Jury Pool Profile
Kern County, California
- County seat
- Bakersfield
- Judicial district
- Kern County Superior Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 927,068
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 915,075.
At a glance
Kern County is a 927,068-person venue. The county population is 44% White and 5% Black (Census race-alone categories). 56% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Those figures overlap rather than adding up; counted separately, non-Hispanic White residents are 29.6%, which is the basis the chart below uses. Median household income is $71,295, $28,835 below the CA state median of $100,130; 18.8% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 45.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish, then other Indo-European languages (1.6%), a group the Census does not break out. The largest employment sector is Education & health services, at 26.7% of covered employment, average pay $59,808/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 8.73%, above the 5.36% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 54% to 59% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 915,075
- Median household income
- $70,210
- Unemployment
- 8.7%
Who sits on a jury?
<50% in any single race-alone group. White here: 44%; Black: 5%.
Kern County has a population of 915,075, with a median age of 32.7. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 43.9%; Black residents 5.1%. Independently, 56.5% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $71,295; 18.8% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 18.6% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW: Education & health services, about 27% of covered jobs.
Education & health services is the largest employment sector at 26.7% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 18.1%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 8.73%, above the California state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 56%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Kern County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 59.3% in 2024, 53.9% in 2020, 54.7% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 74% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 45.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
45.7% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Tagalog, Arabic. Veterans account for 4.9% of the adult civilian population (31,813 individuals).