Kern County, California Population 2024

910,889

Kern County, California's estimated 2024 population is 910,889 with a growth rate of -0.32% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Kern County, California is the 11th largest county in California. The 2010 population was 841,365 and has seen a growth of 8.26% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
2029896,234-2,931-0.33%
2028899,165-2,931-0.32%
2027902,096-2,931-0.32%
2026905,027-2,931-0.32%
2025907,958-2,931-0.32%
2024910,889-2,931-0.32%
2023913,820-2,931-0.32%
2022916,7514,0420.44%
2021912,7096,7990.75%
2020905,9107,0120.78%
2019898,8985,2800.59%
2018893,6186,3020.71%
2017887,3166,2220.71%
2016881,0944,5460.52%
2015876,5486,7110.77%
2014869,8377,1100.82%
2013862,7278,3350.98%
2012854,3925,7410.68%
2011848,6517,2860.87%
2010841,36500%
1990543,477140,38834.83%
1980403,08973,92722.46%
1970329,16237,17812.73%
1960291,98463,67527.89%
1950228,30993,18568.96%
1940135,12452,55463.65%
193082,57027,72750.56%
192054,84317,12845.41%
191037,71521,235128.85%
190016,4806,67268.03%
18909,8084,20775.11%
18805,6012,67691.49%
18702,925-893,309-99.67%
2024 Growth Rate
-0.32% (-2,931)
County Website
Kern County
County Seat
Bakersfield
2020 Population
905,910
Area
8135 mi²
Density
112 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
0.55% (4,979)

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White509,03956.13%
Two or more races154,00316.98%
Other race140,34415.48%
Black or African American46,9155.17%
Asian44,9044.95%
Native American9,9701.1%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander1,7080.19%

White

Two or more races

Other race

Black or African American

Asian

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Kern County, California Population by Race

Kern County, California Population Pyramid 2024

Kern County, California Median Age

32.2

Total

31.8

Male

32.7

Female

Kern County, California Adults

There are 645,870 adults, (102,703 of whom are seniors) in Kern County, California.

Kern County, California Age Dependency

67

Age Dependency Ratio

18.9

Old Age Dependency Ratio

48.1

Child Dependency Ratio

Kern County, California Sex Ratio

Female442,79048.83%
Male464,09351.17%

Kern County, California Population by Age

Kern County, California Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All277,4993.1759.640.4
Married138,9023.8271.328.7
Non Family71,8101.2750.649.4
Female44,9523.9541.558.5
Male21,8353.6752.147.9

3.69

Average Family Size

3.17

Average Household Size

59.6%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Kern County, California Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade58,70110.61%
Associates Degree43,3597.84%
Bachelors Degree66,94012.1%
Graduate Degree34,4316.22%
High School Graduate151,80127.43%
Less Than 9th Grade71,05512.84%
Some College127,04722.96%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Kern County, California Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Kern County, California Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
Hispanic269,005168,82325,832
White208,908190,09554,552
2+ Races83,69957,60411,260
Other Race79,53449,7227,486
Asian31,04826,53212,411
Black27,70823,2654,734
Native American6,9575,079869
Islander1,041967132

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 92.89%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 39.97%.

Kern County, California Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$65,229$78,773$53,760
Graduate Degree$93,925$108,136$83,816
High School Graduate$34,446$42,210$26,579
Less Than 9th Grade$26,211$30,450$19,554
Overall$39,467$46,685$31,317
Some College$40,929$54,438$31,905

$39,467

Average Earnings

$46,685

Average Male

$31,317

Average Female

Kern County, California Earnings by Educational Attainment

Kern County, California Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Kern County, California Language

55.16% of Kern County, California residents speak only English, while 44.84% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 39.41% of the population.

Kern County, California Language

Kern County, California Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
Hispanic488,800106,75221.84%
White279,38839,33114.08%
Multiple149,72829,58119.76%
Other136,18828,92621.24%
Black41,64412,54130.11%
Asian44,3395,49412.39%
Native9,6642,09421.67%
Islander1,66128016.86%

19.29%

Overall Poverty Rate

17.36%

Male Poverty Rate

21.24%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Kern County, California

The race most likely to be in poverty in Kern County, California is Black, with 30.11% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Kern County, California is Asian, with 12.39% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 4.09%. Among those working part-time, it was 17.03%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 28.22%.

Kern County, California Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade26.92%
High School16.61%
Some College13.45%
Bachelors or Greater5.57%

Kern County, California Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed31.88%
Male Unemployed28.11%
Female Employed10.29%
Male Employed6.94%

Kern County, California Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Kern County, California Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$71,065$96,045
Households$63,883$87,915
Married Families$89,730$114,492
Non Families$35,201$54,717

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Kern County, California Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

45.2%

Overall Marriage Rate

45.6%

Male Marriage Rate

44.8%

Female Marriage Rate

Kern County, California Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Kern County, California Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 55-64, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

Kern County, California Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Kern County, California Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

34,212

Number of Veterans

31,136

Male Veterans

3,076

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam11,291
Second Gulf War9,243
First Gulf War8,078
Korea1,754
World War II355

Kern County, California Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
35 to 548,407
65 to 748,268
75+7,598
55 to 645,781
18 to 344,158

Kern County, California Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White24,9166.75%
Hispanic7,7642.35%
2+ Races2,9772.94%
Other Race2,5292.62%
Black2,2826.87%
Asian1,0343%
Native American3864.97%
Islander887.12%

Kern County, California Veterans by Race

Kern County, California Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

9.3%

Veteran Poverty Rate

30.04%

Veteran Disability Rate

Kern County, California Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

58.5%

Labor Force Participation

53.2%

Employment Rate

8.4%

Unemployment Rate

Kern County, California Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Kern County, California Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Kern County, California Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

67.69%

Born in Kern County, California

80.3%

Native Born

19.7%

Foreign Born

11.94%

Non Citizen

7.75%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

80.3% of Kern County, California residents were born in the United States, with 67.69% having been born in California. 11.94% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Kern County, California Place of Birth

Sources