Kern County, CA
Migration of people and income, 2022–2023 filing years
At a glance (2023)
Cost of living is the metro-area price level for Bakersfield-Delano, CA.
The cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. The median home is valued at $310,600 (nominal). Home prices have risen about 56% over the five years to 2023. Median rent is about $1,220 a month. Unemployment averaged 8.1% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $67,660. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.
Between the 2022 and 2023 filing years, Kern County, CA saw a net loss of 1,289 tax-filing households and a net loss of 1,426 individuals. Against a population of about 913,820, that is a net outflow of about 1.6 per 1,000 residents. On net, the area lost $171.3M in associated adjusted gross income (AGI, nominal dollars). The largest inflow, about 3,797 households, came from Los Angeles County; the largest outflow, about 2,034 households, went to Los Angeles County. In the prior (2022) filing year, the area saw a net loss of 2,454 individuals. These figures cover federal income tax filers only and do not indicate why people moved.
-1.6 net people per 1,000 residents (population 913,820)
Income (AGI) in and out
Kern County within California
Kern County is outlined, with arrows tracing its largest moves to and from other California counties. Hover any county for its figures; click to open it.
Where movers came from
- 1Los Angeles County, CA3,797$205M
- 2Tulare County, CA533$24.2M
- 3Ventura County, CA489$30.1M
- 4San Bernardino County, CA475$23M
- 5Orange County, CA452$27.7M
- 6Fresno County, CA352$19.4M
- 7San Diego County, CA346$21.8M
- 8Riverside County, CA320$14.5M
- 9Clark County, NV263$16.4M
- 10Santa Barbara County, CA180$9.4M
Where movers went
- 1Los Angeles County, CA2,034$105.8M
- 2Tulare County, CA512$24.3M
- 3San Diego County, CA441$25.2M
- 4San Bernardino County, CA382$15.6M
- 5Orange County, CA380$25.9M
- 6Clark County, NV379$19.1M
- 7Fresno County, CA338$16.1M
- 8Riverside County, CA331$19.4M
- 9Ventura County, CA290$19.5M
- 10San Luis Obispo County, CA267$25.6M
Churn by county · both directions at once
The biggest two-way exchanges of filing households, 2022–2023. Moved in and moved out are gross one-way counts; net is the difference. Click a column to sort.
| Los Angeles County, CA | 3,797 | 2,034 | +1,763 | +$99.2M |
| Tulare County, CA | 533 | 512 | +21 | -$70K |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 475 | 382 | +93 | +$7.4M |
| Orange County, CA | 452 | 380 | +72 | +$1.8M |
| San Diego County, CA | 346 | 441 | -95 | -$3.4M |
| Ventura County, CA | 489 | 290 | +199 | +$10.6M |
| Fresno County, CA | 352 | 338 | +14 | +$3.3M |
| Riverside County, CA | 320 | 331 | -11 | -$5M |
| Clark County, NV | 263 | 379 | -116 | -$2.7M |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 169 | 267 | -98 | -$15M |
| Maricopa County, AZ | 143 | 260 | -117 | -$8.7M |
| Sacramento County, CA | 162 | 184 | -22 | -$1.1M |
Counts are filing households (IRS returns), matching the lists above; income is nominal AGI. A dash means the IRS published only one direction of that exchange (small flows are suppressed), so no net is computed.
Net migration by year
| Year | Net AGI | Net people |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -$30.2M | +2,014 |
| 2013 | -$228.8M | -1,393 |
| 2014 | -$76.3M | -1,161 |
| 2015 | -$77.2M | -574 |
| 2016 | -$135.9M | -1,603 |
| 2017 | -$187.1M | -970 |
| 2018 | -$130.6M | +1,124 |
| 2019 | -$135.1M | +1,266 |
| 2020 | -$135.7M | +719 |
| 2021 | -$164.4M | +1,619 |
| 2022 | -$266.6M | -2,454 |
| 2023 | -$171.3M | -1,426 |
How big is this move, relative to the county?
In the 2022–2023 filing year, about 1,426 more people left Kern County, CA than moved in (counting tax filers and their dependents) — a net loss of about $171.3M in income (nominal) — in a county of 917,599 people.
The rate lets you compare Kern County, CA with a countyof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.
Components of population change · 2023 (Census)
Where the county’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.
What a dollar is worth here
Prices around Kern County, CA run about 2% above the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $98 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.
Cost of living shown for the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro area (BEA publishes price parities by metro, not by county).
Where the cost comes from · price parity by category
Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.
Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.
The people of Kern County, CA
American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).
White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.
Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)
A repeat-sales index (how much the same homes changed in price), so it tracks the market over time rather than the current level. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual all-transactions HPI; the county series is FHFA’s developmental index.
Units authorized by residential building permits (new supply), summed from counties for the state and U.S. Permits are authorizations, not completions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.
Jobs and natural hazards
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this county, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.
Elections
National maps →How Kern County, CA has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 108,241 | 167,879 | 7,126 | R +21.1 | 283,246 |
| 2020 | 133,366 | 164,484 | 7,442 | R +10.2 | 305,292 |
| 2016 | 98,689 | 129,584 | 15,890 | R +12.7 | 244,163 |
| 2012 | 89,495 | 126,618 | 5,359 | R +16.8 | 221,472 |
| 2008 | 93,457 | 134,793 | 4,600 | R +17.8 | 232,850 |
| 2004 | 68,603 | 140,417 | 1,838 | R +34.1 | 210,858 |
| 2000 | 66,003 | 110,663 | 5,642 | R +24.5 | 182,308 |
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.
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