BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — A new Los Angeles Times analysis has ranked four Kern County communities among California’s most affordable places to buy a home.
The analysis compared median home values with median household incomes using 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data, measuring how many years of household income it would take to purchase the median-priced home in each community.
An existing home for sale is shown Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Ridgecrest topped the list as California’s most affordable community, followed by Rosamond at No. 6, Delano at No. 7 and the East Niles area of Bakersfield at No. 10.
Kevin Oliver, a local real estate broker said the rankings did not come as a surprise.
“I work a lot on the coast,” Oliver said. “We work in four different counties, primarily Ventura County, San Luis Obispo County, and here in Kern. We see the differences every single day.”
Oliver said one of the biggest reasons home prices remain lower in Kern County is because there is more room to build compared with many coastal communities.
“We’re a very, very friendly building community here,” Oliver said. “There’s actually some cities over on the Central Coast and down south where you cannot build at all because there’s just no more water. They will not give out water permits, so you cannot build, thus the rising of the prices.”
PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 31: A worker builds a new home at a housing development on January 31, 2019 in Petaluma, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
He said Kern County’s ability to continue building homes has helped keep housing prices lower than many other parts of California.
Oliver also pointed to other factors that influence affordability, including the region’s climate and location.
“We’re having like triple-digit weather now,” Oliver said. “There is a lot of people that don’t like that.”
At the same time, he said the rise of remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic has made Kern County an attractive option for some buyers who work for employers in larger metropolitan areas.
“We started getting a lot more remote and people being able to work more remote,” Oliver said. “That’s why you’re starting to see people that work in Los Angeles starting to come up here and moving up here because it is more affordable.”
While Kern County may be more affordable than much of the state, Oliver said purchasing a home still requires preparation.
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“If you really stick down into a budget, you take a look at it, and you start saving that down payment,” Oliver said. “There is a lot of first-time homebuyer programs that are there.”
He also encouraged prospective buyers to focus on improving their financial situation before entering the market.
“You have to have that fiscal discipline,” Oliver said.
Looking ahead, Oliver does not expect home prices to decline.
“Home prices are not going down here in California,” Oliver said. “We’re not seeing anything towards that. They are going up.”
He said that while housing values continue to rise, Kern County still offers buyers a more affordable alternative than many coastal markets.
For prospective buyers, Oliver believes waiting for lower prices may not be the best strategy.
“Now is the right time to buy,” he said.