Kern County

Kern County, California — Key demographics

Population size

• 909,235 (2020 Census)
• Context: Census Bureau’s 2023 estimate indicates modest growth from the 2020 count

Age

• Median age: ~31–32 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: ~29%
• 65 and over: ~12%

Gender

• Male: ~50.8%
• Female: ~49.2%

Racial/ethnic composition

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~56%
• White, non-Hispanic: ~31%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~6%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~4%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~2%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: ~0.2%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~2%

Household data (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: ~294,000
• Persons per household: ~3.2
• Family households: ~73%
• Average family size: ~3.7–3.8
• Owner-occupied housing unit rate: ~58–60%

Insights

• Younger-than-state age profile with a large share of children
• Majority Hispanic/Latino population
• Larger households and higher family-share than California overall

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2020 Decennial Census; 2018–2022 American Community Survey; 2023 Population Estimates)

Email usage in Kern County, CA (2025 snapshot):

• Estimated users: ≈600,000 adult email users (≈90% of ~665,000 adults; total population ≈923,000).
• Age distribution of email users: 18–29: 30%; 30–49: 35%; 50–64: 22%; 65+: 13% (reflects Kern’s relatively young population).
• Gender split: ≈50% female, ≈50% male; usage rates are effectively equal by gender.

Digital access and trends:

• Household access (ACS 2022): ~91% have a computer; ~86% have a broadband subscription. About ~9% are smartphone‑only and ~14% lack a home internet subscription, indicating a persistent connectivity gap.
• Adoption is strongest in urban Bakersfield/metro areas and weaker in rural desert, mountain, and agricultural communities, where affordability and infrastructure limit home broadband.

Local density/connectivity facts:

• Kern spans ~8,163 sq mi with ~113 people per square mile; roughly 55% of residents live in the Bakersfield area, where cable/fiber coverage is widespread.
• Rural communities (Kern River Valley, eastern desert, west‑side farm towns) rely more on DSL, fixed wireless, or satellite, yielding lower speeds and higher latency, which depresses email adoption among older and lower‑income residents.

Kern County, CA mobile phone usage snapshot (distinctive vs. statewide)

Scale and user estimates

• Residents: ~930,000 (2023).
• Estimated individual mobile phone users: ~750,000 people use a mobile phone regularly in Kern (roughly 80–85% of residents, reflecting a slightly lower share than California’s ~90%+).
• Active mobile lines: ~1.15 million subscriptions in service in the county (applying California’s high per-capita line rate to the local population).

Demographic shape of usage

• Race/ethnicity of residents (and thus the user base): ~55% Hispanic/Latino, ~31% White (non‑Hispanic), ~6% Black, ~5% Asian, ~3% multiracial/other, ~1–2% Native American.
• Age: Younger than the state overall. ~27% under 18, ~27% ages 18–34, ~36% ages 35–64, ~10% 65+. Youth and young-adult skew supports heavy mobile-first behavior (social, video, messaging).
• Language/inclusion: ~43% speak a language other than English at home (predominantly Spanish), driving demand for bilingual retail support, international calling features, and WhatsApp/OTT messaging plans.
• Income/education context: Median household income ~mid‑$60Ks, bachelor’s-or-higher attainment ~19%—both below state averages—correlating with higher prepaid adoption and mobile-only internet reliance.

Access and adoption (household-level ACS-style indicators)

• Households with a smartphone: ~91% in Kern (vs ~92–93% statewide).
• Cellular-data-only internet households (no wireline at home): ~17% in Kern (vs ~11% statewide). This is the clearest mobile-first divergence from the state.
• No home internet subscription: ~10% in Kern (vs ~6–7% statewide). Mobile phones often bridge this gap via hotspots and unlimited plans.

Plan mix and usage patterns

• Prepaid share is materially higher than the statewide mix, reflecting price sensitivity and seasonal/shift work in agriculture and energy; family and multi-line discounts are central to uptake.
• Mobile is the primary on-ramp to the internet for many Spanish-speaking and lower‑income households; OTT apps (WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok) dominate usage.
• Work-driven mobility (oilfields, logistics along I‑5/99, agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley) sustains strong demand for wide-area coverage, fleet/M2M lines, and mobile hotspots.

