Demographics of Kern County, California

Kern County, California had 927,068 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +21,108 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Kern County, in four figures

927,068
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; +2.3%
Change since July 2020: +21,108 people.; 32.7 ±0.1
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $70,210 ±$1,287
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year's change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from elsewhere in the country, with the Bureau's small residual. The 2020 row's components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.

Kern County, California's population grew 2.3% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Kern County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

U.S. Census Bureau — Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change

About this chart

The figures

Kern County, California's population grew 2.3% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Kern County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	905,960	100.0	100.0
2021	912,765	100.8	100.2
2022	917,074	101.2	100.7
2023	917,599	101.3	101.6
2024	924,648	102.1	102.5
2025	927,068	102.3	103.1

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Population of Kern County, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change	Births less deaths	From abroad	From elsewhere in the country
2020	905,960	−3,267	+1,203	−17	−3,839
2021	912,765	+6,805	+3,871	+322	+1,877
2022	917,074	+4,309	+4,171	+2,651	−2,064
2023	917,599	+525	+4,714	+4,261	−8,569
2024	924,648	+7,049	+4,624	+5,062	−2,626
2025	927,068	+2,420	+4,322	+628	−2,628

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 32.7 ±0.1: for men 32.2 ±0.1 and for women 33.2 ±0.1. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Kern County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	64,206 ±96	7.0% ±<0.1	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	197,284 ±2,683	21.6% ±0.3	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	90,016 ±1,689	9.8% ±0.2	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	261,195 ±2,540	28.5% ±0.3	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	193,814 ±2,085	21.2% ±0.2	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	108,560 ±2,247	11.9% ±0.2	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $70,210 ±$1,287, and income per person $29,699 ±$507, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Kern County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	48,609 ±1,888	17.1% ±0.7	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	56,360 ±1,930	19.8% ±0.7	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	45,976 ±1,793	16.1% ±0.6	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	35,283 ±1,624	12.4% ±0.6	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	49,207 ±1,802	17.3% ±0.6	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	24,892 ±1,200	8.7% ±0.4	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	24,604 ±1,362	8.6% ±0.5	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Kern County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	170,301 ±6,757	19.1% ±0.8	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	66,061 ±3,010	25.6% ±1.1	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	80,941 ±3,348	16.8% ±0.7	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	23,299 ±1,401	15.4% ±0.9	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Kern County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Kern County	California	United States
Housing units	306,999 ±246	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	92.8% ±0.4	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	7.2% ±0.4	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	60.1% ±0.8	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	39.9% ±0.8	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$338,300 ±$2,944	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,300 ±$21	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1984 ±1	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Kern County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	516,662 ±0	56.5% ±<0.1	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	270,456 ±1,670	29.6% ±0.2	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	43,987 ±1,187	4.8% ±0.1	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	46,223 ±943	5.1% ±0.1	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	3,070 ±470	0.3% ±0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	1,092 ±131	0.1% ±<0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	5,713 ±1,273	0.6% ±0.1	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	27,872 ±1,776	3.0% ±0.2	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Kern County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	620,098 ±4,330	67.8% ±0.5	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	99,504 ±2,975	10.9% ±0.3	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	10,322 ±944	1.1% ±0.1	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	185,151 ±3,890	20.2% ±0.4	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	75,197 ±2,703	8.2% ±0.3	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	109,954 ±3,478	12.0% ±0.4	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Kern County among the counties of California

11th of 58 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the California page.

Counties of California near Kern County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Santa Clara County	1,914,391	−0.9%
Alameda County	1,636,630	−2.6%
Sacramento County	1,618,460	+2.0%
Contra Costa County	1,170,070	+0.3%
Fresno County	1,035,456	+2.6%
Kern County	927,068	+2.3%
Ventura County	830,851	−1.5%
San Francisco County	826,079	−5.6%
San Joaquin County	823,815	+5.5%
San Mateo County	743,568	−2.5%
Stanislaus County	557,719	+0.7%

Elsewhere on the site

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Data retrieved September 25, 2026