AreaProfile

Bakersfield-Delano, CA

Metro Area Profile

915,075 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metropolitan area.

49
Area Score
Bottom 6% of 361 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity316th of 361 published metros36
GrowthTop 48% of 440 published metros52
Housing affordability365th of 441 published metros70
ClimateTop 45% of 441 published metros69
Physical resilience411th of 441 published metros15
AccessTop 33% of 441 published metros92
Economic stability332nd of 441 published metros41
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 8.8% and the Opportunity signal places Bakersfield-Delano in the bottom 13%.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 22% of median household income.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave.

At a glance

Population
915,075
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$70,210
Top 41% nationally
Density
112/sq mi
8134.7 sq mi of land
Median age
32.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
Nearest major airport
BFL
19 mi · Meadows Fld
Median home value
$338,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 8.8% is lower than 1% of the 361 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.1% over the past year, to 370,080 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,287$70,210Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$507$29,699Bottom 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate19.1%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.6 minTop 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher18.8%Bottom 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment370,080Top 21%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.4%Top 49%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.1%Top 33%June 2026
Labor force405,667Top 20%June 2026
Labor force participation58.8%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$64,650Top 30%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,470Bottom 45%2025 OEWS
Metro employment338,230Top 20%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.6%Bottom 11%June 2026
Unemployment rate8.8%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/06116.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 8.8% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Bakersfield-Delano, CA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse32,500$34,620
Home Health and Personal Care Aides17,270$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers9,180$39,470
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand8,440$46,890
Cashiers8,350$35,220
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers7,050$57,690

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,300 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
22.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$338,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.82Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate60.1%Bottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±246306,999Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$21$1,300Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,944$338,300Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.2%Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.2%Bottom 18%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
52/ 100
Top 48% of 440 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 922,529 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 3% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
3,215
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.5
Top 47% nationally
Year over year
+5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
2.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024923k906k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 98°F and January a low of 41°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 6.4 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BAKERSFIELD AP, 19.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation6.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high98°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing36°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

15 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave.

WildfireHigh
Heat waveHigh
EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, drought, lightning, winter weather, hail, volcanic activity, strong wind, tornado, cold wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 19 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Meadows FldBFL19 mi10,849 ft
Mojave Air & Space Port/Rutan FldMHV38 mi12,503 ft
Van NuysVNY80 mi8,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.