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Bakersfield, California

January 09, 2023

"Bakersfield" redirects here. For other uses, see Bakersfield (disambiguation).

Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about 151 sq mi (390 km2)[9][10] near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the 2020 census was 403,455,[11] making it the 48th-most populous city in the United States of America and the 9th-most populous city in California. The Bakersfield–Delano Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Kern County, had a 2020 census population of 909,235,[8] making it the 62nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States.[12] The urban area that includes Bakersfield and areas immediately around the city, such as East Bakersfield, Oildale, and Rosedale, has a population of 570,235.

Bakersfield, California
City
City of Bakersfield
Top: Fox Theater, Padre Hotel; Middle: Beale Memorial Clock Tower, Bakersfield Californian Building, Kern County Museum; Bottom: aerial view of central Bakersfield
Flag
Seal
Nickname: 
"Nashville West"[1]
Location of Bakersfield in Kern County, California
Bakersfield
Location within California
Bakersfield
Location within the United States
Bakersfield
Location within North America
Coordinates: 35°22′N 119°1′W / 35.367°N 119.017°W / 35.367; -119.017Coordinates: 35°22′N 119°1′W / 35.367°N 119.017°W / 35.367; -119.017
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyKern
RegionSan Joaquin Valley
Incorporated1873–1876[2]
Re-incorporatedJanuary 11, 1898[3]
Named forThomas Baker
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • BodyBakersfield City Council
 • MayorKaren K. Goh (R)[4]
 • Mayor Pro TemAndrae Gonzales (D)
 • City CouncilEric Arias (D)
Andrae Gonzales (D)
Ken Weir (R)
Bob Smith (I)
Bruce Freeman (R)
Patty Gray (R)
Manpreet Kaur (D)
 • City ManagerChristian Clegg[5]
Area
[6]
 • City151.28 sq mi (391.80 km2)
 • Land149.81 sq mi (388.01 km2)
 • Water1.46 sq mi (3.79 km2)
Elevation
[7]
404 ft (123 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City403,455
 • Rank48th in the United States
9th in California
 • Density2,700/sq mi (1,000/km2)
 • Urban
570,235 (US: 76th)
 • Urban density4,316.0/sq mi (1,666.4/km2)
 • Metro
[8]
909,235 (US: 62nd)
DemonymBakersfieldian
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
93220, 93301–93309, 93311–93314, 93380–93390, 93399
Area code661
FIPS code06-03526
GNIS feature IDs1652668, 2409774
Websitewww.bakersfieldcity.us

Bakersfield is a significant hub for both agriculture and energy production. Kern County is the most productive oil-producing county in California[13] and the fourth-most productive agricultural county (by value) in the United States.[14] Industries in and around Bakersfield include natural gas and other energy extraction, mining, petroleum refining, distribution, food processing, and corporate regional offices.[15] The city is the birthplace of the country music genre known as the Bakersfield sound.

History

See also: Timeline of Bakersfield, California
 
Yowlumne territory at the time of the arrival of the Spanish

Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of Native American settlements dating back thousands of years.[16] Upon Spanish arrival, present-day Bakersfield was inhabited by the Yowlumne, a Yokuts people.[17] Yowlumne accounts indicate that the village of Woilu was situated in the bounds of the present city.[18]

The Yokuts of the region lived in lodges[19] along the branches of the Kern River delta and hunted antelope, tule elk, deer, bear, fish, and game birds.

 
Spanish priest Francisco Garcés arrived in the Bakersfield area in 1776.

In 1776, Spanish missionary Francisco Garcés became the first European to explore the area. Recording his May 1 arrival to a Yokuts village along the Kern River, immediately northeast of present-Bakersfield, Garcés wrote,[18]

The people of the rancheria had a great feast over my arrival, and having regaled me well I reciprocated to them all with tobacco and glass beads, congratulating myself on seeing the people so affable and affectionate.

Given the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, the Yokuts remained largely isolated from further contact until after the Mexican War of Independence, when Mexican settlers began to migrate to the area. Following the discovery of gold in California in 1848, settlers flooded into the San Joaquin Valley. In 1851, gold was discovered along the Kern River in the southern Sierra Nevada, and in 1865, oil was discovered in the valley.[20] The Bakersfield area, once a tule reed-covered marshland, was first known as Kern Island to the handful of pioneers, who built log cabins there in 1860. The area was subject to periodic flooding from the Kern River, which occupied what is now the downtown area, and experienced outbreaks of malaria.[21]

Bakersfield is the fifth-largest majority-Hispanic city in the United States, with 53% of its population being Hispanic in 2020.[22]

Founding

 
Bakersfield is named after Thomas Baker, who came to the area in 1863.

In 1861, disastrous floods swept away the original settlement founded in 1860 by the German-born Christian Bohna.[23] Among those attracted to the area by the California gold rush was Thomas Baker, a lawyer and former colonel in the militia of Ohio, his home state.[23][24] Baker moved to the banks of the Kern River in 1863,[23] at what became known as Baker's Field, which became a stopover for travelers.[25] By 1870, with a population of 600, what is now known as Bakersfield was becoming the principal town in Kern County.[23]

In 1873, Bakersfield was officially incorporated as a city,[23] and by 1874, it officially replaced the town of Havilah as the county seat.[23] Alexander Mills was hired as the city marshal, a man one historian would describe as "... an old man by the time he became Marshal of Bakersfield, and he walked with a cane. But he was a Kentuckian, a handy man with a gun, and not lacking in initiative and resource when the mood moved him."[26] Businessmen and others began to resent Mills, who was cantankerous and high-handed in his treatment of them. Wanting to fire him but fearing reprisals, they came up with a scheme to disincorporate, effectively leaving him without an employer. According to local historian Gilbert Gia[27] the city was also failing to collect the taxes it needed for services.[28] In 1876,[29] the city voted to disincorporate. For the next 22 years, a citizen's council managed the community.[30]

By 1880, Bakersfield had a population of 801 with 250 of Chinese descent.[31][32]

By 1890, it had a population of 2,626. Migration from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Southern California brought new residents, who were mostly employed by the oil industry. [31]

The city reincorporated on January 11, 1898.[33]

1952 earthquake

Main article: 1952 Kern County earthquake

On July 21, 1952, an earthquake struck at 4:52 am Pacific Daylight Time.[34] The earthquake, which measured 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and was felt from San Francisco to the Mexican border, destroyed the nearby communities of Tehachapi and Arvin. The earthquake's destructive force bent cotton fields into U shapes, slid a shoulder of the Tehachapi Mountains across all four lanes of the Ridge Route, collapsed a water tower creating a flash flood, and destroyed the railroad tunnels in the mountain chain.[citation needed] Bakersfield was somewhat spared, experiencing minor architectural damage without loss of life.

A large aftershock occurred on July 29, and did minor architectural damage, but raised fears that the flow of the Friant-Kern Canal could be dangerously altered, potentially flooding the city and surrounding areas.

 
The historic Spanish Baroque Revival style Fox Theater, built in 1930.

Aftershocks continued for the next month, and on August 22 at 3:42 pm, another earthquake, measured at 5.8, struck directly under the city's center in the most densely populated area of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Four people died in the aftershock, and many of the town's historic structures sustained heavy damage.

1970 to 2010

Between 1970 and 2010, Bakersfield grew 400% (from 70,000 to 347,483),[35] making it one of the fastest-growing cities in California.[14]

Bakersfield's close proximity to mountain passes, primarily the Tejon Pass on Interstate 5 between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Joaquin Valley, has made the city a regional transportation hub.[36]

In 1990, Bakersfield was one of 10 U.S. communities to receive the All-America City Award from the National Civic League.

In 2010, the Bakersfield MSA had a gross metropolitan product of $29.466 billion, making it the 73rd-largest metropolitan economy in the United States.[37]

Historic architecture and preservation

Main article: Bakersfield Register of Historic Places and Areas of Historic Interest

Bakersfield has a number of buildings and locations that have been designated as historic sites at the national, state, and city levels. Five buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), including the First Baptist Church (NRHP 1/2/79); Baker Street Library (NRHP 4/1/81) and Bakersfield Californian Building (NRHP 3/10/83). Four sites have been designated as California Historical Landmarks, including Garces Memorial Circle (designated in 1937) and the Colonel Thomas Baker Memorial (designated in 1944). In addition, 16 sites have been locally designated on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places, including the Fox Theater (designated 8/24/94) and Kern County Chamber of Commerce Building (designated 3/12/08). With only 16 sites on its local register (compared to more than 300 sites designated by the City of Fresno), Bakersfield has been criticized for its lack of focus on historic preservation.[38]

Geography

 
Truxtun Tower, also referred to as the Bank of America Building, is the tallest in downtown and the second-tallest building in Bakersfield.

Bakersfield lies near the southern "horseshoe" end of the San Joaquin Valley, with the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada just to the east. The city limits extend to the Sequoia National Forest, at the foot of the Greenhorn Mountain Range and at the entrance to the Kern Canyon.[39] To the south, the Tehachapi Mountains, rising more than a vertical mile, feature the historic Tejon Ranch. To the west is the Temblor Range, behind which is the Carrizo Plain National Monument and the San Andreas Fault. The Temblor Range is about 35 mi (56 km) from Bakersfield across the valley floor.[40]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 143.6 sq mi (372 km2), of which 142.2 sq mi (368 km2) are land (98.99%) and 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2) are covered by water (1.01%).

At the 2000 census, the city had a total area of 114.4 sq mi (296 km2), of which 113.1 sq mi (293 km2) were land (98.86%) and 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km2) were water-covered (1.14%).

Bakersfield lies around 110 mi (180 km) north of Los Angeles (about a 2-hour drive on I-5 and State Route 99) and about 275 mi (443 km) southeast of the state capital, Sacramento (about a 4-hour drive on State Route 99).

Hart Memorial Park is located in northeast Bakersfield along Alfred Harrell Highway.

Communities and neighborhoods

See also: List of neighborhoods in Bakersfield

Bakersfield has historically referred to its regions by directional names. They include: North Bakersfield, Northeast, Southeast, South Bakersfield, Southwest, and Northwest. East Bakersfield generally refers to the former town of Sumner (later renamed East Bakersfield). As a result, the Northeast wraps around East Bakersfield.[41]

Climate

 
Dense tule fog in Bakersfield, California: Visibility in this photo is less than 500 feet (150 m).

Bakersfield has a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh),[42] with very hot, dry summers, and winters that consist of mild days with chilly/cold nights. Rainfall is low in the city, averaging only 6.36 inches (161.5 mm) annually, with most of it falling in the winter. Bakersfield averages about 191 clear days a year.[43] Bakersfield's climate makes the region suitable for growing crops ranging from carrots to citrus and almonds.

Bakersfield summers are very hot with extended stretches of hot weather and 112 days per year with high temperatures of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+ (on average between April 18 and October 13); in addition, there are 36 days with highs of 100 °F (37.8 °C)+ (on average between June 2 and September 19), and 0.9 days with highs of 110 °F (43.3 °C)+. Some years can see wide fluctuations in temperatures throughout seasons, with triple digit temperature readings in May (rarely April) and October in addition to occasional highs below 80 °F (26.7 °C) in June not being uncommon. Except for occasional monsoons which may bring light rain, typically no rain or almost no rain will fall from May to September.[44] Winters feature mild daytime temperatures and chilly/cold nights. Frost and/or dense fog usually occurs in winter with accompanying low visibility, causing many schools to have fog delays. Winters will usually produce a very dense layer of fog from time to time. Due to years of prolonged drought and rapid development of many new neighborhoods around Bakersfield, the density of the fog and number of "fog days" has been steadily decreasing, while areas outside the city still experience thick fog. The official time frame for tule fog to form is about 5 months long – various days from November 1 to March 31. Most noticeable in summer and winter, the urban heat island phenomenon can be observed throughout various neighborhoods in Bakersfield. Areas closer to downtown and along the 99 freeway corridor can experience warmer temperatures at night than neighborhoods on the edge of the city limits and rural Kern County areas, with temperature differences up to 7 °F (4 °C) between these areas at any given time.[45] On average, 10 mornings have freezing lows (on average between December 14 and January 24) annually, and the coldest night of the year typically bottoms out below 30 °F or −1.1 °C.[44]

Snow is rare on the valley floor although frost may occur.[46] The last snow fell on January 25, 1999, when the city received up to 6 inches (15 cm),[47] with 3 inches (7.6 cm) at the airport.[44] The record maximum temperature was 118 °F (47.8 °C) on July 28, 1908, and the record minimum temperature was 12 °F (−11.1 °C) on January 3, 1908.[48][44] The most rainfall in one month was 5.82 inches (147.8 mm) in December 2010,[49] and the maximum 24-hour rainfall was 2.29 inches (58.2 mm) on February 9, 1978. The wettest "rain year" has been from July 1997 to June 1998 with 14.73 inches (374.1 mm) and the driest from July 1933 to June 1934 with 2.26 inches (57.4 mm).[44]

Climate data for Bakersfield, California, 1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1893–present[b]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 82
(28) 		88
(31) 		94
(34) 		101
(38) 		110
(43) 		114
(46) 		118
(48) 		117
(47) 		115
(46) 		104
(40) 		95
(35) 		87
(31) 		118
(48)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 72.1
(22.3) 		77.0
(25.0) 		84.4
(29.1) 		92.2
(33.4) 		99.0
(37.2) 		105.4
(40.8) 		107.2
(41.8) 		106.9
(41.6) 		103.0
(39.4) 		94.5
(34.7) 		82.1
(27.8) 		71.5
(21.9) 		109.0
(42.8)
Average high °F (°C) 58.5
(14.7) 		64.3
(17.9) 		70.2
(21.2) 		75.9
(24.4) 		84.1
(28.9) 		92.3
(33.5) 		98.3
(36.8) 		96.9
(36.1) 		91.4
(33.0) 		80.2
(26.8) 		67.1
(19.5) 		58.8
(14.9) 		78.2
(25.7)
Daily mean °F (°C) 49.5
(9.7) 		53.8
(12.1) 		58.6
(14.8) 		63.3
(17.4) 		71.1
(21.7) 		78.7
(25.9) 		84.8
(29.3) 		83.4
(28.6) 		78.2
(25.7) 		67.7
(19.8) 		56.3
(13.5) 		49.2
(9.6) 		66.2
(19.0)
Average low °F (°C) 40.5
(4.7) 		43.2
(6.2) 		47.0
(8.3) 		50.7
(10.4) 		58.0
(14.4) 		65.1
(18.4) 		71.3
(21.8) 		70.0
(21.1) 		65.0
(18.3) 		55.2
(12.9) 		45.4
(7.4) 		39.6
(4.2) 		54.2
(12.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 30.5
(−0.8) 		33.7
(0.9) 		36.8
(2.7) 		39.8
(4.3) 		47.4
(8.6) 		53.0
(11.7) 		61.9
(16.6) 		60.7
(15.9) 		54.5
(12.5) 		44.7
(7.1) 		34.8
(1.6) 		29.6
(−1.3) 		28.4
(−2.0)
Record low °F (°C) 12
(−11) 		20
(−7) 		20
(−7) 		28
(−2) 		34
(1) 		38
(3) 		45
(7) 		44
(7) 		30
(−1) 		29
(−2) 		22
(−6) 		13
(−11) 		12
(−11)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.19
(30) 		1.18
(30) 		1.15
(29) 		0.60
(15) 		0.25
(6.4) 		0.05
(1.3) 		trace trace 0.05
(1.3) 		0.28
(7.1) 		0.51
(13) 		1.10
(28) 		6.36
(162)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.1
(0.25) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.1
(0.25)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 6.3 6.8 6.0 3.9 2.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.6 1.6 3.6 6.0 37.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 186 197.8 279 300 341 360 372 341 300 279 210 155 3,320.8
Mean daily sunshine hours 6 7 9 10 11 12 12 11 10 9 7 5 9
Percent possible sunshine 59 64 75 76 79 83 84 82 81 80 68 51 74
Average ultraviolet index 3 4 6 8 9 10 10 10 8 5 4 2 7
Source 1: NOAA[44][50]
Source 2: Climate Atlas (sun and uv)[51]

