Work & commute · Bakersfield

Work & commute in Bakersfield, CA

47% of Bakersfield’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (3%), Oildale (2%) and Shafter (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

47%

69,948 of 147,311 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 77,363 Bakersfield residents head out of town to work, 69,948 work right here, and 63,912 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bakersfield.

77,363live here, work elsewhere

69,948live and work here

63,912work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bakersfield goes to work

Bakersfield (in town)right here

47%69,948

Los Angeles98.8 mi away

3%4,820

Oildale5.3 mi away

2%3,335

Shafter12.7 mi away

2%2,980

Rosedale9.8 mi away

2%2,376

East Niles6.6 mi away

1%1,981

Delano31.3 mi away

1%1,939

Fresno107.5 mi away

1%1,697

Wasco24.9 mi away

1%1,484

Visalia69.4 mi away

1%778

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%55,973

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Bakersfield commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

60%

27%

60%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bakersfield is balanced between jobs and homes

0.91jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bakersfield are

133,860 jobs are based in Bakersfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bakersfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bakersfield

133,860 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Bakersfield residents hold

147,311 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+11%

Jobs based in Bakersfield, 2013 → 2023: 120,474 → 133,860. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.