Welcome to Ridgecrest ...
The city of Ridgecrest is located in Kern County<1>.
Ridgecrest was established in 1912 and was incorporated November 29, 1963.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Ridgecrest has a population of 29,075 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Ridgecrest is 2,280 feet [695 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of Ridgecrest is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Ridgecrest lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Ridgecrest: 760 & 442<4>
The ZIP codes for Ridgecrest: 93555-93556<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ridgecrest had an population of 29,075 people. This is an increase of 5.28% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 16.64% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Ridgecrest had a population of 27,616 people. This makes Ridgecrest the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Ridgecrest represents 0.07% of the total population of California (which has 37,253,956 people), making it the state's 248th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 27,616 people, the population of Ridgecrest increased 10.79% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 24,927 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Ridgecrest.
Communities Also Named Ridgecrest ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 22 communities that are also named Ridgecrest - they are located in Alabama (2), Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana (2), Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina (2), Tennessee, Texas (5), Utah, Virginia (2) and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ridgecrest.
Websites for Ridgecrest ...
Official Website: www.ci.ridgecrest.ca.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.ridgecrestchamber.com/
Communities near Ridgecrest ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ridgecrest.
- China Lake Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Lake Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Lake Acres
- China Lake Acres is located in Kern County
- Inyokern
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inyokern
- Inyokern is located in Kern County
- Former names for Inyokern:
- Magnolia
- Siding 16
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inyokern <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Inyokern
- From Ridgecrest to Inyokern
- Freeman ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Freeman is located in Kern County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Freeman
- From Ridgecrest to Freeman
- Spangler ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spangler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<8>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Spangler is located in San Bernardino County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Spangler
- From Ridgecrest to Spangler
- Armistead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armistead
- Armistead is located in Kern County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Armistead
- From Ridgecrest to Armistead
- Garlock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garlock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<8>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garlock
- Garlock is located in Kern County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Garlock
- From Ridgecrest to Garlock
- Pinnacle ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pinnacle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<8>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinnacle
- Pinnacle is located in San Bernardino County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Pinnacle
- From Ridgecrest to Pinnacle
- Westend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westend
- Westend is located in San Bernardino County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Westend
- From Ridgecrest to Westend
- Argus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argus
- Argus is located in San Bernardino County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Argus
- From Ridgecrest to Argus
- Johannesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johannesburg
- Johannesburg is located in Kern County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johannesburg <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Johannesburg
- From Ridgecrest to Johannesburg
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 Ridgecrest. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ridgecrest.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ridgecrest. 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 Ridgecrest.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgecrest. Our list includes 4 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Ridgecrest.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ridgecrest ...
Looking for more information about Ridgecrest? 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 Ridgecrest, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Ridgecrest.
Adding Ridgecrest to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
X2X - From that list, the Ridgecrest post office opened in 1941.
We also found Ridgecrest on a map titled Shell Oil Road Map for California (1956).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Ridgecrest.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ridgecrest: www.ci.ridgecrest.ca.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> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ridgecrest. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ridgecrest - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 760 code has been Overlayed with the 442 area code. New phone numbers in the Ridgecrest area will be assigned with one of these codes: 760 or 442. As a result, placing a call in the Ridgecrest area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <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 Ridgecrest). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ridgecrest or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Ridgecrest includes: 93555 & 93556. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | 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. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |