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Welcome to Bakersfield ...

The city of Bakersfield is located in Kern County<1> and is the County Seat for Kern County.



Bakersfield was established in 1869 and was incorporated January 11, 1898.

From The Origin of Certain Place Names,<2> the origin of Bakersfield is described as "Named for Colonel Thomas Baker."

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Bakersfield has a population of 382,682 people<3> (see below for details).

The community of Bakersfield is 380 feet [116 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Bakersfield lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

Bakersfield lies within the (661) area code.

The ZIP codes for Bakersfield: 93301-93309, 93311-93313, 93380-93390<5>

Websites for Bakersfield ...

Official Website:   www.bakersfieldcity.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.bakersfieldchamber.org/

Junior League:   juniorleaguebakersfield.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Bakersfield had an population of 382,682 people. This is an increase of 10.13% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 54.9% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Bakersfield had a population of 347,483 people (or 41.39% of the total population of Kern County). This makes Bakersfield the county's most populous community.

The population of Bakersfield represents 0.93% of the total population of California (which has 37,253,956 people), making it the state's 9th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 347,483 people, the population of Bakersfield increased 40.65% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 247,057 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Bakersfield.

Communities Also Named Bakersfield ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Bakersfield - they are located in Maryland, Missouri, Texas and Vermont.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bakersfield.

Communities near Bakersfield ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bakersfield.

  • Arvin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Shafter
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • East Bakersfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bakersfield
    • East Bakersfield is located in Kern County
    • Former names for East Bakersfield:
    • Kern City
    • Sumner
  • Gosford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosford
    • Gosford is located in Kern County
  • Greenacres
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Oil Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Junction
    • Oil Junction is located in Kern County
  • Oildale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oildale
    • Oildale is located in Kern County
  • Joyful ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Joyful. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyful
    • Joyful is located in Kern County
    • Joyful has also been known as:
    • Joyfull
  • Pumpkin Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
    • Pumpkin Center is located in Kern County
  • Oil City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Oil City is located in Kern County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bakersfield. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bakersfield.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bakersfield. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bakersfield.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bakersfield. Our list includes 61 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Bakersfield.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bakersfield ...

Looking for more information about Bakersfield? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Bakersfield, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Bakersfield.

Adding Bakersfield to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Bakersfield in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bakersfield was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

From that list, the Bakersfield post office opened in 1868.

We also found Bakersfield in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Bakersfield.

The official website for Bakersfield: www.bakersfieldcity.us/

The official website for Kern County: www.co.kern.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of California's counties, including Kern, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Bakersfield.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bakersfield - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Bakersfield). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bakersfield or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Bakersfield includes: 93301, 93302, 93303, 93304, 93305, 93306, 93307, 93308, 93311, 93312, 93380, 93381, 93382, 93383, 93384, 93385, 93386, 93387, 93388, 93389 & 93390.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<8>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 09 Mar 2024