Air quality

Further information: Air pollution in the United States

Air quality is generally at its worst in fall and winter, due to the California wildfire season and colder temperatures forming an inversion layer, respectively.[52] It is common for an inversion layer to form in the valley in the winter, in which temperatures can be warmer in the foothills above the valley with the valley itself being cooler. This can trap air pollution in Bakersfield and the surrounding valley areas for days, or even weeks at a time. This can typically be mediated by rain or strong winds.[53] Emissions from agriculture, industry, rail freight and road traffic together create significant concentrations of air pollution.[54] The extraction of oil and gas, a historic industry in the area, contributes to the poor air quality.[55] Returning flowing water to the Kern River and along with trees is promoted as a way to improve air quality and enhance recreation in the city.[56]

In 2015, Bakersfield had 28 days of "Unhealthy" and 1 day of "Very Unhealthy" air quality according to the EPA. This ranked 6th in the United States.[57]

In 2016, Bakersfield had 14 days with "Unhealthy" air quality according to the EPA. This ranked 9th in the United States.[58][53]

In 2017, Bakersfield had 23 days with "Unhealthy" air quality according to the EPA. Fourteen of those days were caused by the Thomas Fire located in adjacent Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. During that fire, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties experienced "Very Unhealthy" and "Hazardous" air quality.[59]

In 2018, Bakersfield had 27 days with "Unhealthy" air quality according to the EPA. Most of these days were due to the second deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California, behind the 2020 fire season. This ranked 6th in the United States.[60]

In 2019, Bakersfield had only 6 days with "Unhealthy" air quality and 2 days with "Very Unhealthy" according to the EPA.[61]

In 2020, Bakersfield had 31 days with "Unhealthy" air quality and 2 days with "Very Unhealthy" according to the EPA.[62] This was largely caused by the record-breaking 2020 fire season.

In 2021, Bakersfield has recorded 28 days with "Unhealthy" air quality and 1 day with "Very Unhealthy" according to the EPA.[63]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880801—
18902,626227.8%
19004,83684.2%
191012,727163.2%
192018,63846.4%
193026,01539.6%
194029,25212.4%
195034,78418.9%
196056,84863.4%
197069,51522.3%
1980105,61151.9%
1990174,82065.5%
2000247,05741.3%
2010347,48340.6%
2020403,45516.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[64]
Ethnic composition 2020[65] 2010[66] 1990[67] 1970[67] 1940[67]
White 38.9% 56.8% 72.7% 83.6% 94.6%
—Non-Hispanic 28.8% 37.8% 65.9% 70.8%[68] n/a
Black or African American 7.0% 8.1% 9.4% 13.3% 3.5%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 52.7% 45.5% 20.5% 10.9%[68] n/a
Asian 7.8% 6.2% 3.6% 1.1% −
Two or more Races 16.6% 4.9% n/a n/a n/a
 
Map of racial distribution in Bakersfield, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other

2010

The 2010 United States Census[69] reported that Bakersfield had a population of 347,483. The population density was 2,419.6 inhabitants per square mile (934.2/km2). The ethnic makeup of Bakersfield was 197,389 (56.8%) White, 28,238 (8.1%) African American, 5,102 (1.5%) Native American, 21,432 (6.2%) Asian (2.1% Indian, 2.0% Filipino, 0.5% Chinese, 0.4% Korean, 0.2% Japanese, 478 (0.1%) Pacific Islander), 77,686 (22.4%) from other races, and 17,068 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 158,205 persons (45.5%). Among the general population, 39.5% are Mexican, 1.3% Salvadoran, 0.5% Guatemalan, and 0.10% Colombian. Non-Hispanic Whites were 37.8% of the population in 2010,[70] compared to 71% in 1980.[67]

The census reported 344,088 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 2,094 (0.6%) lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 1,301 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

Of the 111,132 households, 51,995 (46.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 57,276 (51.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 18,049 (16.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, and 7,829 (7.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 8,159 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 845 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. About 21,800 households (19.6%) were made up of individuals, and 7,354 (6.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10. There were 83,154 families (74.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.56.

The population was distributed as 109,479 people (31.5%) under the age of 18, 37,368 (10.8%) aged 18 to 24, 97,024 (27.9%) aged 25 to 44, 74,276 (21.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 29,336 (8.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The 120,725 housing units averaged 840.6 per square mile (324.6/km2), of which 66,323 (59.7%) were owner-occupied, and 44,809 (40.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%. About 206,492 people (59.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 137,596 people (39.6%) lived in rental housing units.

Bakersfield has consistently ranked as one of the least educated metropolitan areas in the United States.[71][72] A study by the Brookings Institution using 2008 data found that the proportion of Bakersfield metro adults age 25 and over with a bachelor's degree was the lowest (14.7%) of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States; that 100th-place finish was down from being ranked 95th in 1990.[73]

According to a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Bakersfield ranks as one of the ten most obese metro areas in America. Of its residents, 33.6% were found to be obese, compared to the national average of 26.5%.[74] The same study found that 21.2% were smokers, 12.7% had diabetes, 27.9% had high blood pressure, 22.8% had high cholesterol, 3.3% have suffered a heart attack, 75.2% felt they had enough money to buy food and 75.5% had health insurance.[74]

Housing and development

Bakersfield saw its population grow from about 105,000 in 1980 to 347,000 in 2010. Although the city is still growing, its growth rate has slowed in recent years due to the economic recession and high home foreclosure rates. However, in October 2013, Bakersfield was found to be the number two city in the nation for the rental market.[75] Apartment vacancies have become a large issue with only one percent of potential apartments being open to new renters as of April 2021. The average cost of rent and housing have dramatically increased in the last few years, with some apartments having their monthly rent nearly double in cost. Most new apartments being built are catering to commuting workers from Southern California and the Bay Area, with local residents being priced out.[76]

The city of Shafter, a small farming town north of Bakersfield, previously filed a suit to attempt to limit the northern expansion of Bakersfield's city limits. Shafter has also annexed large pieces of farmland to its east and south to ensure that Bakersfield does not annex this area.[77] Bakersfield, in addition, filed a lawsuit against Shafter in 2007 regarding water rights Shafter planned to use but Bakersfield stated it had purchased in 1976. As a result, the city of Bakersfield threatened to annex the city of Shafter.[citation needed]

The large bluff and plateau which lie east of Bakersfield—toward the Rio Bravo and Kern Canyon area—have been under development for the last 60 years. Because the steep, north-facing edge of the bluff provides a view of the foothills, mountains, oil fields, and Kern River, the city government has attempted to balance development and preservation in this area.

Economy

Bakersfield's historic and primary industries have related to Kern County's two main industries, oil and agriculture. Kern County in 2013 was the most oil productive county in the US.[78][79] Kern County is a part of the highly productive San Joaquin Valley, and ranks in the top five most productive agricultural counties in the nation.[79] Major crops for Kern County include: grapes, citrus, almonds, carrots, alfalfa, cotton, and roses.[80] The city serves as the home for both corporate and regional headquarters of companies engaged in these industries.

Bakersfield has a growing manufacturing and distribution sector. Several companies have moved to Bakersfield because of its inexpensive land, as well as proximity to international ports in both Los Angeles and Oakland.[81] Other companies have opened regional offices and non-oil/agricultural businesses because of Bakersfield's and Kern County's business friendly policies, such as having no local utility or inventory taxes.[79] Products manufactured in the city include: ice cream (world's largest ice cream plant), central vacuums, highway paint, and stock racing cars.[82]

Bakersfield is the largest city to have the lowest sales tax in California at the state minimum of 7.25%.[83]

Top employers

According to the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce,[when?][84] the top employers in the county based in Bakersfield are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 County of Kern 7,475
2 The Giumarra Companies 4,200
3 Grimmway Farms 3,500
4 Bolthouse Farms 2,000
5 Bakersfield Memorial Hospital 1,400
6 City of Bakersfield 1,300
7 Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield 1,200
7 ARB 1,200
9 Kern Medical Center 1,200
10 State Farm Insurance 1,045
11 Sun World 1,025
12 Chevron 1,000
13 Clinica Sierra Vista 1,000
14 San Joaquin Community Hospital 880
15 AndrewsAg 800
16 Sun Pacific 800
17 Paramount Farms 800
18 California State University, Bakersfield 600
19 Aera Energy 600
20 Kaiser Permanente 500

Arts and culture

Main article: Arts and culture of Bakersfield, California

Many of Bakersfield's oldest and most historic restaurants are Basque,[85] including Wool Growers, Noriega's, Pyrenees, Benji's, and Narducci's.

The Kern County Museum, located on Chester Avenue just north of downtown Bakersfield holds a collection of regional artifacts. Permanent exhibits include:[citation needed] "Black Gold: The Oil Experience", a hands-on modern approach at showing how oil is extracted; and "The Lori Brock Children's Discovery Museum", a hands-on children's museum and a display on the influential "Bakersfield Sound" style of country music. Bakersfield is also home to the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History, which has a collection of Miocene era marine fossils collected from the region as well as other displays.

The city gained fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Bakersfield Sound, an electric guitar-driven subgenre of country music that commercially dominated the industry for more than a decade. Buck Owens, Dwight Yoakam, and Merle Haggard were its best-known stars.

Events

Bakersfield hosts horse shows all year round, including local, 4-H and breed shows.

Every spring, Bakersfield hosts one of California's Scottish Games and Clan Gatherings.[86] In the late summer, St. George's Greek Orthodox Church hosts an annual Greek Festival.

Every year during the summer, Bakersfield hosts the Lowrider National at the Kern County Fairgrounds.

Memorial Day weekend features the Kern County Basque Festival, sponsored by the Kern County Basque Club.[87] This three-day festival features food, music, dance, and handball games.

In March, Famoso Raceway holds the annual March Meet nostalgia drag racing event. The event dates back to the U.S. Fuel and Gas Finals held in March 1959.

Twice a year, the CSUB Indigenous Native American Club hosts a Native Gathering on the California State University Bakersfield campus at Runner Park.[88]

In mid to late September, Bakersfield holds the annual Kern County Fair, which showcases the area's agricultural produce and animal husbandry, along with a rodeo, concerts, and a traditional carnival.

Previously every year and now every five years,[89] Bakersfield hosts a political conference known as the Bakersfield Business Conference. Since 1985, this conference has grown in attendance and as of 2007, the attendance numbered over 9,000. The Conference has had several notable political speakers to include Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Neil Armstrong, Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, Mike Wallace, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and Paul Harvey.[90]

Writers of Kern hosts their Spring Writers Conference[91] in March or April each year. Edgar Award winner and internationally bestselling author, Anne Perry, was a notable speaker at one of these writer's conferences.[92]

Entertainment

Bakersfield has five movie multi-screen theaters: Edwards Bakersfield Stadium 14, Reading Cinemas Valley Plaza 16, Maya Cinemas Bakersfield 16, AMC Bakersfield 6, and a Studio Movie Grill. The historic downtown Fox Theater has been renovated and is now a venue for concerts, musicians, comedians, and movies. The Bakersfield Community Theatre is the oldest "live" community theater in California. There are others, including "The Empty Space" (which offers some free performances).

Music

Due to the Dust Bowl, Buck Owens and his family migrated west where they would travel from Phoenix to the San Joaquin Valley to pick crops, including cotton.[93] At 16, Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1951 where he and other musicians began to create what is now known as the Bakersfield sound.[93] In 1996, Buck Owens opened the Crystal Palace, a music hall, nightclub, bar, restaurant, and museum, in Bakersfield.

Musician Merle Haggard was born and raised in Oildale. In 1962, Haggard completed his first single, "Skid Row", on Bakersfield's Tally label. In 1965, he went on to sign with Capitol Records.[94] Most of Haggard's early songs reflect his time spent in prison, farming, and working blue collar jobs in Southern California, including Bakersfield.[94]

Bakersfield is often considered to be the birthplace of a unique strand of country music[95] that has inspired many country artists, such as Dwight Yoakam[95] and The Strangers. Yoakam, alongside Owens, paid tribute to Owens by covering his 1973 recording of "Streets of Bakersfield". The cover reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988.[96]

Classical

The Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra has been performing since 1932.[97]

Country

Bakersfield is known for the Bakersfield sound, "a twangy style of Fender Telecaster and pedal steel guitar music made popular by hometown country crooners Buck Owens and Merle Haggard" as well as The Strangers.[98]

Doowop

Bakersfield is also known for Doowop music dating back from the early-to-mid 1950s to the early-to-late 1960s, consisting of Doowop vocal groups such as The Paradons, The Colts, The Rev-Lons, and more.[99][100][101]

Rock

In 1972, Bob Weir released the song "Mexicali Blues" on his first solo album, Ace. Not only does the sound of the song pay tribute to the Bakersfield sound, but the name of the city is referenced in the lyrics.

In 1978, The Rolling Stones released the song "Far Away Eyes" on the album Some Girls. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards collaborated on writing the song and it was recorded in late 1977. The Rolling Stones, longtime country music fans, incorporated many aspects of "Bakersfield sound" country music into this song. Bakersfield is mentioned in the song.

