2019 Best Places to Live in Kern CountyAbout this List

Ridgecrest

• Town in California
• 61 reviews

Current Resident: I moved to Ridgecrest the summer before senior year from San Diego California. I wasn't looking forward to it at first because Ridgecrest appeared to be the total opposite of San Diego. However, I soon learnt that Ridgecrest has every single good quality you would imagine a small town to have. It is a close-knit community that cares for eachother. The recent earthquakes truly tested the towns resilience and really highlighted the people here. The only thing I would change about Ridgecrest is the efficiency of buildings, roads, and other facilities being fixed or built. Roads for example, take much longer than necessary to fix and often cause an inconvenience.
Read 61 Reviews

• B+

• A-

• 28,728 Population

China Lake Acres

• Town in California

• B

• A-

• 2,446 Population

Rosedale

• Town in California
• 3 reviews

Current Resident: Rosedale has plenty of shopping, a diverse restaurant selection, and is a relatively safe area of Bakersfield California. For entertainment you'll find antique car shows at Chuy's restaurant, a new craze; escape rooms on Coffee Road, several places to play darts and pool, and several parks to hike and picnic. Overall, Rosedale has everything a neighborhood needs to entertain and live comfortably.
Read 3 Reviews

• B

• B

• 17,603 Population

Greenacres

• Town in California
• 134 reviews

Current Resident: Great place to live and great places to eat too. My favorite is Mountain Mike’s Pizza just around the corner
Read 134 Reviews

• B

• B+

• 5,705 Population

Taft

• Town in California
• 10 reviews

Current Resident: I enjoy small town living. We have no traffic, and everyone is friendly! If we need to go to a big store we can drive 30 mins to a large city. It’s worth it to me for the quieter, more peaceful town.
Read 10 Reviews

• B-

• B-

• 9,224 Population

Lake of the Woods

• Town in California

• B-

• B-

• 1,260 Population

Rosamond

• Town in California
• 42 reviews

Current Resident: Out of the cities in the Antelope Valley Rosamond and Tehachapi are the best places to live. There is less crime in both of these towns, ample growth potential in Rosamond and the people are mostly friendly. On the west side of the train tracks is the better side to live on, there is less marijuana smell. If you like that smell then you will love the east side as there are 20 and growing pot shops in this town all located in that area. Personally I stay away from them as much as I can. There are more business coming to Rosamond which allows for more jobs available to people. The community gets together and tries to clean up our town by spending a day or two picking up trash that has blown into our town. Please care about one another here, they might not know your name but if you have an issue and it's clear you need help everyone seems to pitch in one way or another to help.
Read 42 Reviews

• B-

• C

• 20,024 Population

Golden Hills

• Town in California
• 23 reviews

Current Resident: I moved into the Golden Hills/South Park area of downtown San Diego in August of 2016. From day one I have felt safe walking the sidewalks to and from the local markets, the post office and restaurants all the while admiring the old, eclectic homes with wrap around porches. It is a quite convenient place to live, with access to the 5 and 94 within a 2 minute drive from my apartment and bike lanes for local errands. Golden Hills has a dog park and is flush with dog-friendly vendors who don't mind if your pet joins you as you patronize the various storefronts. There are even 3 gyms within less than a mile! This place is a diamond in the rough and my only complaint would be the amount of potholes near the entrances to the freeway ramps. Other than that, Golden Hills is a hidden gem!
Read 23 Reviews

• B-

• B

• 8,889 Population

Bakersfield

• City in California
• 980 reviews

Current Resident: I have lived in Bakersfield my whole life. Despite moving every few years, everything was great! I like how here is a variety of stores for you to choose from when it comes to entertainment, gaming, food, and just plain living. I only wish that every where I go I didn't have to see a homeless person on the streets frail and hungry. It hurts my heart to have to see them out there in the blazing sun or the freezing cold. I just wish I could do more for them...
Read 980 Reviews

• C+

• B-

• 372,680 Population

Tehachapi

• Town in California
• 44 reviews

Current Resident: I have lived here for 2 years now and I like how locals contribute to the town, it could be to donate to a cause or personally help another local in need! What I would definitely change is the bullying problem the public schools have. I strongly agree to prevent bullying by targeting the actual issue with the bully instead of defense classes for the victims.
Read 44 Reviews

• C+

• B

• 12,948 Population

Lebec

• Town in California
• 2 reviews

• C+

• B-

• 1,557 Population

California City

• Town in California
• 46 reviews

Nearby Resident: This place is amazing and is filled with lots of great attractions. This city have pretty places to visit with your friends, family or just hanging out by yourself. I really love the weather and the food places that are there for us to love. I really love salads so I always go to the salad bar and get nice big salads with family or friends. The overall feel of the city is so nice and very welcoming.
Read 46 Reviews

• C+

• C-

• 13,495 Population

Ford City

• Town in California

• C+

• B-

• 4,388 Population

South Taft

• Town in California

• C

• B-

• 1,417 Population

Mojave

• Town in California
• 9 reviews

• C

• D+

• 4,222 Population

Greenfield

• Town in California
• 20 reviews

Current Resident: It is a very small town. Everyone knows everyone. There is only one high school with is Greenfield High School and one middle school which is Vista Verde.
Read 20 Reviews

• C

• C

• 3,405 Population

Taft Heights

• Town in California
• 6 reviews

Niche User: I love this town that I was born and raised in. But on another scale I wish Taft was bigger so we had more to do in the small town. We are finally getting a new hotel, "Best Western" and soon to come more places to eat. Taft is not far for others places to go to, like the beach which is 1 1/2 to 2 hours away, and there's the mountains which is less or at the most about an hour away (depending on which way u go). Sometimes I wish Taft could get more snow in the winter! Love the winter and holiday time, especially being with family and friends. So other than that, Taft is a good places to raise families and meet new people and make new friends.
Read 6 Reviews

• C

• B-

• 2,721 Population

Delano

• Town in California
• 76 reviews

Current Resident: Personally, the town has grown thanks to the residents that live in Delano. Delano has grown into a town surrounded by agriculture, where many types of produce is located. I really recommend this town to people who are more than one race because Delano has many types of races and I wouldn't ask for any better in a town!
Read 76 Reviews

• C

• B

• 52,709 Population

Frazier Park

• Town in California
• 3 reviews

Visitor: Frazier park is a quiet town with a homey feel to it. Frazier park is home to a wide variety of wild life and plants. if your looking to escape the city for a weekend than Frazier park is the place for you.
Read 3 Reviews

• C

• B-

• 2,440 Population

Lake Isabella

• Town in California
• 7 reviews

Current Resident: Lake Isabella is a quiet mountain community located 40 miles north of Bakersfield. It is located in Kern county which is known for it's drug problems. Despite that, living here is so affordable that I actually have time to spend with my children. It is also located 35 miles from the "Trail of 100 Giants" which is absolutely beautiful for a family nature walk. Regardless of where you live, being able to spend time with your children lowers their risk of drug issues and living in Lake Isabella is affordable enough for that to be possible.
Read 7 Reviews

• C-

• C

• 4,287 Population

Oildale

• Town in California
• 34 reviews

Current Resident: I have lived in Oildale for the last 5 years. As for the lifestyle, it is what you make it. Depending on where and how you choose to live in which ever area you choose is what your overall life experience is about. We live in a Middle Class neighborhood, my children went to the public schools and I shop in the neighborhood market. Overall we like our little community. My only wish is that our home was a bit bigger to accommodate the larger family we now have back at home.
Read 34 Reviews

• C-

• C

• 34,496 Population

Shafter

• Town in California
• 29 reviews

Current Resident: Shafter is a very small community. Shafter makes everyone feel like family, and has very friendly people. This city has very beautiful parks, and very nice schools. The saftey in the community is very safe there is never any bad violence and no bad crimes. The cost of living can be a little pricey but it is all worth is because the living is very clean and you will never see any dirty streets with no liter. I have grown up in Shafter and I am thankful because I have been apart of such a great community.
Read 29 Reviews

• C-

• C

• 18,433 Population

Wasco

• Town in California
• 55 reviews

Current Resident: Wasco is a nice, growing town. There are many fast food places on one of the main streets making it easy to find somewhere to eat. The town can improve by having the streets repaired. The houses there are nice and modern looking. There is plenty of land available to build a home or a business. The town is expanding in all directions due to housing. High way 46 passes right through the middle of town (east to west), which is one of the ways to get to the coast. Highway 43 passes (north to south) through Wasco and this highway goes through many towns along the way.
Read 55 Reviews

• C-

• C+

• 26,378 Population

Bodfish

• Town in California
• 2 reviews

• C-

• C

• 1,593 Population

Lamont

• Town in California
• 11 reviews

Current Resident: Lamont is a small town where every one knows each other, its between Bakersfield and close to weed patch and arvin, i grew up here town has minimal grocery stores and tons of gasoline stations and food trucks and restaurants, i feel like we need more businesses here like a pizza hut or dominoes and a new donuts place we can try for a Starbucks and panda express since there is no Chinese food here we have to travel into Bakersfield to find one. we need more variety of shopping centers another seafood restaurant would be nice even an Italian restaurant would be great , we have McDonalds ,jack in the box, rustys pizza and little ceasars and subway , but i feel like we lack variety. we have local restaurants but none serve Italian or Chinese food, we can also use a shoe store like wss or shoe palace place, think if we can have another motel , hotel or new apartment complexes it would be a great investment theres always people who look to rent in our area.
Read 11 Reviews

• C-

• C-

• 15,597 Population