Kern County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.35, -118.73.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 81st pct · 574th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 14th pct · 50th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 20th pct · 2,434th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 43rd pct · 33rd of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 72nd pct · 380th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 20th pct · 39th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 97th pct · 85th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 13th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 79th pct · 662nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 56th pct · 26th of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 74th pct · 784th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 12th pct · 51st of 58 California counties · median 7.4
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $362,784 (Aug 2026), -0.0% over one year, +23.6% over five
- 81st pct · 574th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 14th pct · 50th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | $362,784 · -0.0% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,785/mo (Aug 2026), +2.4% over one year; price-to-rent 16.9
- 72nd pct · 380th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 20th pct · 39th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | $1,785/mo · +2.4% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,986 a month on $362,784 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,347 a month: 37.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $362,784 × 80% = $290,228, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,986/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,234 × 52 / 12 = $5,347) = 37% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $362,784 / ($1,234 × 52) = 5.7
- price-to-rent = $362,784 / ($1,785 × 12) = 16.9
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
342,335 jobs at 30,472 employers (2026 Q1); +2.5% jobs and +1.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 97th pct · 85th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 13th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Bakersfield-Delano metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 342,335 jobs · $1,234/wk · +2.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 51,712 | $1,039 | 1.00 | +4.9% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 41,043 | $775 | 16.60 | +3.3% |
| Retail trade | 31,739 | $783 | 0.95 | +0.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 26,410 | $569 | 0.86 | +1.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 19,249 | $1,087 | 1.33 | +11.9% |
| Construction | 15,756 | $1,555 | 0.88 | -0.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 13,796 | $1,075 | 0.71 | +5.6% |
| Manufacturing | 13,393 | $1,875 | 0.49 | -2.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 10,447 | $1,813 | 0.44 | -2.2% |
| Other services | 7,866 | $920 | 0.77 | -0.2% |
| Wholesale trade | 7,664 | $1,592 | 0.58 | -5.4% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 6,336 | $3,145 | 5.20 | -4.2% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D0 abnormally dry
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$11.3 bn in deposits at 70 offices of 15 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,347, moderately concentrated. $4.8 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $3.6 bn, contracts $834.3 m), $14,073 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $2.4 bn · 21.2% share · 10 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2.3 bn · 20.3% share · 10 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $1.8 bn · 15.7% share · 9 offices | |
| Kern, CA | $4.8 bn FY2026 · $14,073/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $3.4 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $2,398,121,000 | 21.2% | 10 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2,295,481,000 | 20.3% | 10 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $1,774,909,000 | 15.7% | 9 |
| Tri Counties Bank | $1,076,977,000 | 9.5% | 4 |
| Mission Bank | $829,353,000 | 7.3% | 3 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $650,883,000 | 5.8% | 7 |
| Citizens Business Bank, National Association | $452,695,000 | 4.0% | 4 |
| Bank of the Sierra | $450,638,000 | 4.0% | 7 |
| Mechanics Bank | $395,275,000 | 3.5% | 4 |
| Citibank, National Association | $308,000,000 | 2.7% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,347 across 15 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 15 banks with deposits in the county = 21.2² + 20.3² + 15.7² + … (12 more) = 1,347
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $2,865,052,841 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $480,242,457 |
| Department of Defense | $479,264,111 |
| Department of Transportation | $219,081,498 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $179,071,829 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $135,852,157 |
| Department of Education | $126,603,822 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $102,898,733 |
| Department of Agriculture | $81,290,903 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $77,487,526 |
| Department of Energy | $34,657,438 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $21,678,816 |
That is $14,073 per covered job, against 342,335 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $4.8 bn / 342,335 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,073
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-05 | +0.1% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 6.00 | 2026-09-22 | -14.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 6,830.00 | 2026-08-01 | +7.4% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -88,576.00 | 2026-07-01 | -24.4% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Kern County, CA: 11 findings, 5 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchKern County, CA's typical home value is -0.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = -0.04356118055571088 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchKern County, CA's typical home value of $362,784 scores 81 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 14 across California counties, a gap of 67 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 67 = |81 across US counties - 14 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchKern County, CA's years of wages of 5.7 scores 74 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 12 across California counties, a gap of 62 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 62 = |74 across US counties - 12 across California counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchKern County, CA's typical asking rent of $1,785 scores 73 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 21 across California counties, a gap of 52 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 52 = |73 across US counties - 21 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchKern County, CA's price-to-rent ratio of 16.9 scores 48 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 15 across California counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |48 across US counties - 15 across California counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 11 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.