Heavy Metal

In the early 1990s, a group of friends from the lower and middle-class parts of Northeast and East Bakersfield formed the nu metal band Korn. The members of the band attended Highland High School (Jonathan Davis and Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu), East High School (James "Munky" Shaffer and lead guitarist Brian "Head" Welch) and South High School (David Silveria). Korn has sold over 34 million albums worldwide and were given the keys to the city. Bakersfield is also the home of fellow metal groups Cradle of Thorns (formed in 1988 by Ty Elam as Videodrone) and Adema (The band formed in 2000 with members vocalist Mark Chavez, guitarist Tim Fluckey, guitarist Mike Ransom, bassist Dave DeRoo, and drummer Kris Kohls). On February 24, 2006, Bakersfield mayor Harvey Hall declared February 24 "Korn Day". On the same day, the back road to the Rabobank Arena was named Korn Row.[102]

Bakersfield is also the home of Deathrock group Burning Image, one of the original bands of the early 80's Californian Deathrock scene.[103]

Sports

Main article: Sports in Bakersfield
 
A minor league hockey game being played at Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena

Bakersfield is not represented in any of the five major sports leagues: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, or MLS. The closest major sports teams are in Los Angeles and they have many fans in Bakersfield. The city is home to two minor league professional sports teams: the Bakersfield Condors (American Hockey League) and the Bakersfield Train Robbers baseball club (Pecos League). It was previously home to the California League's Bakersfield Blaze baseball team which ceased operations after the 2016 season. A third minor league team, the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League (basketball), was relocated to Prescott Valley, Arizona, in 2016. The Bakersfield Magic are an expansion team in The Basketball League that will begin play in 2022.

In addition, Bakersfield has two colleges with strong athletics programs. The Bakersfield Renegades represent Bakersfield College, a community college with 19 varsity sports, the most notable being football.[104] It competes in the Western State Conference, which is a part of the California Community College Athletic Association. The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners represent California State University, Bakersfield and sponsor 15 varsity sports, the most notable being basketball.[105] It competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Big West Conference[106]

Bakersfield is home to Colby Lewis from the MLB team, the Texas Rangers, Stephen Neal from the Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots. NFL players Joey Porter, David and Derek Carr also have called Bakersfield home, and still have some connection to Bakersfield.

Bakersfield is also located near a variety of motor racing venues. Current racing sports include: drag strip (at Famoso Raceway), dirt (at Bakersfield Speedway), road course (at Buttonwillow Raceway), and a paved 1/2 mile oval (at Kern County Raceway Park), which replaced Mesa Marin Raceway, a NASCAR associated oval track, that was demolished in 2004. A 1/3 mile dirt track has also opened on the Kern County Raceway Park property. The national jet boat association holds drag boat races at Lake Ming. Bakersfield is also the home town of four time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, as well as the 2007 Daytona 500 winner, and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick.

Bakersfield has many venues for a variety of different sports. One of the most notable and versatile is the Mechanics Bank Arena (formerly the Centennial Garden) which hosts concerts, shows, and sporting events. In addition, Bakersfield has facilities that can host tournament games. The Kern County Soccer Field has 24 full-size light soccer fields.[107] Also, currently under construction is the Bakersfield Sports Village. When completed, it will have 16 baseball fields, 6 football fields, and 16 soccer fields.[108]

Government and politics

For current elected officials and representative districts (all levels of government), see List of elected officials in Bakersfield.
 
City Hall is the seat of government for the city. Both the mayor's office and city council chambers are located inside.

Local government

Bakersfield uses the Council-Manager form of government, in which the City Council is the primary governing authority.[109] The City Council consists of seven members, elected from seven wards (or districts). The Mayor is elected at large, and is the presiding member of the City Council, although she does not cast a vote except in a few instances.[110] The City Council appoints and confirms (which the mayor does cast a vote[110]) both the City Attorney and the City Manager.[111] The City Manager, in turn, appoints (does not require confirmation from the City Council) the Finance Director, City Clerk, and Deputy City Clerk.[112] In addition to these positions, Bakersfield also has several departments, used to provide the services necessary to the city. They are: Department of Development Services, Department of Economic and Community Development, Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Public Works, Department of Recreation and Parks, and Department of Water Resources.

The framework for the city government is defined in the City Charter. As of 2011, it contained 11 articles and 4 addendums.[113] The current version was adopted on January 23, 1915.[114] Little information is known about the City Charter adopted in 1873, or in 1898, when the city was incorporated. The City Charter has been amended several times since it was adopted. One of the more definitive amendments was to change the Mayor from an appointed position (by the City Council) to an elected position in 1956, which was done as a result of the 1952 Kern County earthquake.[115]

The City Manager of Bakersfield is the appointed head of the executive branch. The position was created after 1957, when the role of mayor (which was the previous head) was split into two new positions. Under the council-manager form of government, the City Manager is responsible for executing ordinances passed by the city council and running the departments that make up the city. His office is currently located in City Hall North.[116]

The city manager is appointed by the city council. His service can end in one of two ways. Either he: resigns, or by a vote of removal by the city council. The vote to appoint and remove is one of the few votes the mayor can cast.[110]

For a list of past and present mayors, see List of mayors of Bakersfield.

State and federal

Federally, Bakersfield is split between California's 20th congressional district, which is represented by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and California's 22nd congressional district, which is represented by Republican David Valadao.

Political makeup

An August 2005 article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer listed Bakersfield as the eighth-most-conservative city in the United States and the most conservative city in California.[117] In the 2008 Presidential election, Republican John McCain received 55.6% of the city's votes to Democrat Barack Obama's 42.9%.[118] The same year, Bakersfield cast 75.2% of its votes in favor of Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.[119] In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump received 50.4% of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton's 44.0%. Large influxes of people moving to Bakersfield from Southern California and the Bay Area have been changing the political makeup of Bakersfield, while Kern County as a whole still remains strongly Republican.[120]

Public safety

Law enforcement within the city limits is provided by the Bakersfield Police Department. Fire protection within the city is provided jointly by the Bakersfield Fire Department and by the Kern County Fire Department, which protects the county as a whole.

Bakersfield is traditionally acknowledged as the frontier delineating Sureño and Norteño gang territories.[citation needed]

Police

Main article: Bakersfield Police Department

The Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) is the agency responsible for law enforcement. It has over 363 officers and 100 professional staff, covering an area of 145 square miles (380 km2) serving an urban population of more than 800,000. The current chief of the department is Greg Terry.[121] The department protects the city, split between two areas: West area and East area, with police headquarters in the east and the west substation serving west Bakersfield. The department administration is made up of the chief of police, one assistant chief, four captains and eleven lieutenants.[122]

The department headquarters are located at 1601 Truxtun Avenue. The West Substation is located at 1301 Buena Vista Road. Satellite offices are located on E. 11th Street and on E. White Lane. The department pistol range is located on Truxtun Avenue, with the K-9 training grounds next door to the range. The department training academy is located on Norris Road in conjunction with the Kern County Sheriff's Department.

The 2015 Mapping Police Violence study calculated that Bakersfield police killed civilians at the highest rate in the U.S., logging 13.6 killings per million people, compared to the U.S. average of 3.6.[123] In all, 13 people were killed in 2015 by BPD Officers and 27 people were killed by law enforcement officers in Kern County, which has a population of approximately 900,000.[124] The Guardian reported that law enforcement officers in Kern County, California, killed more people per capita than in any other American county in 2015.[125]

Fire

The Bakersfield Fire Department has 14 stations spread across the city.[126]

The Bakersfield Fire Department's communications division, known as ECC (Emergency Communications Center), is located in the Whiting Communications Center in Northeast Bakersfield. ECC is a joint dispatch center for the Kern County, Bakersfield City, and California City Fire Departments. Built in 1988, ECC is responsible for dispatching resources over an area of approximately 8,100 square miles (21,000 km2) that includes 65 fire stations. ECC's approximate call volume is 82,000 calls a year and processes Emergency and Non-Emergency Fire and Medical 911 calls for the entire County of Kern.[127]

The Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the county of Kern, California, USA. With over 625 permanent employees and 100 extra help employees protecting an area which spans over 8,000 square miles (21,000 km2). KCFD provides fire protection services for over 500,000 citizens living in the unincorporated areas of Kern County and the cities of Arvin, Delano, Maricopa, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi and Wasco. This agency is contracted to provide dispatch services for the California City Fire Department, Kern Ambulance based in Wasco, and Care Ambulance based in Lake Isabella. Over 546 uniformed firefighters are stationed in 46 fire stations throughout the county.

Due to a vast number of county islands and jagged city limit lines in the south part of Bakersfield, the closest fire station is dispatched to incidents. This often results in city resources being dispatched to county locations, and vice versa.

Crime

Further information: Bakersfield Police Department

The number of violent crimes recorded by the Bakersfield Police Department in its 2008 Crime Reports was 5,961.[128] 27 of those were murders and homicides.[129] Data collected by Bakersfield Police Department, an anti-gang program under the city of Bakersfield, shows that the city of Bakersfield has experienced an increase in gang membership and gang activity since the early 2000s.

Jails

The Bakersfield Police Department has a holding area, but inmates are transported to the Kern County Central Receiving Facility in Bakersfield. Sentenced criminals are held at the Lerdo Detention Facility, just outside the city's limits.[130] The Kern County Sheriff's Office, Detentions Bureau has an average daily inmate population of approximately 2,500 inmates.[131]

The primary facility for receiving inmates arrested in the Bakersfield area is the Central Receiving Facility.[132] In addition, there is the Lerdo Complex, which consists of three facilities:

  1. The Lerdo Minimum Security Facility holds inmates of lower security levels.[133]
  2. The Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility holds inmates of higher security levels.[134]
  3. The Lerdo Max/Med Security Facility holds overflow inmates from the Pre-Trial Facility.[135]

Education

 
CSUB's Walter Stiern Library

Two of the earliest schools founded in Kern County were Mrs. Thomas Baker's school, opened in 1863 at the Baker home (near present-day 19th and N streets); and a Catholic parochial school opened by Reverend Father Daniel Dade in 1865 in Havilah (then the county seat). In 1880, Norris School was established. The land for this school was donated by William Norris, a local farmer. Thirteen to twenty students were taught in its one classroom during the 1880s. Bakersfield City School District (BCSD) is the state's largest elementary school district. The first high school in Bakersfield, Kern County Union High School, opened in 1893. It was renamed Bakersfield High School after World War II.

 
Bakersfield College

The site at California Avenue and F Street is the location of the first campus of Bakersfield College, which was established in 1913 and relocated in 1956 to its current location overlooking the Panorama Bluffs in northeast Bakersfield. Bakersfield College has an enrollment of 16,000 students. To serve a growing baby-boomer population after World War II, the Kern High School District has steadily expanded to nineteen campuses and more than 35,000 students, making it the largest high school district in the state. In 1965, a university in the California State University system was founded in Bakersfield. California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) has approximately 10,000 students. It was an NCAA Division II sports powerhouse in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with some sports, including wrestling (Pac-10), competing in Division I. CSUB has become a Division I athletic school and will join the Big West Conference in 2020. In 1982, the Bakersfield campus for Santa Barbara Business College was founded.

High schools

 
The Baker Street Branch Library, part of the Kern County Library system, is among the Bakersfield structures listed on the NRHP.

Bakersfield is part of the Kern High School District (KHSD), California's largest high school district,[136] comprising 28 schools and educating about 35,000 students. There are 17 high schools within the KHSD in Bakersfield:

Private high schools include Garces Memorial High School, Bakersfield Christian High School, and Bakersfield Adventist Academy.

Accredited colleges and universities

California State University, Bakersfield

Main article: California State University, Bakersfield

California State University, Bakersfield ("CSUB", "CSU Bakersfield", or "Cal State Bakersfield") is a public university founded in Bakersfield in 1965. CSUB opened in 1970 on a campus of 375 acres (1.52 km2), becoming the 19th school in the California State University system. The university offers 31 bachelor's and 22 master's degree programs. As of fall 2017, over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB, at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster, California.

Bakersfield College

Main article: Bakersfield College

Bakersfield College ("BC") is a public community college located in Bakersfield, California. Its main campus is on a 153-acre (0.62 km2) campus in northeast Bakersfield, with two satellite campuses: the Weill Institute in downtown Bakersfield, and at the Delano Center in Delano, California, approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of Bakersfield. BC serves more than 18,000 students each semester and is part of the Kern Community College District. Currently, there are a total of 184 Associate's degree and certificate programs for students to choose from. BC is a part of the California Community Colleges system.

Other colleges and universities

National University and University of Phoenix maintains a campus in Bakersfield, while the University of LaVerne, Fresno Pacific University, and Point Loma Nazarene University all have branch campuses located in Bakersfield. San Joaquin Valley College and Santa Barbara Business College also have campuses in Bakersfield.

Media

 
The Bakersfield Californian Building is also listed on the NRHP.

Bakersfield is served by several media outlets. The primary newspaper is The Bakersfield Californian, which is a direct descendant of the first paper published in the region, The Daily Courier in 1866.

The city has a number of television stations and network affiliates, including KERO-TV (ABC), KBAK-TV (CBS), KGET-TV (NBC), KBFX-CD (Fox), KABE-CD (Univision), KKEY-LP (Telemundo), KNXT-LD (MyNetworkTV), KGET-DT2 (CW+) and is served by Fresno's PBS affiliate, KVPT. Bakersfield is also home to Spanish-language broadcaster Univision's only English-language station, KUVI-DT.

Transportation

See also: Transportation in Kern County

Highways

 
California State Route 178 at M Street near downtown Bakersfield on a foggy day
 
Garces Circle
 
The old Southern Pacific Railroad station, currently the crew change depot for north and southbound Union Pacific Railroad trains. Old Town Kern is located primarily around Baker Street, near the former town of Sumner. It competed to be the commercial downtown, eventually losing to the present location west of Old Town.

Bakersfield is serviced by an extensive highway network which includes three freeways. State Route 99 bisects Bakersfield from north to south, while State Route 58 exists as a freeway east of SR 99, servicing the southeast part of the city and extending over the Tehachapi mountains to Tehachapi, Mojave, and Barstow. State Route 178 consists of a short segment of freeway that runs from a point near downtown to the northeastern part of the city, although there is currently no direct freeway connection between SR 99 and SR 178. Interstate 5 bypasses the city several miles to the west.

Bakersfield is also served by a short, unsigned, four-lane freeway called Alfred Harrell Highway. It was constructed between 1956 and 1958 and extends from China Grade Loop to Hart Park (a large recreation park in northeast Bakersfield). There is also a two-lane expressway to the east of the park. This section was originally reserved to be converted to a four-lane freeway similar to the constructed western portion.[137] If it were ever constructed, it would have two interchanges (at Morning Drive and Lake Ming Road) and would terminate at the SR 178 adopted alignment (not constructed).

Both SR 58 and SR 178 have planned future extensions. The western extension of SR 58 is known as the Centennial Corridor, which will extend the freeway west to I-5.[138] Included in the Centennial Corridor is the Westside Parkway (sometimes referred to by its formal name, the Kern River Freeway).[139] This is a newer freeway which runs through western Bakersfield, on a route parallel to the Kern River and Stockdale Highway. The western extension of SR 178 is known as the Crosstown Freeway/SR 178 Connection, although it was formerly known as the Centennial Corridor before that name was moved to SR 58. It is planned to connect SR 178 to the Westside Parkway.[140]

In addition to these freeway extensions, there is also a proposed network of beltways. Currently, there are two beltways being considered in Bakersfield. The West Beltway would run north–south from Seventh Standard Road to Taft Highway. It will run parallel to Heath Road to the north and parallel to South Allen Road to the south.[141] A future extension would connect the West Beltway to SR 99 and I-5, providing a bypass to Bakersfield. The South Beltway would run east–west from SR 58 to I-5. From SR 58, it would run south, parallel to Comanche Drive until Taft Highway. From there, the freeway would turn west, and run parallel to Taft Highway until terminating at I-5.

 
Larson's Food and Gas as seen from SR 99, in Benton Park, Bakersfield

A future extension would extend the freeway north to SR 178 and terminate at Alfred Harrell Highway. Bakersfield also envisioned Caltrans building a North Beltway as the western extension of SR 58, but this has been withdrawn in favor of the Centennial Corridor.[citation needed]

Most of Bakersfield's major streets are six-lane divided roads with bike lanes, with almost every street in the city having proper lane signage for bicycle traffic. Bicycles are a popular mode of transportation in Bakersfield, due to the city's relatively flat topography and grid-like street system. Newer neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, previously surrounded by two-lane farm roads, are prompting more large, divided roads to be built to help ease the increase in traffic that has resulted from the increase in population. Many developers choose to widen the roads that connect these neighborhoods at their own discretion, which can cause a major road to widen and narrow repeatedly over a short distance (Allen Road and Panama Lane are prime examples of this). Since the Bakersfield city limit boundaries are not uniform, this can cause Kern County "islands" to exist within Bakersfield. The county of Kern may choose not to upgrade a road while the city of Bakersfield does improve a road, which can cause traffic congestion to increase (Calloway Drive from the Westside Parkway north to Rosedale Highway best exemplifies this disparity).

Bakersfield is currently one of the largest cities in the U.S. that is not directly linked to an Interstate highway.[142] However, SR 99 and SR 58 have been considered for conversion to Interstates. SR 99 would be a new Interstate signed either as Interstate 7 or Interstate 9, while SR 58 would be an extension of I-40 which currently terminates in Barstow. In 2005, SR 99 was added to the FHWA list of high priority corridors as "California farm to market route" and designated a Future Interstate.[143][144]

Garces Memorial Traffic Circle, informally known as Garces Circle or just "the Circle", is a traffic circle in Bakersfield. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Chester Avenue, Golden State Avenue (State Route 204), and 30th Street. The Circle was built circa 1932 as a part of US 99. A large sculpture of Francisco Garces was erected inside the circle in 1939.[145]

Bus

Main article: Golden Empire Transit

Bakersfield is served by Golden Empire Transit.[146] Eighteen routes are operated, the majority of which serve the urbanized portion of the county which includes the city of Bakersfield. Bakersfield is also served by Kern Transit, which connects Bakersfield with other communities in Kern County. Intercity bus providers in Bakersfield include Amtrak Thruway, Greyhound, Flixbus, Orange Belt Stages, National Charter Bus, Intercalifornias, TUFESA, and Fronteras del Norte.[147]

The privately owned Airport Valet Express used to offer daily service between Bakersfield and LAX via a connection at the Van Nuys FlyAway bus station, however, they suspended service during the 2020 pandemic and have not yet announced a reopening date.[148]

Rail

 
Amtrak Station

For freight, Bakersfield is served directly by two class-1 railroads, Union Pacific, and BNSF. North of the city, each railroad uses its own rail lines; south of the city, they share a line owned by Union Pacific.[149] The route travels over Tehachapi Pass (and through the Tehachapi Loop).[150] There are several spur lines in and around Bakersfield. The majority are operated by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, owned by Genesee & Wyoming.[151]

Passenger service is provided by the San Joaquin Route, operated by Amtrak California. The Bakersfield Amtrak Station is located downtown, at the intersection of S Street and Truxtun Avenue. The city is the southern terminus of the route. There are five Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach routes, which connect passengers to destinations west, south, and east.[152] Kern Transit also uses the station as one of its hubs, connecting passengers to regions throughout Kern County.[153] A station for Bakersfield is planned as part of the California High-Speed Rail system, now under construction.[154]

 
Meadows Field

Airport

Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield was recently rebuilt and dedicated as the William M. Thomas Terminal.[155]

Also located at the Airport are the Hall Medivac Helicopter, International Flight Training Academy (a subsidiary of Japan's ANA Airlines), SRT Helicopter Flight School, and numerous other aviation mechanics and technicians. However, IFTA has suspended operations in March 2014.

Sites of interest

The following is a list of sites of interest in and around Bakersfield:

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Bakersfield, California

Sister cities

Bakersfield has 6 sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:[156]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Mean maxima and minima (i.e., the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
  2. ^ Official records for Bakersfield kept at Santa Fe Railway Station (at 14th and F Streets) from 1893 to September 1937, and Meadows Field since October 1937. For more information, see Threadex

References

  1. ^ Rachel Rubin; Jeffrey Paul Melnick (June 2001). American Popular Music: New Approaches to the Twentieth Century. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-55849-268-4.
  2. ^ Richards, Patrick (1984). Heart of the Golden Empire – An Illustrated History of Bakersfield. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publications, Inc. pp. 45, 51. ISBN 978-0-89781-065-4.
  3. ^ . California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  4. ^ "Mayor's Office". City of Bakersfield. City of Bakersfield. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  5. ^ . City of Bakersfield. City of Bakersfield. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "Bakersfield". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  8. ^ a b "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files – Places – California". United States Census Bureau.
  10. ^ . bakersfieldcity.us. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "QuickFacts: Bakersfield city, California". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  12. ^ "Bakersfield California Home Inspectors". BakersfieldHomeInspector.biz. 2009.
  13. ^ Bakersfield – Oil Capital of California. San Joaquin Valley Geology. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Facts and Information. Bakersfield Visitor and Convention Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  15. ^ Community Profile June 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce. Page 4. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  16. ^ Yokuts History and Cultural Relations from everyculture.com
  17. ^ Kroeber, Alfred L. (1963). "Yokuts Dialect Survey". University of California Anthropological Records. 11: 234.
  18. ^ a b Arkush, Brooke S. (1993). "Yokuts Trade Networks and Native Culture Change in Central and Eastern California". Ethnohistory. 40 (4): 619–640. doi:10.2307/482590. ISSN 0014-1801. JSTOR 482590.
  19. ^ Yokuts Dwellings from bsahighadventure.org
  20. ^ "History on gold & oil". oceanpark.ws. 2009.
  21. ^ "Full text of "California water"". CONTROLLING THE KERN RIVER Problems. 1979. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  22. ^ "P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE". 2020 Census. United States Census Bureau. from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle (1990). Historic Spots in California. Stanford University Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-8047-1734-2.
  24. ^ Lull, Gordon F. . Bakersfield Magazine. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2013. Baker ...was admitted to the Ohio bar at age 19 and later appointed a colonel in his home state's militia.
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External links

  • Official website  
  • Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau
  • Bakersfield, California at Curlie
  • "Bakersfield". C-SPAN Cities Tour. July 2013.

