Kern County is primarily located on the north of Los Angeles County in the California central valley. 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. Kern County is at the southernmost point of the California central valley. The southernmost board of Kern County is on the grapevine just before Gorman. Kern County consists of mountains, valley expanses, and high desert geography. Based on the 2010 census the population of Kern County was over 839,000. It is estimated that the population of Kern County has grown to over 893,000 making Kern County one of the fastest growing counties in California. The largest city in Kern County is Bakersfield.

Close to 40% of the county population lives in Bakersfield. Bakersfield is also the county seat. Other Kern County cities include; Arvin, California City, Delano, Maricopa, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi, and Wasco. There are over 45 census-designated places and 100 unincorporated communities in the 8,161 square miles of Kern County. Kern County is home to Bakersfield College, California State University Bakersfield, Cerro Coso Community College, Kern Community College District, National University, San Joaquin Valley College, and Taft College.

Kern County was at first a series of mining towns and mining operations. These mining operations were essentially in the mountains and high desert areas of Kern County. The valley floor is now known for agriculture and inhospitable swamp land. The swamps were drained by creating canals which would eventually provide water for the highly fertile soil of the valley floor. Throughout this time the county seat was moved from the mining town of Havilah to Bakersfield.

As of now the largest industries are agriculture, forestry, health care, retail, transportation, mining and oil and gas extraction. Most of the workforce is in agriculture, while the highest paying jobs are in mining and oil extraction. Education and military also play a strong role in the Kern County economy. Kern County is home to Edwards Air Force Base, China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and the Mojave Air and Space Port.Interstate 5 bisects Kern County from north to south connecting to Los Angeles and northern California. Part of US 395 travels through Kern County’s eastern edge. State Route 58 connects Bakersfield to northern San Bernardino county. State routes 46, 58, & 166 connect Kern County to the coastal California counties of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Just south of Bakersfield Interstate 5 and State Route 99 diverge. State Route 99 allows access to the central California Counties of Kings, Tulare, Fresno and ultimately Sacramento.

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