The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Kern County is a county of California with 915,075 residents. Its economy produced $63,070 million in 2024 (ranked #14 of 58 counties) and had 347,664 jobs with an average annual pay of $60,066 (#29 for pay). The unemployment rate was 7.9% in 2026M09. It is part of the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metropolitan area (central county).
Kern County produced about $63,070 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 1.6% of the combined output of the 58 counties of California that BEA reports (about 2.3% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 14th of 58 on that measure. Per resident that is $68,923, 33% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $103,038. In current dollars output grew 4.8% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation. The gap between its output rank (14th) and its output-per-resident rank (28th) shows that population is large relative to the value of what is produced here.
BLS counts 347,664 jobs located in Kern County on average in 2024, spread over 27,950 employer sites (about 12 jobs per site). That is 0.38 jobs for every resident, close to the 0.37 of the typical county in California, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $60,066, 34% below the average of all counties in the state ($60,066 against $90,721). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 1.3% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are agriculture, forestry, fishing (20.9% of private jobs, $38,303 a year on average), health care and social assistance (17.1% of private jobs, $54,894 a year on average), retail trade (11.6% of private jobs, $40,848 a year on average). Together they hold 49.6% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is manufacturing at $82,996 a year, followed by professional and technical services ($82,103). The county is specialised in several industries: agriculture, forestry, fishing (20.5 times the US share, 57,718 jobs); mining, oil and gas (5.1 times the US share, 6,717 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: agriculture, forestry, fishing ($38,303), retail trade ($40,848), accommodation and food services ($28,334). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Kern County was 7.9%, 56% above the average of the state's counties (7.9% against 5.1%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 417,030. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 7.9% (2026M09) to 9.5% (2026M02); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $70,210 (ACS 2020–2024), 29% below the state median ($70,210 against $99,122). The guide covers 1 city with this as the main county: Bakersfield. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate.
Counties close to Kern County in output are Ventura County, Fresno County, San Joaquin County, Santa Barbara County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 58 counties of California ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 915,075 | 11 of 58 |
| GDP 2024 | $63,070 million | 14 of 58 |
| GDP per resident | $68,923 | 28 of 58 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 347,664 | 13 of 58 |
| Average annual pay | $60,066 | 29 of 58 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +1.3% | 30 of 58 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 7.9% | 52 of 58 |
| Median household income | $70,210 | 42 of 58 |
Federal jobs in California (1,717) →All cities of CaliforniaState guide: California
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Kern County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | 411,986 | $80,540 | $1,472 | $371,700 | 23.6% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 57,718 | 20.9% | $38,303 | 20.51 |
| Health care and social assistance | 47,178 | 17.1% | $54,894 | 0.95 |
| Retail trade | 31,905 | 11.6% | $40,848 | 0.92 |
| Accommodation and food services | 26,656 | 9.7% | $28,334 | 0.84 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 17,844 | 6.5% | $70,042 | 1.21 |
| Construction | 15,984 | 5.8% | $77,329 | 0.88 |
| Manufacturing | 13,261 | 4.8% | $82,996 | 0.46 |
| Administrative and waste services | 12,747 | 4.6% | $54,873 | 0.62 |
| Professional and technical services | 10,391 | 3.8% | $82,103 | 0.43 |
| Wholesale trade | 8,339 | 3.0% | $78,682 | 0.61 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 7,799 | 2.8% | $47,218 | 0.75 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 6,717 | 2.4% | $107,765 | 5.11 |
| Finance and insurance | 4,433 | 1.6% | $85,077 | 0.31 |
| Real estate and rental | 3,427 | 1.2% | $68,019 | 0.63 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 2,995 | 1.1% | $26,928 | 0.51 |
| Management of companies | 2,841 | 1.0% | $145,910 | 0.48 |
| Educational services | 2,243 | 0.8% | $39,401 | 0.31 |
| Utilities | 1,801 | 0.7% | $148,146 | 1.36 |
| Information | 1,652 | 0.6% | $64,393 | 0.25 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 417,030 |
| Employed residents | 384,176 |
| Unemployed residents | 32,854 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.9% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 347,664 |
