Kern County, California
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County | |
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County | |
Images, from top down, left to right: Downtown Bakersfield, Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, Fort Tejon barracks, an F-35 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, the Midway-Sunset Oil Field | |
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Seal | |
Interactive map of Kern County | |
Location in the state of California | |
| Coordinates: 35.34°N 118.72°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Incorporated | April 2, 1866 |
| Named for | Kern River and Edward Kern |
| County seat | Bakersfield |
| Largest city | Bakersfield (population) California City (area) |
| Incorporated cities | 11 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–Administration |
| • Body | Board of Supervisors |
| • Chair | Jeff Flores (N.P.) |
| • Vice Chair | Zack Scrivner (N.P.) |
| • Board of Supervisors | Supervisors
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| • Chief Administrative Officer | Ryan J. Alsop |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8,163 sq mi (21,140 km2) |
| • Land | 8,132 sq mi (21,060 km2) |
| • Water | 31 sq mi (80 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 8,755 ft (2,669 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 206 ft (63 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 909,235 |
| • Density | 110/sq mi (43/km2) |
| Gross Domestic Product | |
| • Total | US$43.822 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Area code | 661, 760 |
| FIPS code | 06-029 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2054176 |
| Congressional districts | 20th, 22nd, 23rd |
| Website | www |
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county spans the southern end of the Central Valley. Covering 8,161.42 square miles (21,138.0 km2), it ranges west to the southern slope of the Coast Ranges, and east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada into the Mojave Desert, at the city of Ridgecrest. Its northernmost city is Delano, and its southern reach extends to just beyond Frazier Park, and the northern extremity of the parallel Antelope Valley.
The county's economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction. There is also a strong aviation, space, and military presence, such as Edwards Air Force Base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and the Mojave Air and Space Port.
With a population that is 54.9% Hispanic as of 2020, Kern is California's third-most populous majority-Hispanic county and the sixth-largest nationwide.