January 09, 2023
bakersfield, california, bakersfield, redirects, here, other, uses, bakersfield, disambiguation, bakersfield, city, kern, county, california, united, states, county, seat, largest, city, kern, county, city, covers, about, near, southern, joaquin, valley, centr. Bakersfield redirects here For other uses see Bakersfield disambiguation Bakersfield is a city in Kern County California United States It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County The city covers about 151 sq mi 390 km2 9 10 near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region Bakersfield s population as of the 2020 census was 403 455 11 making it the 48th most populous city in the United States of America and the 9th most populous city in California The Bakersfield Delano Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes all of Kern County had a 2020 census population of 909 235 8 making it the 62nd largest metropolitan area in the United States 12 The urban area that includes Bakersfield and areas immediately around the city such as East Bakersfield Oildale and Rosedale has a population of 570 235 Bakersfield CaliforniaCityCity of BakersfieldTop Fox Theater Padre Hotel Middle Beale Memorial Clock Tower Bakersfield Californian Building Kern County Museum Bottom aerial view of central BakersfieldFlagSealNickname Nashville West 1 Location of Bakersfield in Kern County CaliforniaBakersfieldLocation within CaliforniaShow map of CaliforniaBakersfieldLocation within the United StatesShow map of the United StatesBakersfieldLocation within North AmericaShow map of North AmericaCoordinates 35 22 N 119 1 W 35 367 N 119 017 W 35 367 119 017 Coordinates 35 22 N 119 1 W 35 367 N 119 017 W 35 367 119 017CountryUnited StatesStateCaliforniaCountyKernRegionSan Joaquin ValleyIncorporated1873 1876 2 Re incorporatedJanuary 11 1898 3 Named forThomas BakerGovernment TypeCouncil Manager BodyBakersfield City Council MayorKaren K Goh R 4 Mayor Pro TemAndrae Gonzales D City CouncilEric Arias D Andrae Gonzales D Ken Weir R Bob Smith I Bruce Freeman R Patty Gray R Manpreet Kaur D City ManagerChristian Clegg 5 Area 6 City151 28 sq mi 391 80 km2 Land149 81 sq mi 388 01 km2 Water1 46 sq mi 3 79 km2 Elevation 7 404 ft 123 m Population 2020 City403 455 Rank48th in the United States9th in California Density2 700 sq mi 1 000 km2 Urban570 235 US 76th Urban density4 316 0 sq mi 1 666 4 km2 Metro 8 909 235 US 62nd DemonymBakersfieldianTime zoneUTC 8 Pacific Summer DST UTC 7 PDT ZIP codes93220 93301 93309 93311 93314 93380 93390 93399Area code661FIPS code06 03526GNIS feature IDs1652668 2409774Websitewww wbr bakersfieldcity wbr usBakersfield is a significant hub for both agriculture and energy production Kern County is the most productive oil producing county in California 13 and the fourth most productive agricultural county by value in the United States 14 Industries in and around Bakersfield include natural gas and other energy extraction mining petroleum refining distribution food processing and corporate regional offices 15 The city is the birthplace of the country music genre known as the Bakersfield sound Contents 1 History 1 1 Founding 1 2 1952 earthquake 1 3 1970 to 2010 1 4 Historic architecture and preservation 2 Geography 2 1 Communities and neighborhoods 2 2 Climate 2 3 Air quality 3 Demographics 3 1 2010 3 2 Housing and development 4 Economy 4 1 Top employers 5 Arts and culture 5 1 Events 5 2 Entertainment 5 3 Music 5 3 1 Classical 5 3 2 Country 5 3 3 Doowop 5 3 4 Rock 5 3 5 Heavy Metal 6 Sports 7 Government and politics 7 1 Local government 7 2 State and federal 7 3 Political makeup 7 4 Public safety 7 4 1 Police 7 4 2 Fire 7 5 Crime 7 5 1 Jails 8 Education 8 1 High schools 8 2 Accredited colleges and universities 8 2 1 California State University Bakersfield 8 2 2 Bakersfield College 8 2 3 Other colleges and universities 9 Media 10 Transportation 10 1 Highways 10 2 Bus 10 3 Rail 10 4 Airport 11 Sites of interest 12 Notable people 13 Sister cities 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 External linksHistory EditSee also Timeline of Bakersfield California Yowlumne territory at the time of the arrival of the Spanish Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of Native American settlements dating back thousands of years 16 Upon Spanish arrival present day Bakersfield was inhabited by the Yowlumne a Yokuts people 17 Yowlumne accounts indicate that the village of Woilu was situated in the bounds of the present city 18 The Yokuts of the region lived in lodges 19 along the branches of the Kern River delta and hunted antelope tule elk deer bear fish and game birds Spanish priest Francisco Garces arrived in the Bakersfield area in 1776 In 1776 Spanish missionary Francisco Garces became the first European to explore the area Recording his May 1 arrival to a Yokuts village along the Kern River immediately northeast of present Bakersfield Garces wrote 18 The people of the rancheria had a great feast over my arrival and having regaled me well I reciprocated to them all with tobacco and glass beads congratulating myself on seeing the people so affable and affectionate Given the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region the Yokuts remained largely isolated from further contact until after the Mexican War of Independence when Mexican settlers began to migrate to the area Following the discovery of gold in California in 1848 settlers flooded into the San Joaquin Valley In 1851 gold was discovered along the Kern River in the southern Sierra Nevada and in 1865 oil was discovered in the valley 20 The Bakersfield area once a tule reed covered marshland was first known as Kern Island to the handful of pioneers who built log cabins there in 1860 The area was subject to periodic flooding from the Kern River which occupied what is now the downtown area and experienced outbreaks of malaria 21 Bakersfield is the fifth largest majority Hispanic city in the United States with 53 of its population being Hispanic in 2020 22 Founding Edit Bakersfield is named after Thomas Baker who came to the area in 1863 In 1861 disastrous floods swept away the original settlement founded in 1860 by the German born Christian Bohna 23 Among those attracted to the area by the California gold rush was Thomas Baker a lawyer and former colonel in the militia of Ohio his home state 23 24 Baker moved to the banks of the Kern River in 1863 23 at what became known as Baker s Field which became a stopover for travelers 25 By 1870 with a population of 600 what is now known as Bakersfield was becoming the principal town in Kern County 23 In 1873 Bakersfield was officially incorporated as a city 23 and by 1874 it officially replaced the town of Havilah as the county seat 23 Alexander Mills was hired as the city marshal a man one historian would describe as an old man by the time he became Marshal of Bakersfield and he walked with a cane But he was a Kentuckian a handy man with a gun and not lacking in initiative and resource when the mood moved him 26 Businessmen and others began to resent Mills who was cantankerous and high handed in his treatment of them Wanting to fire him but fearing reprisals they came up with a scheme to disincorporate effectively leaving him without an employer According to local historian Gilbert Gia 27 the city was also failing to collect the taxes it needed for services 28 In 1876 29 the city voted to disincorporate For the next 22 years a citizen s council managed the community 30 By 1880 Bakersfield had a population of 801 with 250 of Chinese descent 31 32 By 1890 it had a population of 2 626 Migration from Texas Louisiana Oklahoma and Southern California brought new residents who were mostly employed by the oil industry 31 The city reincorporated on January 11 1898 33 1952 earthquake Edit Main article 1952 Kern County earthquake The First Baptist Church built in 1931 in a Spanish Colonial Revival style is listed on the National Register of Historic Places On July 21 1952 an earthquake struck at 4 52 am Pacific Daylight Time 34 The earthquake which measured 7 5 on the moment magnitude scale and was felt from San Francisco to the Mexican border destroyed the nearby communities of Tehachapi and Arvin The earthquake s destructive force bent cotton fields into U shapes slid a shoulder of the Tehachapi Mountains across all four lanes of the Ridge Route collapsed a water tower creating a flash flood and destroyed the railroad tunnels in the mountain chain citation needed Bakersfield was somewhat spared experiencing minor architectural damage without loss of life A large aftershock occurred on July 29 and did minor architectural damage but raised fears that the flow of the Friant Kern Canal could be dangerously altered potentially flooding the city and surrounding areas The historic Spanish Baroque Revival style Fox Theater built in 1930 Aftershocks continued for the next month and on August 22 at 3 42 pm another earthquake measured at 5 8 struck directly under the city s center in the most densely populated area of the southern San Joaquin Valley Four people died in the aftershock and many of the town s historic structures sustained heavy damage 1970 to 2010 Edit Between 1970 and 2010 Bakersfield grew 400 from 70 000 to 347 483 35 making it one of the fastest growing cities in California 14 Bakersfield s close proximity to mountain passes primarily the Tejon Pass on Interstate 5 between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Joaquin Valley has made the city a regional transportation hub 36 In 1990 Bakersfield was one of 10 U S communities to receive the All America City Award from the National Civic League In 2010 the Bakersfield MSA had a gross metropolitan product of 29 466 billion making it the 73rd largest metropolitan economy in the United States 37 Historic architecture and preservation Edit Main article Bakersfield Register of Historic Places and Areas of Historic Interest Bakersfield has a number of buildings and locations that have been designated as historic sites at the national state and city levels Five buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places NRHP including the First Baptist Church NRHP 1 2 79 Baker Street Library NRHP 4 1 81 and Bakersfield Californian Building NRHP 3 10 83 Four sites have been designated as California Historical Landmarks including Garces Memorial Circle designated in 1937 and the Colonel Thomas Baker Memorial designated in 1944 In addition 16 sites have been locally designated on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places including the Fox Theater designated 8 24 94 and Kern County Chamber of Commerce Building designated 3 12 08 With only 16 sites on its local register compared to more than 300 sites designated by the City of Fresno Bakersfield has been criticized for its lack of focus on historic preservation 38 Geography Edit Truxtun Tower also referred to as the Bank of America Building is the tallest in downtown and the second tallest building in Bakersfield Bakersfield lies near the southern horseshoe end of the San Joaquin Valley with the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada just to the east The city limits extend to the Sequoia National Forest at the foot of the Greenhorn Mountain Range and at the entrance to the Kern Canyon 39 To the south the Tehachapi Mountains rising more than a vertical mile feature the historic Tejon Ranch To the west is the Temblor Range behind which is the Carrizo Plain National Monument and the San Andreas Fault The Temblor Range is about 35 mi 56 km from Bakersfield across the valley floor 40 According to the United States Census Bureau the city has a total area of 143 6 sq mi 372 km2 of which 142 2 sq mi 368 km2 are land 98 99 and 1 4 sq mi 3 6 km2 are covered by water 1 01 At the 2000 census the city had a total area of 114 4 sq mi 296 km2 of which 113 1 sq mi 293 km2 were land 98 86 and 1 3 sq mi 3 4 km2 were water covered 1 14 Bakersfield lies around 110 mi 180 km north of Los Angeles about a 2 hour drive on I 5 and State Route 99 and about 275 mi 443 km southeast of the state capital Sacramento about a 4 hour drive on State Route 99 Hart Memorial Park is located in northeast Bakersfield along Alfred Harrell Highway Communities and neighborhoods Edit See also List of neighborhoods in Bakersfield Bakersfield has historically referred to its regions by directional names They include North Bakersfield Northeast Southeast South Bakersfield Southwest and Northwest East Bakersfield generally refers to the former town of Sumner later renamed East Bakersfield As a result the Northeast wraps around East Bakersfield 41 Climate Edit Dense tule fog in Bakersfield California Visibility in this photo is less than 500 feet 150 m Bakersfield has a hot arid climate Koppen BWh 42 with very hot dry summers and winters that consist of mild days with chilly cold nights Rainfall is low in the city averaging only 6 36 inches 161 5 mm annually with most of it falling in the winter Bakersfield averages about 191 clear days a year 43 Bakersfield s climate makes the region suitable for growing crops ranging from carrots to citrus and almonds Bakersfield summers are very hot with extended stretches of hot weather and 112 days per year with high temperatures of 90 F 32 2 C on average between April 18 and October 13 in addition there are 36 days with highs of 100 F 37 8 C on average between June 2 and September 19 and 0 9 days with highs of 110 F 43 3 C Some years can see wide fluctuations in temperatures throughout seasons with triple digit temperature readings in May rarely April and October in addition to occasional highs below 80 F 26 7 C in June not being uncommon Except for occasional monsoons which may bring light rain typically no rain or almost no rain will fall from May to September 44 Winters feature mild daytime temperatures and chilly cold nights Frost and or dense fog usually occurs in winter with accompanying low visibility causing many schools to have fog delays Winters will usually produce a very dense layer of fog from time to time Due to years of prolonged drought and rapid development of many new neighborhoods around Bakersfield the density of the fog and number of fog days has been steadily decreasing while areas outside the city still experience thick fog The official time frame for tule fog to form is about 5 months long various days from November 1 to March 31 Most noticeable in summer and winter the urban heat island phenomenon can be observed throughout various neighborhoods in Bakersfield Areas closer to downtown and along the 99 freeway corridor can experience warmer temperatures at night than neighborhoods on the edge of the city limits and rural Kern County areas with temperature differences up to 7 F 4 C between these areas at any given time 45 On average 10 mornings have freezing lows on average between December 14 and January 24 annually and the coldest night of the year typically bottoms out below 30 F or 1 1 C 44 Snow is rare on the valley floor although frost may occur 46 The last snow fell on January 25 1999 when the city received up to 6 inches 15 cm 47 with 3 inches 7 6 cm at the airport 44 The record maximum temperature was 118 F 47 8 C on July 28 1908 and the record minimum temperature was 12 F 11 1 C on January 3 1908 48 44 The most rainfall in one month was 5 82 inches 147 8 mm in December 2010 49 and the maximum 24 hour rainfall was 2 29 inches 58 2 mm on February 9 1978 The wettest rain year has been from July 1997 to June 1998 with 14 73 inches 374 1 mm and the driest from July 1933 to June 1934 with 2 26 inches 57 4 mm 44 Climate data for Bakersfield California 1991 2020 normals a extremes 1893 present b Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high F C 82 28 88 31 94 34 101 38 110 43 114 46 118 48 117 47 115 46 104 40 95 35 87 31 118 48 Mean maximum F C 72 1 22 3 77 0 25 0 84 4 29 1 92 2 33 4 99 0 37 2 105 4 40 8 107 2 41 8 106 9 41 6 103 0 39 4 94 5 34 7 82 1 27 8 71 5 21 9 109 0 42 8 Average high F C 58 5 14 7 64 3 17 9 70 2 21 2 75 9 24 4 84 1 28 9 92 3 33 5 98 3 36 8 96 9 36 1 91 4 33 0 80 2 26 8 67 1 19 5 58 8 14 9 78 2 25 7 Daily mean F C 49 5 9 7 53 8 12 1 58 6 14 8 63 3 17 4 71 1 21 7 78 7 25 9 84 8 29 3 83 4 28 6 78 2 25 7 67 7 19 8 56 3 13 5 49 2 9 6 66 2 19 0 Average low F C 40 5 4 7 43 2 6 2 47 0 8 3 50 7 10 4 58 0 14 4 65 1 18 4 71 3 21 8 70 0 21 1 65 0 18 3 55 2 12 9 45 4 7 4 39 6 4 2 54 2 12 3 Mean minimum F C 30 5 0 8 33 7 0 9 36 8 2 7 39 8 4 3 47 4 8 6 53 0 11 7 61 9 16 6 60 7 15 9 54 5 12 5 44 7 7 1 34 8 1 6 29 6 1 3 28 4 2 0 Record low F C 12 11 20 7 20 7 28 2 34 1 38 3 45 7 44 7 30 1 29 2 22 6 13 11 12 11 Average precipitation inches mm 1 19 30 1 18 30 1 15 29 0 60 15 0 25 6 4 0 05 1 3 trace trace 0 05 1 3 0 28 7 1 0 51 13 1 10 28 6 36 162 Average snowfall inches cm 0 1 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 25 Average precipitation days 0 01 in 6 3 6 8 6 0 3 9 2 1 0 4 0 2 0 1 0 6 1 6 3 6 6 0 37 6Mean monthly sunshine hours 186 197 8 279 300 341 360 372 341 300 279 210 155 3 320 8Mean daily sunshine hours 6 7 9 10 11 12 12 11 10 9 7 5 9Percent possible sunshine 59 64 75 76 79 83 84 82 81 80 68 51 74Average ultraviolet index 3 4 6 8 9 10 10 10 8 5 4 2 7Source 1 NOAA 44 50 Source 2 Climate Atlas sun and uv 51 Air quality Edit Further information Air pollution in the United States Air quality is generally at its worst in fall and winter due to the California wildfire season and colder temperatures forming an inversion layer respectively 52 It is common for an inversion layer to form in the valley in the winter in which temperatures can be warmer in the foothills above the valley with the valley itself being cooler This can trap air pollution in Bakersfield and the surrounding valley areas for days or even weeks at a time This can typically be mediated by rain or strong winds 53 Emissions from agriculture industry rail freight and road traffic together create significant concentrations of air pollution 54 The extraction of oil and gas a historic industry in the area contributes to the poor air quality 55 Returning flowing water to the Kern River and along with trees is promoted as a way to improve air quality and enhance recreation in the city 56 In 2015 Bakersfield had 28 days of Unhealthy and 1 day of Very Unhealthy air quality according to the EPA This ranked 6th in the United States 57 In 2016 Bakersfield had 14 days with Unhealthy air quality according to the EPA This ranked 9th in the United States 58 53 In 2017 Bakersfield had 23 days with Unhealthy air quality according to the EPA Fourteen of those days were caused by the Thomas Fire located in adjacent Ventura and Santa Barbara counties During that fire Ventura and Santa Barbara counties experienced Very Unhealthy and Hazardous air quality 59 In 2018 Bakersfield had 27 days with Unhealthy air quality according to the EPA Most of these days were due to the second deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California behind the 2020 fire season This ranked 6th in the United