| Employer sites | 27,950 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 9,808,667 | $1,002,965 million | $102,253 | 4,525,711 | $83,554 | 4.5% |
| San Diego County | 3,288,774 | $331,868 million | $100,909 | 1,536,541 | $82,854 | 4.7% |
| Orange County | 3,165,820 | $351,753 million | $111,109 | 1,661,276 | $81,403 | 4.3% |
| Riverside County | 2,478,600 | $134,757 million | $54,368 | 840,433 | $59,734 | 5.9% |
| San Bernardino County | 2,197,104 | $137,914 million | $62,771 | 845,908 | $62,368 | 5.5% |
| Santa Clara County | 1,902,047 | $438,483 million | $230,532 | 1,116,581 | $197,043 | 4.2% |
| Alameda County | 1,649,473 | $182,539 million | $110,665 | 790,358 | $98,026 | 4.7% |
| Sacramento County | 1,594,006 | $135,538 million | $85,030 | 726,937 | $80,125 | 5.1% |
| Contra Costa County | 1,165,012 | $96,579 million | $82,900 | 373,992 | $86,234 | 4.8% |
| Fresno County | 1,016,725 | $64,217 million | $63,161 | 427,076 | $57,904 | 7.4% |
| Kern County | 915,075 | $63,070 million | $68,923 | 347,664 | $60,066 | 7.9% |
| Ventura County | 837,469 | $69,606 million | $83,114 | 336,272 | $70,487 | 4.9% |
| San Francisco County | 830,235 | $268,322 million | $323,188 | 707,646 | $174,103 | 4.0% |
| San Joaquin County | 797,334 | $46,521 million | $58,346 | 287,828 | $63,300 | 6.2% |
| San Mateo County | 742,340 | $217,018 million | $292,343 | 416,422 | $196,441 | 3.9% |
| Stanislaus County | 553,990 | $32,065 million | $57,881 | 199,396 | $63,795 | 6.6% |
| Sonoma County | 485,040 | $39,448 million | $81,329 | 206,849 | $71,422 | 4.3% |
| Tulare County | 478,693 | $25,415 million | $53,092 | 177,657 | $53,038 | 9.8% |
| Solano County | 451,918 | $37,695 million | $83,411 | 143,366 | $71,403 | 5.3% |
| Santa Barbara County | 443,701 | $41,425 million | $93,361 | 216,323 | $69,664 | 4.5% |
| Monterey County | 437,613 | $38,345 million | $87,624 | 200,244 | $61,375 | 5.5% |
| Placer County | 419,156 | $34,304 million | $81,841 | 186,942 | $72,804 | 4.4% |
| Merced County | 290,201 | $13,282 million | $45,769 | 84,952 | $54,952 | 8.1% |
| San Luis Obispo County | 281,555 | $24,505 million | $87,036 | 121,958 | $61,334 | 4.6% |
| Santa Cruz County | 264,926 | $21,092 million | $79,615 | 104,514 | $67,622 | 5.1% |
| Marin County | 257,969 | $36,854 million | $142,861 | 110,934 | $93,552 | 4.3% |
| Yolo County | 220,564 | $20,507 million | $92,977 | 110,302 | $76,659 | 5.5% |
| Butte County | 207,929 | $12,901 million | $62,045 | 78,999 | $57,521 | 5.9% |
| El Dorado County | 192,662 | $11,555 million | $59,978 | 58,585 | $66,226 | 5.0% |
| Shasta County | 181,436 | $11,870 million | $65,421 | 70,090 | $59,352 | 5.2% |
| Imperial County | 180,202 | $12,907 million | $71,628 | 67,166 | $54,639 | 20.8% |
| Madera County | 160,940 | $8,846 million | $54,966 | 56,858 | $56,070 | 7.0% |
| Kings County | 153,298 | $9,220 million | $60,146 | 50,796 | $56,351 | 8.1% |
| Napa County | 134,869 | $14,592 million | $108,193 | 80,265 | $70,866 | 4.2% |
| Humboldt County | 134,541 | $7,591 million | $56,418 | 51,858 | $55,212 | 5.2% |
| Nevada County | 102,481 | $6,221 million | $60,707 | 35,000 | $62,734 | 4.8% |
| Sutter County | 98,857 | $5,238 million | $52,989 | 32,774 | $55,174 | 7.1% |
| Mendocino County | 90,244 | $4,693 million | $51,998 | 32,084 | $53,903 | 5.2% |
| Yuba County | 84,507 | $4,508 million | $53,346 | 21,061 | $66,931 | 6.5% |
| Lake County | 68,152 | $2,695 million | $39,543 | 17,522 | $53,849 | 7.1% |
| San Benito County | 67,290 | $3,285 million | $48,814 | 18,032 | $60,013 | 5.7% |
| Tehama County | 65,167 | $2,870 million | $44,033 | 19,740 | $57,144 | 5.9% |
| Tuolumne County | 54,498 | $3,306 million | $60,669 | 18,221 | $58,725 | 5.5% |
| Calaveras County | 46,248 | $2,074 million | $44,852 | 10,263 | $57,838 | 6.2% |
| Siskiyou County | 43,466 | $2,304 million | $53,000 | 14,205 | $53,720 | 6.7% |
| Amador County | 41,428 | $2,112 million | $50,988 | 12,492 | $58,581 | 5.8% |
| Lassen County | 30,356 | $1,471 million | $48,443 | 9,174 | $59,583 | 6.2% |
| Glenn County | 28,494 | $1,468 million | $51,523 | 9,835 | $54,056 | 6.5% |
| Del Norte County | 27,107 | $1,088 million | $40,143 | 8,328 | $53,835 | 6.0% |
| Colusa County | 21,984 | $2,010 million | $91,423 | 9,354 | $60,337 | 8.6% |
| Plumas County | 19,423 | $1,482 million | $76,276 | 6,678 | $59,864 | 5.6% |
| Inyo County | 18,739 | $1,555 million | $83,007 | 7,718 | $61,041 | 4.6% |
| Mariposa County | 17,082 | $1,036 million | $60,632 | 6,075 | $52,414 | 5.5% |
| Trinity County | 15,860 | $598 million | $37,722 | 2,918 | $56,151 | 5.4% |
| Mono County | 13,148 | $1,565 million | $118,998 | 8,150 | $52,503 | 4.4% |
| Modoc County | 8,600 | $688 million | $79,960 | 2,768 | $50,973 | 6.1% |
| Sierra County | 2,746 | $127 million | $46,304 | 611 | $50,525 | 4.1% |
| Alpine County | 1,616 | $146 million | $90,517 | 975 | $48,463 | 10.0% |
915,075 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$63,070 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
7.9% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
347,664 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $60,066 (BLS QCEW).