,362
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+17,803
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+4.4%
Within V2025 only
1-yr change
+2,821
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.7%
Within V2025 only
Density
2,806
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
150.4
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#47
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#9
of 483 in California
Population history.
Population grew 4.4% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 404,362 → 2025: 422,165 (+4.4%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
404,362
April 1, 2020
2020
405,185
July 1, 2020
2021
409,522
July 1, 2021
2022
412,848
July 1, 2022
2023
415,043
July 1, 2023
2024
419,344
July 1, 2024
2025
422,165
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 10.4% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 347,817 → 2019: 384,145 (+10.1%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
347,817
April 1, 2010
2010
348,987
July 1, 2010
2011
353,221
July 1, 2011
2012
357,312
July 1, 2012
2013
362,834
July 1, 2013
2014
366,954
July 1, 2014
2015
371,348
July 1, 2015
2016
374,699
July 1, 2016
2017
377,940
July 1, 2017
2018
381,714
July 1, 2018
2019
384,145
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Bakersfield?
Median household income is 4% above the U.S. median ($80,540 vs $77,719); 16.3% live in poverty — 3.8 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Bakersfield from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
80,540+3.6% vs US
±2,119
Per capita income
33,405-22.8% vs US
±840
Population in poverty
16.3%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 23% above the U.S. median ($371,700 vs $303,400); median rent is 9% above ($1,472 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 4.6×, making it 1.2× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Bakersfield. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
6.3%
Bakersfield (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
193,217
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
8.2%-41.8% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Bakersfield sits in Kern County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Kern County
18.6%
$71,295
8.6%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Bakersfield's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (11)
57,718
$737 / wk
#2
Health care and social assistance (62)
47,178
$1,056 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
31,905
$786 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
26,656
$545 / wk
#5
Transportation and warehousing (48-49)
17,844
$1,347 / wk
What workers earn in the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
34,210
$35,090
$16.87
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
14,550
$33,430
$16.07
Fast Food and Counter Workers
9,400
$36,440
$17.52
Cashiers
8,550
$34,730
$16.70
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
8,290
$46,800
$22.50
Stockers and Order Fillers
5,560
$38,370
$18.45
Office Clerks, General
5,160
$44,610
$21.45
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
7,380
$57,600
$27.69
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
5,630
$35,190
$16.92
Registered Nurses · benchmark
5,410
$127,510
$61.30
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run within 1 point of the U.S. average (RPP 100.9); utilities stand out at RPP 158.3 (58.3% above the U.S. average).
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 100.9
+0.9% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,483/mo
FY2026 · Bakersfield-Delano, CA MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
12.30%
9 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,043/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,500/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in California · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
20.2% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (35.8% of residents 5+).
Where Bakersfield's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
20.2%+44.1% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
55.7%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish35.8%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
14 districts serve Bakersfield, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts. Expand the list below to see every district sorted primary first. See methodology §12.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What's the climate like in Bakersfield?
Hottest month: July (99°F avg high). Coldest: December (39°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 7.1 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Bakersfield from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 98.9/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Wildfire (99.7).
Natural-hazard exposure for Bakersfield from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Kern County
98.9
Relatively High
Wildfire · score 99.7 · Relatively High
Heat Wave · score 99.5 · Relatively High
Earthquake · score 99.4 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
17 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 27% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Bakersfield from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
17 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
11
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
26.8%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
26.7%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
149,334
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Bakersfield sits at state rank #9 among 483 cities in California. Nearby in the state ranking:
Bakersfield is ranked #47 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Minneapolis, MN · #46 · 430,324 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Tulsa, OK · #48 · 416,209 residents.
Quick travel facts for Bakersfield
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Meadows Field(BFL) ·
6 mi 9 km from city centroid
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Bakersfield is 0603526. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