States 60 In 2019 Bakersfield had only 6 days with Unhealthy air quality and 2 days with Very Unhealthy according to the EPA 61 In 2020 Bakersfield had 31 days with Unhealthy air quality and 2 days with Very Unhealthy according to the EPA 62 This was largely caused by the record breaking 2020 fire season In 2021 Bakersfield has recorded 28 days with Unhealthy air quality and 1 day with Very Unhealthy according to the EPA 63 Demographics EditHistorical populationCensus Pop 1880801 18902 626227 8 19004 83684 2 191012 727163 2 192018 63846 4 193026 01539 6 194029 25212 4 195034 78418 9 196056 84863 4 197069 51522 3 1980105 61151 9 1990174 82065 5 2000247 05741 3 2010347 48340 6 2020403 45516 1 U S Decennial Census 64 Ethnic composition 2020 65 2010 66 1990 67 1970 67 1940 67 White 38 9 56 8 72 7 83 6 94 6 Non Hispanic 28 8 37 8 65 9 70 8 68 n aBlack or African American 7 0 8 1 9 4 13 3 3 5 Hispanic or Latino of any race 52 7 45 5 20 5 10 9 68 n aAsian 7 8 6 2 3 6 1 1 Two or more Races 16 6 4 9 n a n a n a Map of racial distribution in Bakersfield 2010 U S Census Each dot is 25 people White Black Asian Hispanic Other 2010 Edit The 2010 United States Census 69 reported that Bakersfield had a population of 347 483 The population density was 2 419 6 inhabitants per square mile 934 2 km2 The ethnic makeup of Bakersfield was 197 389 56 8 White 28 238 8 1 African American 5 102 1 5 Native American 21 432 6 2 Asian 2 1 Indian 2 0 Filipino 0 5 Chinese 0 4 Korean 0 2 Japanese 478 0 1 Pacific Islander 77 686 22 4 from other races and 17 068 4 9 from two or more races Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 158 205 persons 45 5 Among the general population 39 5 are Mexican 1 3 Salvadoran 0 5 Guatemalan and 0 10 Colombian Non Hispanic Whites were 37 8 of the population in 2010 70 compared to 71 in 1980 67 The census reported 344 088 people 99 0 of the population lived in households 2 094 0 6 lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters and 1 301 0 4 were institutionalized Of the 111 132 households 51 995 46 8 had children under the age of 18 living in them 57 276 51 5 were opposite sex married couples living together 18 049 16 2 had a female householder with no husband present and 7 829 7 0 had a male householder with no wife present There were 8 159 7 3 unmarried opposite sex partnerships and 845 0 8 same sex married couples or partnerships About 21 800 households 19 6 were made up of individuals and 7 354 6 6 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older The average household size was 3 10 There were 83 154 families 74 8 of all households the average family size was 3 56 The population was distributed as 109 479 people 31 5 under the age of 18 37 368 10 8 aged 18 to 24 97 024 27 9 aged 25 to 44 74 276 21 4 aged 45 to 64 and 29 336 8 4 who were 65 years of age or older The median age was 30 0 years For every 100 females there were 96 0 males For every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92 5 males The 120 725 housing units averaged 840 6 per square mile 324 6 km2 of which 66 323 59 7 were owner occupied and 44 809 40 3 were occupied by renters The homeowner vacancy rate was 3 2 the rental vacancy rate was 9 0 About 206 492 people 59 4 of the population lived in owner occupied housing units and 137 596 people 39 6 lived in rental housing units Bakersfield has consistently ranked as one of the least educated metropolitan areas in the United States 71 72 A study by the Brookings Institution using 2008 data found that the proportion of Bakersfield metro adults age 25 and over with a bachelor s degree was the lowest 14 7 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States that 100th place finish was down from being ranked 95th in 1990 73 According to a Gallup Healthways Well Being Index Bakersfield ranks as one of the ten most obese metro areas in America Of its residents 33 6 were found to be obese compared to the national average of 26 5 74 The same study found that 21 2 were smokers 12 7 had diabetes 27 9 had high blood pressure 22 8 had high cholesterol 3 3 have suffered a heart attack 75 2 felt they had enough money to buy food and 75 5 had health insurance 74 Housing and development Edit Bakersfield saw its population grow from about 105 000 in 1980 to 347 000 in 2010 Although the city is still growing its growth rate has slowed in recent years due to the economic recession and high home foreclosure rates However in October 2013 Bakersfield was found to be the number two city in the nation for the rental market 75 Apartment vacancies have become a large issue with only one percent of potential apartments being open to new renters as of April 2021 The average cost of rent and housing have dramatically increased in the last few years with some apartments having their monthly rent nearly double in cost Most new apartments being built are catering to commuting workers from Southern California and the Bay Area with local residents being priced out 76 The city of Shafter a small farming town north of Bakersfield previously filed a suit to attempt to limit the northern expansion of Bakersfield s city limits Shafter has also annexed large pieces of farmland to its east and south to ensure that Bakersfield does not annex this area 77 Bakersfield in addition filed a lawsuit against Shafter in 2007 regarding water rights Shafter planned to use but Bakersfield stated it had purchased in 1976 As a result the city of Bakersfield threatened to annex the city of Shafter citation needed The large bluff and plateau which lie east of Bakersfield toward the Rio Bravo and Kern Canyon area have been under development for the last 60 years Because the steep north facing edge of the bluff provides a view of the foothills mountains oil fields and Kern River the city government has attempted to balance development and preservation in this area Economy EditBakersfield s historic and primary industries have related to Kern County s two main industries oil and agriculture Kern County in 2013 was the most oil productive county in the US 78 79 Kern County is a part of the highly productive San Joaquin Valley and ranks in the top five most productive agricultural counties in the nation 79 Major crops for Kern County include grapes citrus almonds carrots alfalfa cotton and roses 80 The city serves as the home for both corporate and regional headquarters of companies engaged in these industries Bakersfield has a growing manufacturing and distribution sector Several companies have moved to Bakersfield because of its inexpensive land as well as proximity to international ports in both Los Angeles and Oakland 81 Other companies have opened regional offices and non oil agricultural businesses because of Bakersfield s and Kern County s business friendly policies such as having no local utility or inventory taxes 79 Products manufactured in the city include ice cream world s largest ice cream plant central vacuums highway paint and stock racing cars 82 Bakersfield is the largest city to have the lowest sales tax in California at the state minimum of 7 25 83 Top employers Edit According to the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce when 84 the top employers in the county based in Bakersfield are Employer of Employees1 County of Kern 7 4752 The Giumarra Companies 4 2003 Grimmway Farms 3 5004 Bolthouse Farms 2 0005 Bakersfield Memorial Hospital 1 4006 City of Bakersfield 1 3007 Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield 1 2007 ARB 1 2009 Kern Medical Center 1 20010 State Farm Insurance 1 04511 Sun World 1 02512 Chevron 1 00013 Clinica Sierra Vista 1 00014 San Joaquin Community Hospital 88015 AndrewsAg 80016 Sun Pacific 80017 Paramount Farms 80018 California State University Bakersfield 60019 Aera Energy 60020 Kaiser Permanente 500Arts and culture EditMain article Arts and culture of Bakersfield California Many of Bakersfield s oldest and most historic restaurants are Basque 85 including Wool Growers Noriega s Pyrenees Benji s and Narducci s The Kern County Museum located on Chester Avenue just north of downtown Bakersfield holds a collection of regional artifacts Permanent exhibits include citation needed Black Gold The Oil Experience a hands on modern approach at showing how oil is extracted and The Lori Brock Children s Discovery Museum a hands on children s museum and a display on the influential Bakersfield Sound style of country music Bakersfield is also home to the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History which has a collection of Miocene era marine fossils collected from the region as well as other displays The city gained fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Bakersfield Sound an electric guitar driven subgenre of country music that commercially dominated the industry for more than a decade Buck Owens Dwight Yoakam and Merle Haggard were its best known stars Events Edit Bakersfield hosts horse shows all year round including local 4 H and breed shows Every spring Bakersfield hosts one of California s Scottish Games and Clan Gatherings 86 In the late summer St George s Greek Orthodox Church hosts an annual Greek Festival Every year during the summer Bakersfield hosts the Lowrider National at the Kern County Fairgrounds Memorial Day weekend features the Kern County Basque Festival sponsored by the Kern County Basque Club 87 This three day festival features food music dance and handball games In March Famoso Raceway holds the annual March Meet nostalgia drag racing event The event dates back to the U S Fuel and Gas Finals held in March 1959 Twice a year the CSUB Indigenous Native American Club hosts a Native Gathering on the California State University Bakersfield campus at Runner Park 88 In mid to late September Bakersfield holds the annual Kern County Fair which showcases the area s agricultural produce and animal husbandry along with a rodeo concerts and a traditional carnival Previously every year and now every five years 89 Bakersfield hosts a political conference known as the Bakersfield Business Conference Since 1985 this conference has grown in attendance and as of 2007 the attendance numbered over 9 000 The Conference has had several notable political speakers to include Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter Gerald Ford George H W Bush Margaret Thatcher Neil Armstrong Norman Schwarzkopf Colin Powell Mike Wallace Dan Rather Tom Brokaw Rush Limbaugh Sarah Palin and Paul Harvey 90 Writers of Kern hosts their Spring Writers Conference 91 in March or April each year Edgar Award winner and internationally bestselling author Anne Perry was a notable speaker at one of these writer s conferences 92 Entertainment Edit The Fox Theater Bakersfield has five movie multi screen theaters Edwards Bakersfield Stadium 14 Reading Cinemas Valley Plaza 16 Maya Cinemas Bakersfield 16 AMC Bakersfield 6 and a Studio Movie Grill The historic downtown Fox Theater has been renovated and is now a venue for concerts musicians comedians and movies The Bakersfield Community Theatre is the oldest live community theater in California There are others including The Empty Space which offers some free performances Music Edit Due to the Dust Bowl Buck Owens and his family migrated west where they would travel from Phoenix to the San Joaquin Valley to pick crops including cotton 93 At 16 Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1951 where he and other musicians began to create what is now known as the Bakersfield sound 93 In 1996 Buck Owens opened the Crystal Palace a music hall nightclub bar restaurant and museum in Bakersfield Musician Merle Haggard was born and raised in Oildale In 1962 Haggard completed his first single Skid Row on Bakersfield s Tally label In 1965 he went on to sign with Capitol Records 94 Most of Haggard s early songs reflect his time spent in prison farming and working blue collar jobs in Southern California including Bakersfield 94 Bakersfield is often considered to be the birthplace of a unique strand of country music 95 that has inspired many country artists such as Dwight Yoakam 95 and The Strangers Yoakam alongside Owens paid tribute to Owens by covering his 1973 recording of Streets of Bakersfield The cover reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988 96 Classical Edit The Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra has been performing since 1932 97 Country Edit Bakersfield is known for the Bakersfield sound a twangy style of Fender Telecaster and pedal steel guitar music made popular by hometown country crooners Buck Owens and Merle Haggard as well as The Strangers 98 Doowop Edit Bakersfield is also known for Doowop music dating back from the early to mid 1950s to the early to late 1960s consisting of Doowop vocal groups such as The Paradons The Colts The Rev Lons and more 99 100 101 Rock Edit In 1972 Bob Weir released the song Mexicali Blues on his first solo album Ace Not only does the sound of the song pay tribute to the Bakersfield sound but the name of the city is referenced in the lyrics In 1978 The Rolling Stones released the song Far Away Eyes on the album Some Girls Mick Jagger and Keith Richards collaborated on writing the song and it was recorded in late 1977 The Rolling Stones longtime country music fans incorporated many aspects of Bakersfield sound country music into this song Bakersfield is mentioned in the song Heavy Metal Edit In the early 1990s a group of friends from the lower and middle class parts of Northeast and East Bakersfield formed the nu metal band Korn The members of the band attended Highland High School Jonathan Davis and Reginald Fieldy Arvizu East High School James Munky Shaffer and lead guitarist Brian Head Welch and South High School David Silveria Korn has sold over 34 million albums worldwide and were given the keys to the city Bakersfield is also the home of fellow metal groups Cradle of Thorns formed in 1988 by Ty Elam as Videodrone and Adema The band formed in 2000 with members vocalist Mark Chavez guitarist Tim Fluckey guitarist Mike Ransom bassist Dave DeRoo and drummer Kris Kohls On February 24 2006 Bakersfield mayor Harvey Hall declared February 24 Korn Day On the same day the back road to the Rabobank Arena was named Korn Row 102 Bakersfield is also the home of Deathrock group Burning Image one of the original bands of the early 80 s Californian Deathrock scene 103 Sports EditMain article Sports in Bakersfield A minor league hockey game being played at Bakersfield s Rabobank Arena Bakersfield is not represented in any of the five major sports leagues NFL MLB NBA NHL or MLS The closest major sports teams are in Los Angeles and they have many fans in Bakersfield The city is home to two minor league professional sports teams the Bakersfield Condors American Hockey League and the Bakersfield Train Robbers baseball club Pecos League It was previously home to the California League s Bakersfield Blaze baseball team which ceased operations after the 2016 season A third minor league team the Bakersfield Jam of the D League basketball was relocated to Prescott Valley Arizona in 2016 The Bakersfield Magic are an expansion team in The Basketball League that will begin play in 2022 In addition Bakersfield has two colleges with strong athletics programs The Bakersfield Renegades represent Bakersfield College a community college with 19 varsity sports the most notable being football 104 It competes in the Western State Conference which is a part of the California Community College Athletic Association The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners represent California State University Bakersfield and sponsor 15 varsity sports the most notable being basketball 105 It competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Big West Conference 106 Bakersfield is home to Colby Lewis from the MLB team the Texas Rangers Stephen Neal from the Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots NFL players Joey Porter David and Derek Carr also have called Bakersfield home and still have some connection to Bakersfield Bakersfield is also located near a variety of motor racing venues Current racing sports include drag strip at Famoso Raceway dirt at Bakersfield Speedway road course at Buttonwillow Raceway and a paved 1 2 mile oval at Kern County Raceway Park which replaced Mesa Marin Raceway a NASCAR associated oval track that was demolished in 2004 A 1 3 mile dirt track has also opened on the Kern County Raceway Park property The national jet boat association holds drag boat races at Lake Ming Bakersfield is also the home town of four time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears as well as the 2007 Daytona 500 winner and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick Bakersfield has many venues for a variety of different sports One of the most notable and versatile is the Mechanics Bank Arena formerly the Centennial Garden which hosts concerts shows and sporting events In addition Bakersfield has facilities that can host tournament games The Kern County Soccer Field has 24 full size light soccer fields 107 Also currently under construction is the Bakersfield Sports Village When completed it will have 16 baseball fields 6 football fields and 16 soccer fields 108 Government and politics EditFor current elected officials and representative districts all levels of government see List of elected officials in Bakersfield City Hall is the seat of government for the city Both the mayor s office and city council chambers are located inside Local government Edit Bakersfield uses the Council Manager form of government in which the City Council is the primary governing authority 109 The City Council consists of seven members elected from seven wards or districts The Mayor is elected at large and is the presiding member of the City Council although she does not cast a vote except in a few instances 110 The City Council appoints and confirms which the mayor does cast a vote 110 both the City Attorney and the City Manager 111 The City Manager in turn appoints does not require confirmation from the City Council the Finance Director City Clerk and Deputy City Clerk 112 In addition to these positions Bakersfield also has several departments used to provide the services necessary to the city They are Department of Development Services Department of Economic and Community Development Fire Department Police Department Department of Public Works Department of Recreation and Parks and Department of Water Resources The framework for the city government is defined in the City Charter As of 2011 it contained 11 articles and 4 addendums 113 The current version was adopted on January 23 1915 114 Little information is known about the City Charter adopted in 1873 or in 1898 when the city was incorporated The City Charter has been amended several times since it was adopted One of the more definitive amendments was to change the Mayor from an appointed position by the City Council to an elected position in 1956 which was done as a result of the 1952 Kern County