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Top 10 Reasons to Do Business in Kern County
Provided by the Kern Economic Development Corporation

Location, Location, Location!

Kern County is geographically the center of California's population, making it accessible to nearly 40 million consumers.

Fastest Growing Millennial Population

Kern County is geographically the center of California's population, making it accessible to nearly 40 million consumers.

Top 10 Fastest-Growing Economy

Kern County is listed in the top 10 of the 200 largest metros in the nation for fastest-growing metro GDPs. Powered by the energy and agriculture industries, Kern County's economy experienced an annual growth rate of 7.9% from 2001-2015.

#4 Region for Stem Jobs

The number of light blue-collar jobs in the energy and agriculture industry puts Kern's Bakersfield MSA ahead of cities like Seattle and Boston for the prevalence of technical jobs: science, computer technology, engineering and math.

#5 Metro in U.S. for Upward Mobility

Kern County is definitely the land of opportunity because it ranks #1 in U.S. for "Odds of Reaching Top Fifth Starting from the Bottom Fifth." Greater mobility is associated with the following community characteristics: less segregation, less income inequality, better schools, greater social capital, and more stable families.

#9 Engineering Jobs Per Capita in U.S.

Over 30,000 people work in the local energy industry and engineers make up about 4,680 employees. This translates to 17.1 engineers per 1,000 employees.

Bakersfield No. 1 for Housing Affordability in California

In 2016, Bakersfield was named #1 for housing affordability in California by the 12th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

#4 Most Industrial Variety

From aerospace to logistics and manufacturing jobs, Kern County has a bountiful job market for the average job seeker, independent of background or industry focus.

#3 in Nation for Millennial Home Ownership

While other cities saw a decrease in homeownership rates among Millennials over the past decade from 40% to about 32%, the rate in Bakersfield increased 5% from its 2006 homeownership rate of 35%.

#2 Most Affordable City for Retirees

According to GoBankingRates.com, Bakersfield is the second most affordable city in the United States for retirement. Based on the median household income of $56,842, Bakersfield, residents would have an extra $13,416 more each year than what is needed to live comfortably.