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• 5G footprint: All three national MNOs cover Bakersfield and most valley cities (Delano, Shafter, Wasco, Arvin, Lamont, Taft); population 5G coverage is roughly 90%+. Mid‑band 5G (n41/n77) is concentrated in urban corridors; low‑band extends coverage countywide.
• Performance: Urban Bakersfield mid‑band 5G commonly delivers ~200–400 Mbps down; rural and foothill areas lean on low‑band 5G/LTE with typical ~10–80 Mbps and higher latency.
• Gaps/weak zones: Sierra foothills and canyons (e.g., Kern River Canyon/CA‑178), Tehachapi and Breckenridge highlands, Carrizo Plain/western oil leases, and sparse desert tracts near the county’s eastern edge.
• Backhaul and fiber: Dense long‑haul fiber along SR‑99/I‑5 and SR‑58 supports urban cell sites; state Middle‑Mile Broadband Initiative routes are expanding backbone capacity through the county’s main corridors, improving prospects for rural 5G densification.
• Fixed wireless access (FWA): 5G home internet from the national carriers is widely available in Bakersfield and growing in surrounding towns; adoption is higher than statewide in neighborhoods lacking affordable cable/fiber, reinforcing the county’s mobile-centric trend.

What differs most from California’s average

• Greater mobile-only dependence: A markedly higher share of households use cellular data as their sole home internet, and more households have no wireline subscription at all.
• Heavier prepaid and value segmentation: Price-sensitive segments and bilingual markets drive prepaid and MVNO growth more than in coastal metros.
• Wider urban–rural performance gap: Strong mid‑band 5G in Bakersfield contrasts with extensive areas that remain low‑band LTE/5G, making consistency—not raw top-end speed—the practical constraint outside cities.
• Mobile as a broadband substitute: FWA and unlimited smartphone plans play an outsized role in broadband access compared with the state’s fiber- and cable-rich urban cores.

Key counts to anchor planning

• ~290,000 households; ~264,000 have a smartphone present.
• ~50,000 households rely on cellular data as their only home internet connection.
• ~90%+ of residents are within 5G coverage, but only urban cores consistently see mid‑band 5G performance.

Method notes

• Estimates blend recent American Community Survey computer/internet indicators, statewide mobile subscription intensity applied to county population, and known carrier deployments in the Bakersfield metro and valley corridors through 2023. Figures are rounded to emphasize decision-relevant magnitudes.

Kern County, CA — Social Media Snapshot (2024–2025)

User stats

• Estimated social media users (13+): ~600,000, or ~75–78% penetration among residents age 13+.
• Adult users (18+): ~520,000.
• Language: large bilingual audience; Spanish and English content both perform strongly, with Spanish-first posts over-indexing in engagement relative to population share.

Age mix (share of social media users)

• 13–17: 8%
• 18–24: 14%
• 25–34: 24%
• 35–44: 19%
• 45–54: 14%
• 55–64: 12%
• 65+: 9%

Gender breakdown (share of social media users)

• Female: 51%
• Male: 49%

Most-used platforms in Kern (share of social media users using each platform at least monthly)

• YouTube: 82%
• Facebook: 66%
• Instagram: 50%
• TikTok: 39%
• WhatsApp: 36% (elevated by the county’s large Hispanic/Latino population)
• Snapchat: 31%
• Pinterest: 28%
• X (Twitter): 22%
• Reddit: 19%
• LinkedIn: 18%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the daily utility: Groups and Marketplace drive outsized local activity (buy/sell, jobs, school and youth sports, church/community updates, lost-and-found). Spanish-language groups are notably active.
• Short‑form video leads discovery: TikTok and Instagram Reels are primary for local food, events, music, and small-business promos; cross-posting the same vertical video to both platforms is common and effective.
• YouTube is for “how‑to” and trades: DIY, auto repair, home/yard projects, and ag/landscaping content see strong watch time; bilingual tutorials perform well.
• Messaging matters: Businesses frequently transact via Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp; WhatsApp Business use is growing for appointments, order confirmations, and community coordination.
• Youth skew: High school and college users favor Snapchat and TikTok for daily communication; brand discovery occurs via TikTok/IG first, with conversions through Instagram profiles, Link-in-bio, and Marketplace.
• Trust is local: Engagement concentrates around city and county pages, public safety, weather/fire updates, and hyperlocal creators; UGC and reviews from Bakersfield/nearby towns outperform polished ads.
• Commerce is price-sensitive and immediate: Facebook Marketplace and IG Shops enable quick-moving deals (autos, tools, farm gear, home goods). Local promos tied to pay cycles and weekends see better response.
• Bilingual creative outperforms: Spanish-first or dual-language captions/voiceover expand reach; code-switching is common in comments and shares.

Notes on method

• Figures are county-level estimates modeled from the latest U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey demographics for Kern County and 2024 Pew Research Center platform adoption rates, adjusted for Kern’s younger median age and large Hispanic/Latino share. Where county-specific platform data is unavailable, California and U.S. benchmarks were weighted to Kern’s profile.