earthquake 115 The City Manager of Bakersfield is the appointed head of the executive branch The position was created after 1957 when the role of mayor which was the previous head was split into two new positions Under the council manager form of government the City Manager is responsible for executing ordinances passed by the city council and running the departments that make up the city His office is currently located in City Hall North 116 The city manager is appointed by the city council His service can end in one of two ways Either he resigns or by a vote of removal by the city council The vote to appoint and remove is one of the few votes the mayor can cast 110 For a list of past and present mayors see List of mayors of Bakersfield State and federal Edit This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information January 2023 Federally Bakersfield is split between California s 20th congressional district which is represented by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and California s 22nd congressional district which is represented by Republican David Valadao Political makeup Edit An August 2005 article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer listed Bakersfield as the eighth most conservative city in the United States and the most conservative city in California 117 In the 2008 Presidential election Republican John McCain received 55 6 of the city s votes to Democrat Barack Obama s 42 9 118 The same year Bakersfield cast 75 2 of its votes in favor of Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same sex marriage 119 In the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump received 50 4 of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton s 44 0 Large influxes of people moving to Bakersfield from Southern California and the Bay Area have been changing the political makeup of Bakersfield while Kern County as a whole still remains strongly Republican 120 Public safety Edit Law enforcement within the city limits is provided by the Bakersfield Police Department Fire protection within the city is provided jointly by the Bakersfield Fire Department and by the Kern County Fire Department which protects the county as a whole Bakersfield is traditionally acknowledged as the frontier delineating Sureno and Norteno gang territories citation needed Police Edit Main article Bakersfield Police Department The Bakersfield Police Department BPD is the agency responsible for law enforcement It has over 363 officers and 100 professional staff covering an area of 145 square miles 380 km2 serving an urban population of more than 800 000 The current chief of the department is Greg Terry 121 The department protects the city split between two areas West area and East area with police headquarters in the east and the west substation serving west Bakersfield The department administration is made up of the chief of police one assistant chief four captains and eleven lieutenants 122 The department headquarters are located at 1601 Truxtun Avenue The West Substation is located at 1301 Buena Vista Road Satellite offices are located on E 11th Street and on E White Lane The department pistol range is located on Truxtun Avenue with the K 9 training grounds next door to the range The department training academy is located on Norris Road in conjunction with the Kern County Sheriff s Department The 2015 Mapping Police Violence study calculated that Bakersfield police killed civilians at the highest rate in the U S logging 13 6 killings per million people compared to the U S average of 3 6 123 In all 13 people were killed in 2015 by BPD Officers and 27 people were killed by law enforcement officers in Kern County which has a population of approximately 900 000 124 The Guardian reported that law enforcement officers in Kern County California killed more people per capita than in any other American county in 2015 125 Fire Edit The Bakersfield Fire Department has 14 stations spread across the city 126 The Bakersfield Fire Department s communications division known as ECC Emergency Communications Center is located in the Whiting Communications Center in Northeast Bakersfield ECC is a joint dispatch center for the Kern County Bakersfield City and California City Fire Departments Built in 1988 ECC is responsible for dispatching resources over an area of approximately 8 100 square miles 21 000 km2 that includes 65 fire stations ECC s approximate call volume is 82 000 calls a year and processes Emergency and Non Emergency Fire and Medical 911 calls for the entire County of Kern 127 The Kern County Fire Department KCFD is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the county of Kern California USA With over 625 permanent employees and 100 extra help employees protecting an area which spans over 8 000 square miles 21 000 km2 KCFD provides fire protection services for over 500 000 citizens living in the unincorporated areas of Kern County and the cities of Arvin Delano Maricopa McFarland Ridgecrest Shafter Taft Tehachapi and Wasco This agency is contracted to provide dispatch services for the California City Fire Department Kern Ambulance based in Wasco and Care Ambulance based in Lake Isabella Over 546 uniformed firefighters are stationed in 46 fire stations throughout the county Due to a vast number of county islands and jagged city limit lines in the south part of Bakersfield the closest fire station is dispatched to incidents This often results in city resources being dispatched to county locations and vice versa Crime Edit Further information Bakersfield Police Department The number of violent crimes recorded by the Bakersfield Police Department in its 2008 Crime Reports was 5 961 128 27 of those were murders and homicides 129 Data collected by Bakersfield Police Department an anti gang program under the city of Bakersfield shows that the city of Bakersfield has experienced an increase in gang membership and gang activity since the early 2000s Jails Edit The Bakersfield Police Department has a holding area but inmates are transported to the Kern County Central Receiving Facility in Bakersfield Sentenced criminals are held at the Lerdo Detention Facility just outside the city s limits 130 The Kern County Sheriff s Office Detentions Bureau has an average daily inmate population of approximately 2 500 inmates 131 The primary facility for receiving inmates arrested in the Bakersfield area is the Central Receiving Facility 132 In addition there is the Lerdo Complex which consists of three facilities The Lerdo Minimum Security Facility holds inmates of lower security levels 133 The Lerdo Pre Trial Facility holds inmates of higher security levels 134 The Lerdo Max Med Security Facility holds overflow inmates from the Pre Trial Facility 135 Education Edit CSUB s Walter Stiern Library Two of the earliest schools founded in Kern County were Mrs Thomas Baker s school opened in 1863 at the Baker home near present day 19th and N streets and a Catholic parochial school opened by Reverend Father Daniel Dade in 1865 in Havilah then the county seat In 1880 Norris School was established The land for this school was donated by William Norris a local farmer Thirteen to twenty students were taught in its one classroom during the 1880s Bakersfield City School District BCSD is the state s largest elementary school district The first high school in Bakersfield Kern County Union High School opened in 1893 It was renamed Bakersfield High School after World War II Bakersfield College The site at California Avenue and F Street is the location of the first campus of Bakersfield College which was established in 1913 and relocated in 1956 to its current location overlooking the Panorama Bluffs in northeast Bakersfield Bakersfield College has an enrollment of 16 000 students To serve a growing baby boomer population after World War II the Kern High School District has steadily expanded to nineteen campuses and more than 35 000 students making it the largest high school district in the state In 1965 a university in the California State University system was founded in Bakersfield California State University Bakersfield CSUB has approximately 10 000 students It was an NCAA Division II sports powerhouse in the California Collegiate Athletic Association CCAA with some sports including wrestling Pac 10 competing in Division I CSUB has become a Division I athletic school and will join the Big West Conference in 2020 In 1982 the Bakersfield campus for Santa Barbara Business College was founded High schools Edit The Baker Street Branch Library part of the Kern County Library system is among the Bakersfield structures listed on the NRHP Bakersfield is part of the Kern High School District KHSD California s largest high school district 136 comprising 28 schools and educating about 35 000 students There are 17 high schools within the KHSD in Bakersfield Arvin High School Bakersfield High School Centennial High School East Bakersfield High School Foothill High School Frontier High School Golden Valley High School Highland High School Independence High School Liberty High School Mira Monte High School North High School Ridgeview High School Shafter High School South High School Stockdale High School West High School Private high schools include Garces Memorial High School Bakersfield Christian High School and Bakersfield Adventist Academy Accredited colleges and universities Edit California State University Bakersfield Edit Main article California State University Bakersfield California State University Bakersfield CSUB CSU Bakersfield or Cal State Bakersfield is a public university founded in Bakersfield in 1965 CSUB opened in 1970 on a campus of 375 acres 1 52 km2 becoming the 19th school in the California State University system The university offers 31 bachelor s and 22 master s degree programs As of fall 2017 over 10 000 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster California Bakersfield College Edit Main article Bakersfield College Bakersfield College BC is a public community college located in Bakersfield California Its main campus is on a 153 acre 0 62 km2 campus in northeast Bakersfield with two satellite campuses the Weill Institute in downtown Bakersfield and at the Delano Center in Delano California approximately 35 miles 56 km north of Bakersfield BC serves more than 18 000 students each semester and is part of the Kern Community College District Currently there are a total of 184 Associate s degree and certificate programs for students to choose from BC is a part of the California Community Colleges system Other colleges and universities Edit National University and University of Phoenix maintains a campus in Bakersfield while the University of LaVerne Fresno Pacific University and Point Loma Nazarene University all have branch campuses located in Bakersfield San Joaquin Valley College and Santa Barbara Business College also have campuses in Bakersfield Media EditThis section needs expansion with Radio You can help by adding to it January 2013 The Bakersfield Californian Building is also listed on the NRHP Bakersfield is served by several media outlets The primary newspaper is The Bakersfield Californian which is a direct descendant of the first paper published in the region The Daily Courier in 1866 The city has a number of television stations and network affiliates including KERO TV ABC KBAK TV CBS KGET TV NBC KBFX CD Fox KABE CD Univision KKEY LP Telemundo KNXT LD MyNetworkTV KGET DT2 CW and is served by Fresno s PBS affiliate KVPT Bakersfield is also home to Spanish language broadcaster Univision s only English language station KUVI DT Transportation EditSee also Transportation in Kern County Highways Edit California State Route 178 at M Street near downtown Bakersfield on a foggy day Garces Circle The old Southern Pacific Railroad station currently the crew change depot for north and southbound Union Pacific Railroad trains Old Town Kern is located primarily around Baker Street near the former town of Sumner It competed to be the commercial downtown eventually losing to the present location west of Old Town Bakersfield is serviced by an extensive highway network which includes three freeways State Route 99 bisects Bakersfield from north to south while State Route 58 exists as a freeway east of SR 99 servicing the southeast part of the city and extending over the Tehachapi mountains to Tehachapi Mojave and Barstow State Route 178 consists of a short segment of freeway that runs from a point near downtown to the northeastern part of the city although there is currently no direct freeway connection between SR 99 and SR 178 Interstate 5 bypasses the city several miles to the west Bakersfield is also served by a short unsigned four lane freeway called Alfred Harrell Highway It was constructed between 1956 and 1958 and extends from China Grade Loop to Hart Park a large recreation park in northeast Bakersfield There is also a two lane expressway to the east of the park This section was originally reserved to be converted to a four lane freeway similar to the constructed western portion 137 If it were ever constructed it would have two interchanges at Morning Drive and Lake Ming Road and would terminate at the SR 178 adopted alignment not constructed Both SR 58 and SR 178 have planned future extensions The western extension of SR 58 is known as the Centennial Corridor which will extend the freeway west to I 5 138 Included in the Centennial Corridor is the Westside Parkway sometimes referred to by its formal name the Kern River Freeway 139 This is a newer freeway which runs through western Bakersfield on a route parallel to the Kern River and Stockdale Highway The western extension of SR 178 is known as the Crosstown Freeway SR 178 Connection although it was formerly known as the Centennial Corridor before that name was moved to SR 58 It is planned to connect SR 178 to the Westside Parkway 140 In addition to these freeway extensions there is also a proposed network of beltways Currently there are two beltways being considered in Bakersfield The West Beltway would run north south from Seventh Standard Road to Taft Highway It will run parallel to Heath Road to the north and parallel to South Allen Road to the south 141 A future extension would connect the West Beltway to SR 99 and I 5 providing a bypass to Bakersfield The South Beltway would run east west from SR 58 to I 5 From SR 58 it would run south parallel to Comanche Drive until Taft Highway From there the freeway would turn west and run parallel to Taft Highway until terminating at I 5 Larson s Food and Gas as seen from SR 99 in Benton Park Bakersfield A future extension would extend the freeway north to SR 178 and terminate at Alfred Harrell Highway Bakersfield also envisioned Caltrans building a North Beltway as the western extension of SR 58 but this has been withdrawn in favor of the Centennial Corridor citation needed Most of Bakersfield s major streets are six lane divided roads with bike lanes with almost every street in the city having proper lane signage for bicycle traffic Bicycles are a popular mode of transportation in Bakersfield due to the city s relatively flat topography and grid like street system Newer neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city previously surrounded by two lane farm roads are prompting more large divided roads to be built to help ease the increase in traffic that has resulted from the increase in population Many developers choose to widen the roads that connect these neighborhoods at their own discretion which can cause a major road to widen and narrow repeatedly over a short distance Allen Road and Panama Lane are prime examples of this Since the Bakersfield city limit boundaries are not uniform this can cause Kern County islands to exist within Bakersfield The county of Kern may choose not to upgrade a road while the city of Bakersfield does improve a road which can cause traffic congestion to increase Calloway Drive from the Westside Parkway north to Rosedale Highway best exemplifies this disparity Bakersfield is currently one of the largest cities in the U S that is not directly linked to an Interstate highway 142 However SR 99 and SR 58 have been considered for conversion to Interstates SR 99 would be a new Interstate signed either as Interstate 7 or Interstate 9 while SR 58 would be an extension of I 40 which currently terminates in Barstow In 2005 SR 99 was added to the FHWA list of high priority corridors as California farm to market route and designated a Future Interstate 143 144 Garces Memorial Traffic Circle informally known as Garces Circle or just the Circle is a traffic circle in Bakersfield The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Chester Avenue Golden State Avenue State Route 204 and 30th Street The Circle was built circa 1932 as a part of US 99 A large sculpture of Francisco Garces was erected inside the circle in 1939 145 Bus Edit Main article Golden Empire Transit Bakersfield is served by Golden Empire Transit 146 Eighteen routes are operated the majority of which serve the urbanized portion of the county which includes the city of Bakersfield Bakersfield is also served by Kern Transit which connects Bakersfield with other communities in Kern County Intercity bus providers in Bakersfield include Amtrak Thruway Greyhound Flixbus Orange Belt Stages National Charter Bus Intercalifornias TUFESA and Fronteras del Norte 147 The privately owned Airport Valet Express used to offer daily service between Bakersfield and LAX via a connection at the Van Nuys FlyAway bus station however they suspended service during the 2020 pandemic and have not yet announced a reopening date 148 Rail Edit Amtrak Station For freight Bakersfield is served directly by two class 1 railroads Union Pacific and BNSF North of the city each railroad uses its own rail lines south of the city they share a line owned by Union Pacific 149 The route travels over Tehachapi Pass and through the Tehachapi Loop 150 There are several spur lines in and around Bakersfield The majority are operated by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad owned by Genesee amp Wyoming 151 Passenger service is provided by the San Joaquin Route operated by Amtrak California The Bakersfield Amtrak Station is located downtown at the intersection of S Street and Truxtun Avenue The city is the southern terminus of the route There are five Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach routes which connect passengers to destinations west south and east 152 Kern Transit also uses the station as one of its hubs connecting passengers to regions throughout Kern County 153 A station for Bakersfield is planned as part of the California High Speed Rail system now under construction 154 Meadows Field Airport Edit Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield was recently rebuilt and dedicated as the William M Thomas Terminal 155 Also located at the Airport are the Hall Medivac Helicopter International Flight Training Academy a subsidiary of Japan s ANA Airlines SRT Helicopter Flight School and numerous other aviation mechanics and technicians However IFTA has suspended operations in March 2014 Sites of interest EditThe following is a list of sites of interest in and around Bakersfield Bakersfield Sign Central Beale Memorial Clock Tower Central Buck Owens Crystal Palace Central Fox Theater Downtown Kern County Museum Central Kern Veterans Memorial Downtown Padre Hotel Downtown Mill Creek Downtown The Park at River Walk Southwest Notable people EditMain article List of people from Bakersfield CaliforniaSister cities EditBakersfield has 6 sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International 156 Bucheon Gyeonggi do South Korea 157 Minsk Belarus Inactive since June 1999 158 Wakayama Japan July 14 1961 159 Cixi Zhejiang China 157 Santiago de Queretaro Queretaro Mexico Amritsar Punjab IndiaSee also EditList of U S cities with large Hispanic populations California portalPortals Geography North America United States CaliforniaNotes Edit Mean maxima and minima i e the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020 Official records for Bakersfield kept at Santa Fe Railway Station at 14th and F Streets from 1893 to September 1937 and Meadows Field since October 1937 For more information see ThreadexReferences Edit Rachel Rubin Jeffrey Paul Melnick June 2001 American Popular Music New Approaches to the Twentieth Century University of Massachusetts Press p 94 ISBN 978 1 55849 268 4 Richards Patrick 1984 Heart of the Golden Empire An Illustrated History of Bakersfield Woodland Hills California Windsor Publications Inc pp 45 51 ISBN 978 0 89781 065 4 California Cities by Incorporation Date California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions Archived from the original Word on November 3 2014 Retrieved August 25 2014 Mayor s Office City of Bakersfield City of Bakersfield Retrieved October 15 2015 City Manager s Office City of Bakersfield City of Bakersfield Archived from the original on November 9 2017 Retrieved October 15 2015 2020 U S Gazetteer Files United States Census Bureau Retrieved October 30 2021 Bakersfield Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior a b 2020 Population and Housing State Data United States Census Bureau Retrieved August 22 2021 2010 Census U S Gazetteer Files Places California United States Census Bureau City of Bakersfield Community Profile bakersfieldcity us Archived from the original on April 1 2019 Retrieved March 31 2019 QuickFacts Bakersfield city California United States Census Bureau Retrieved September 13 2021 Bakersfield California Home Inspectors BakersfieldHomeInspector biz 2009 Bakersfield Oil Capital of California San Joaquin Valley Geology Retrieved March 14 2012 a b Facts and Information Bakersfield Visitor and Convention Bureau Retrieved March 14 2012 Community Profile Archived June 30 2014 at the Wayback Machine Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Page 4 Retrieved March 14 2012 Yokuts History and Cultural Relations from everyculture com Kroeber Alfred L 1963 Yokuts Dialect Survey University of California Anthropological Records 11 234 a b Arkush Brooke S 1993 Yokuts Trade Networks and Native Culture Change in Central and Eastern California Ethnohistory 40 4 619 640 doi 10 2307 482590 ISSN 0014 1801 JSTOR 482590 Yokuts Dwellings from bsahighadventure org History on gold amp oil oceanpark ws 2009 Full text of California water CONTROLLING THE KERN RIVER Problems 1979 Retrieved April 7 2009 P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE 2020 Census United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on October 16 2021 Retrieved October 10 2021 a b c d e f Mildred Brooke Hoover Douglas E Kyle 1990 Historic Spots in California Stanford University Press p 128 ISBN 978 0 8047 1734 2 Lull Gordon F Kern County Shapers Bakersfield Magazine Archived from the original on November 15 2011 Retrieved January 17 2013 Baker was admitted to the Ohio bar at age 19 and later appointed a colonel in his home state s militia Gavin Camille Leverett Kathy Kern s Movers amp Shakers Jostens Visalia California 1987 ISBN 0 9618770 0 6 Page 13 Baily Richard Heart of the Golden Empire Windsor Publications Inc Woodland Hills CA 1984 ISBN 0 89781 065 1 Page 51 Historic Bakersfield amp Kern County Disincorporation Bakersfield ended soon after it began Dianne Hardisty Bakersfield Californian July 9 2011 DIANNE HARDISTY When is it time for a city to throw in the BakersfieldCalifornian com Archived from the original on April 16 2014 Retrieved March 11 2013 Maynard John Bakersfield A Centennial Portrait Cherbo Publishing Group Encino California 1997 ISBN 1 882933 19 2 Page 19 Marshall Alex Mills and Bakersfield s Disincorporation of 1876 ver 2 by Gilbert P Gia Bakersfield California 2011 https www historicbakersfieldandkerncounty com crime a b Bakersfield California Population Kern s vibrant Chinese past comes to life bakersfield com February 10 2006 Retrieved July 8 2020 Baily Richard Heart of the Golden Empire Windsor Publications Inc Woodland Hills CA 1984 ISBN 0 89781 065 1 Page 71 Kern County Earthquake 1952 Southern California Earthquake Data Center Historical Census Populations of Counties and Incorporated Cities in California 1850 2010 Archived March 8 2013 at the Wayback Machine California Department of Finance Retrieved March 14 2012 Brewer Chris Historic Kern County Historic Publishing Network San Antonio 2001 ISBN 1 893619 14 1 Page 15 Regional Data GDP and Personal Income US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analyst 2010 Retrieved March 14 2012 Steven Mayer May 10 2014 Downtown building may be fostering changes The Bakersfield Californian Bakersfield Geography source 2010 Archived from the original on October 11 2010 The San Andreas Fault USGS General Interest Publications 2010 Route 178 Corridor Study Archived January 7 2011 at the Wayback Machine KernCOG December 1986 Page 42 Peel M C Finlayson B L and McMahon T A Updated world map of the Koppen Geiger climate classification Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 11 1633 1644 200 7 Ozborn Liz Sunniest Places in United States Current Results Retrieved March 13 2012 a b c d e f NowData NOAA Online Weather Data National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved October 16 2021 About tule fog noaa gov Archived from the original on December 30 2010 Retrieved September 25 2010 Bakersfield Climate San Joaquin Geological Society Archived from the original on July 16 2011 Retrieved September 25 2010 Golden Gate Weather Services GGWeather com Archived from the original on December 19 2008 Retrieved November 29 2008 Chris Stachelski Gary Sanger 2008 The Climate of Bakersfield California PDF National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Archived from the original PDF on June 24 2010 Retrieved February 8 2010 Bakersfield Monthly Rainfall By Year PDF National Weather Service Retrieved October 16 2021 Summary of Monthly Normals 1991 2020 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved October 16 2021 Monthly weather forecast and climate Bakersfield CA Weather Atlas Retrieved March 28 2020 Mayer Steven November 3 2020 Please don t burn wood at home air officials beseech residents in worst wildfire season The Bakersfield Californian Retrieved December 11 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link a b Los Angeles and Bakersfield top list of worst air pollution in the nation Los Angeles Times Associated Press April 20 2016 Retrieved December 31 2018 Berg Nate February 14 2017 Breathless in Bakersfield is the worst air pollution in the US about to get worse The Guardian Archived from the original on February 14 2017 Retrieved December 11 2021 Cowan Jill December 11 2021 In Bakersfield Many Find a California They Can Afford The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 28 2021 Retrieved December 12 2021 James Ian December 9 2021 In Bakersfield many push for bringing back the flow of the long dry Kern River Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on December 9 2021 Retrieved December 12 2021 Annual AQI by CBSA 2015 EPA Retrieved October 1 2017 Annual AQI by CBSA 2016 EPA Retrieved October 1 2017 Air Quality Index Daily Values Report EPA Retrieved March 18 2018 Annual AQI by CBSA 2018 EPA Retrieved June 29 2019 Air Quality Index Daily Values Report EPA Retrieved June 29 2019 Air Quality Index Daily Values Report EPA Retrieved June 30 2021 Air Quality Index Daily Values Report EPA Retrieved February 6 2022 Census of Population and Housing Census gov Retrieved June 4 2015 2020 DEC Redistricting Data PL 94 171 US Census Bureau Bakersfield city California State amp County QuickFacts U S Census Bureau Archived from the original on August 17 2012 a b c d California Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places Earliest Census to 1990 U S Census Bureau Archived from the original on August 12 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 a b From 15 sample 2010 Census P L 94 171 Summary File Data United States Census Bureau Bakersfield city California State amp County QuickFacts U S Census Bureau Archived from the original on August 17 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 Joshua Zumbrun America s Best And Worst Educated Cities Forbes November 28 2008 Retrieved July 20 2010 The LEAST Educated Cities In America PHOTOS The Huffington Post July 19 2010 Retrieved July 20 2010 Educational Attainment Archived May 30 2010 at the Wayback Machine The State of Metropolitan America The Brookings Institution Retrieved May 19 2011 a b Elizabeth Mendes What America s Most Obese Metro Areas Have in Common Gallup March 2 2010 Retrieved May 19 2011 Worth noting in business Kern s rental market ranks second in U S The Bakersfield Californian 03 Oct 2013 Cox John July 4 2021 Bakersfield s apartment market sets two new records The Bakersfield Californian Archived from the original on July 4 2021 Retrieved December 16 2021 Wenner Gretchen October 3 2007 Firm pulls out of housing project The Bakersfield Californian Retrieved June 28 2011 Half of US Oil Production Comes from These 20 Counties Drillinginfo April 3 2014 Retrieved August 18 2017 a b c About Bakersfield Archived May 18 2011 at the Wayback Machine City of Bakersfield Economic amp Community Development Retrieved May 26 2010 2008 Kern County Agricultural Crop Report County of Kern Department of Agriculture and Measurement Standards 2008 Page 1 Building the economy Kern works to attract distribution centers The Bakersfield Californian November 7 2008 Retrieved May 26 2010 Some companies that call Bakersfield home Archived May 23 2010 at the Wayback Machine City of Bakersfield Economic amp Community Development Retrieved May 26 2010 California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates Archived June 2 2012 at the Wayback Machine California State Board of Equalization April 1 2005 Retrieved March 13 2012 Major Employers In Kern County Archived July 24 2011 at the Wayback Machine from Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Bakersfield Basque Symposium John M Ysursa May 31 2006 Archived from the original on May 19 2007 Retrieved November 18 2006 Kern County Scottish Society Kernscot com Archived from the original on October 19 2008 Retrieved November 29 2008 Kern County Basque Club KCBasqueClub com March 20 1944 Archived from the original on February 28 2009 Retrieved March 3 2009 horse robinson Red Bear Circle Native Gathering Horse robinson googlepages com April 28 2007 Retrieved March 3 2009 Bakersfield Business Conference to Return in 2010 Bakersfield Business Conference 2008 Borton Petrini Conron Archived from the original on June 29 2009 Retrieved November 29 2008 Spring Writers Conference Writers of Kern Retrieved July 20 2018 Writers of Kern Create Ideas Bakersfield Californian Retrieved July 21 2018 a b Will George F December 9 2002 The Sound of Bakersfield While picking carrots peaches potatoes and cotton as a teenager Buck Owens got the idea that picking a guitar might be more fun Newsweek Retrieved March 2 2018 a b LaChapelle P July 25 2013 Haggard Merle Grove Music Online doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article A2241384 ISBN 978 1 56159 263 0 Retrieved March 2 2018 a b Hauser Ethan March 18 2012 Origin of country The New York Times Retrieved March 2 2018 Stimeling T July 1 2014 Yoakam Dwight Grove Music Online doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article A2263385 ISBN 978 1 56159 263 0 Retrieved March 2 2018 About Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra Retrieved July 10 2022 Tracie Cone Associated Press Bakersfield Enjoys Economic Vitality Fresno Bee January 1 2013 THE REV LONS BOY TROUBLE THE REV LONS 2010 White Doowop Collectors p 1 http whitedoowopcollector blogspot com retrieved 29 01 2016 The Paradons Discography discog com 26 05 2015 May 25 2015 The Colts MTV Bio mtv com 05 16 2015 Retrieved May 18 2015 Moss Corey 2006 Korn Rock Hometown Have Street Named After Them on Official Korn Day MTV News Retrieved March 2 2018 The LA Deathrock Starter Guide November 4 2009 Athletics Archived May 29 2010 at the Wayback Machine Bakersfield College Retrieved May 25 2010 Home Page California State University Bakersfield Retrieved May 25 2010 CSUB To Western Athletic Conference in 2013 Cal State University Bakersfield Home Page Kern County Soccer Park Retrieved May 25 2010 Bakersfield Sports Village Archived October 14 2007 at the Wayback Machine City of Bakersfield Retrieved May 25 2010 History of Bakersfield Archived January 9 2012 at the Wayback Machine City of Bakersfield Retrieved March 17 2012 a b c Bakersfield City Charter Article III Section 14 Bakersfield City Chater Article IV Section 34 Bakersfield City Charter Article IV Section 38 40 40 1 2 Charter of the City of Bakersfield Archived July 2 2014 at the Wayback Machine Quality Code Publishing Retrieved March 17 2012 Charter History Archived July 1 2014 at the Wayback Machine Quality Code Publishing Retrieved March 17 2012 Bailey Richard 1984 Heart of the Golden Empire An Illustrated History of Bakersfield Woodland Hills CA Windsor Publications ISBN 0 89781 065 1 p 98 City Manager s Office Archived November 20 2010 at the Wayback Machine City of Bakersfield Accessed 05 15 2010 Modie Neil August 11 2005 Where have Seattle s lefties gone Seattle Post Intelligencer Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved June 28 2011 California 2008 U S Presidential Election Results by Political Districts Archived June 12 2009 at the Wayback Machine California 2008 Ballot Measures by Political Districts Archived October 18 2012 at the Wayback Machine Supplement to the Statement of Vote California Secretary of State Retrieved 22 August 2018 Kotowski Jason December 6 2016 Lyle Martin selected as new Bakersfield Police chief Bakersfield com Archived from the original on December 8 2016 Home Page Archived December 18 2009 at the Wayback Machine Bakersfield Police Department Retrieved March 13 2012 Bakersfield police shoot pensioner carrying crucifix BBC News December 14 2016 Retrieved December 15 2016 2015 Police Violence Report Mapping Police Violence Retrieved June 6 2019 Jon Swaine December 2015 The County the story of America s deadliest police the Guardian Bakersfield Fire Department California Firefighters Retrieved March 3 2015 Emergency Communications Center Bakersfield Fire Department Archived from the original on March 5 2006 Retrieved February 2 2008 Crime Statistics for Bakersfield Bakersfield Police Department 2009 Homicides up for 2008 The Bakersfield Californian Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Jails In Bakersfield Kern County source 2009 Archived from the original on April 28 2009 Inmate population Kern County Sheriff s Detentions 2010 Archived from the original on September 27 2010 Kern Sheriff Central Receiving Facility 2010 Archived from the original on September 24 2010 Kern Sheriff Minimum Security 2010 Archived from the original on September 27 2010 Kern Sheriff Pre Trial Facility 2010 Archived from the original on December 19 2016 Kern Sheriff Max Med Security 2010 Archived from the original on September 27 2010 William D Fillmore August 4 2004 Shake up plans for high schools in Kern County Bakersfield Californian pp B7 Alfred Harrell Highway Bakersfield Los Angeles Rocks n Roads Archived from the original on April 11 2013 Retrieved August 6 2009 Centennial Corridor Project Description TRIP Thomas Roads Improvement Program Archived from the original on October 1 2009 Retrieved September 29 2009 Westside Parkway TRIP Thomas Roads Improvement Program Archived from the original on October 20 2009 Retrieved September 29 2009 Progress Report 2008 2009 TRIP Thomas Roads Improvement Program Page 7 West Beltway TRIP Thomas Roads Improvement Program Archived from the original on October 20 2009 Retrieved September 29 2009 Interstate 5 Interstate Guide com Interstate guide com Archived from the original on December 20 2008 Retrieved November 29 2008 Interstate 9 AARoads Interstate Guide Retrieved September 29 2009 State Route 58 California Highways Archived from the original on October 2 2009 Retrieved September 29 2009 Garces Circle Statue Bakersfield CA Living New Deal Retrieved July 27 2020 Welcome to Golden Empire transit District the GET bus Archived from the original on May 4 2009 Retrieved May 6 2009 AIBRA Find a Station Retrieved May 2 2015 Airport Valet Express System Map Archived May 5 2012 at the Wayback Machine BNSF Retrieved March 21 2012 History of the Tehachapi Loop Archived November 18 2011 at the Wayback Machine Tehachapi Online Retrieved March 22 2012 San Joaquin Valley Railroad Rail America Retrieved March 22 2012 San Joaquin Route Timetable Amtrak Effective January 9 2012 Retrieved March 22 2012 Transit Schedule Archived May 13 2012 at the Wayback Machine Kern Regional Transit Retrieved March 22 2012 Price Robert July 4 2020 Vision 2050 interrupted City tries to map its future in the midst of historic uncertainty The Bakersfield Californian Retrieved July 27 2020 Bakersfield Meadows Field Website Archived from the original on August 25 2012 Retrieved August 26 2012 Bakersfield Sister City Project Corporation People Helping People bakersfieldsistercity org Retrieved June 25 2018 a b Data Visualizations Asia Sister Partnerships Asia Asia Matters for America Partisan District of Minsk Belarus Bakersfield Sister City Project Copyright 2009 2010 Accessed September 9 2011 Northern and Central California Sister Cities in Japan External links EditBakersfield California at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Travel information from Wikivoyage Official website Bakersfield Convention amp Visitors Bureau Bakersfield California at Curlie Bakersfield C SPAN Cities Tour July 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bakersfield California amp oldid 1132331926, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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