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Taft, CA
Key Indicators
A quick look at key numbers
Population
7,125
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Age
37.1
years ∙ half population younger than 37.1, half older
Diversity Index
53.1%
chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity
Nativity
7.2%
foreign-born population
Geographic Context
Location, size, and surroundings
About
Taft is a city within Kern County, California, United States.
Co-ordinates
DEC35.126696° N, 119.424194° W
DMS35° 07′ 36.11″ N, 119° 25′ 27.10″ W
Population Density & area
465.7/sq mi
(179.9/km²)
Demographics & Living
Who lives here, how households are formed, and community composition
Population Composition
Key characteristics of the population
Sex Distribution
51.1%
male
Male
51.1%
Female
48.9%
males per 100 females
Taft
104.5
Kern County
103.6
California
99.8
Nativity
7.2%
foreign-born population
% Foreign-born
Taft
7.2%
Kern County
20.2%
California
27%
Age Distribution
How the population is spread across age groups
Median Age
37.1
years ∙ half population younger than 37.1, half older
Dependency ratio
50.5
dependents per 100 working-age adults
Taft
50.5
Kern County
67.9
California
60.4
AGE DISTRIBUTION
Distribution of age group
Median age
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age Group | |||
| Children (Under 18) | 19.1% | 28.6% | 22% |
| Working age (18-64) | 66.5% | 59.5% | 62.3% |
| Senior (65+) | 14.4% | 11.9% | 15.7% |
| Dependency ratio | |||
| Total dependency ratio | 50.5 | 67.9 | 60.4 |
| Child dependency ratio | 28.8 | 48 | 35.2 |
| Old-age dependency ratio | 21.7 | 19.9 | 25.1 |
Racial & Ethnic Composition
Racial and ethnic makeup and how it compares
Race & Ethnicity
Note: White, Black, and Asian refer to individuals belonging to a single race and not of Hispanic origin. Hispanics may be of any race.
Diversity Index
53.1%
chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity
Taft
53.1%
Kern County
58.7%
California
69.6%
Note: The Diversity Index (DI), based on the Blau Index, measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals differ in race and ethnicity. Values range from 0 (no diversity) to 1 (high diversity) and are shown as percentages.
RACIAL & ETHNIC COMPOSITION
Race & Ethnicity
Percentage of Taft population
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 31.5% | 56.5% | 40.2% |
| Mexican | 29.3% | 50.4% | 32.3% |
| Puerto Rican | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Cuban | 0% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Other Hispanic / Latino | 2.1% | 5.4% | 7% |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 68.5% | 43.5% | 59.8% |
| One race | 62.4% | 40.5% | 55.4% |
| White | 60.5% | 29.6% | 33.8% |
| Black or African American | 1.2% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Asian | 0.3% | 5.1% | 15.3% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Some Other Race | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Two or more races (Multiracial) | 6.1% | 3% | 4.4% |
Household & Families Composition
Household size, type, and family structure
Household structure
66.4%
family
Family
66.4%
Non family
33.6%
% family households
Taft
66.4%
Kern County
74%
California
67.8%
Average household size
2.47
persons per household
Household & Family COMPOSITION
Households
Percentage of Taft population
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total households | 2,651 | 284,931 | 13,548,091 |
| Average houshold size | 2.47 | 3.12 | 2.84 |
| Family households | 1,760 | 210,851 | 9,191,176 |
| Average family size | 2.81 | 3.63 | 3.41 |
| Married couple family | 880 | 137,549 | 6,557,184 |
| Other families | 880 | 73,302 | 2,633,992 |
| Male householder | 531 | 24,121 | 857,732 |
| Female householder | 349 | 49,181 | 1,776,260 |
| Non-family households | 891 | 74,080 | 4,356,915 |
| One-person households | 784 | 58,746 | 3,289,307 |
| Male householder | 370 | 29,128 | 1,493,062 |
| Senior (65+) living alone | 117 | 9,176 | 460,668 |
| Female householder | 414 | 29,618 | 1,796,245 |
| Senior (65+) living alone | 269 | 15,043 | 886,142 |
| Other living arrangements | 107 | 15,334 | 1,067,608 |
Housing Profile
Housing stock, ownership, rentals, and cost burdens
Total housing units
2,876
housing units
Taft
2,876
Kern County
306,999
California
14,644,735
Occupancy status
92.2%
occupied
Occupied
92.2%
Vacant
7.8%
vacancy rate
Taft
7.8%
Kern County
7.2%
California
7.5%
Housing Characteristics
How the housing supply is structured and used
Types of Housing unit
67.3%
Single family houses
Median Year Built
1972
Half of houses were built before 1972, and half after.
Note: Median year built reflects occupied units only; distribution includes all units.
Housing Characteristics
Units, rooms & bedrooms
Physical characteristics of housing units
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooms per unit | |||
| Median rooms | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5 |
| 1–3 rooms | 25.7% | 13.9% | 21% |
| 4–6 rooms | 60.2% | 63.3% | 54.7% |
| 7+ rooms | 13.9% | 22.7% | 24.4% |
| Bedrooms | |||
| No bedroom / studio | 2.1% | 2.6% | 5% |
| 1 bedroom | 12% | 6.8% | 13.2% |
| 2 bedrooms | 22.9% | 24.1% | 26.9% |
| 3 bedrooms | 47.8% | 43.4% | 32.8% |
| 4+ bedrooms | 15.2% | 23% | 22.1% |
| At a glance | |||
| Median year built | 1972 | 1985 | 1976 |
| Total housing units | 2,876 | 306,999 | 14,644,735 |
Occupancy Profile
Who is inside and how they use it
Homeownership
55%
owners
Renter-occupied
45%
Owner-occupied
55%
homeownership rate
Taft
55%
Kern County
60.1%
California
55.9%
Average household size
2.64
Owner-occupied
2.26
Renter-occupied
owner-occupied average size
Taft
2.64
Kern County
3.16
California
2.95
Housing Characteristics
Occupied unit characteristics
Tenure, crowding, and utilities
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total occupied units | 2,651 | 284,931 | 13,548,091 |
| Year moved in | |||
| 2020 or later | 16.8% | 22.9% | 23.4% |
| 2010 to 2019 | 52.1% | 46.1% | 41.2% |
| 2000 to 2009 | 18% | 16.8% | 17% |
| 1999 or earlier | 13.1% | 14.2% | 18.5% |
| Occupants per room | |||
| 1.00 or fewer | 94.8% | 90.2% | 91.8% |
| 1.01 to 1.50 | 4.5% | 6.7% | 5% |
| 1.51 or more | 0.7% | 3% | 3.2% |
| Vehicles availability | |||
| No vehicles | 10.6% | 6.7% | 7.1% |
| 1 vehicle | 36.3% | 29.3% | 30.7% |
| 2 vehicles | 36.9% | 37.3% | 36.3% |
| 3 or more vehicles | 16.3% | 26.7% | 25.8% |
| House heating fuel used | |||
| Gas | 58.1% | 62.6% | 64.4% |
| Electricity | 33.2% | 31.2% | 29.5% |
| Solar | 7.4% | 2.3% | 1.2% |
| Fuel oil, kerosene etc | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| All other fuels | 0% | 2.4% | 1.6% |
| No fuel used | 0.6% | 1.4% | 3% |
| Selected characteristics | |||
| Lacking complete plumbing | 2.8% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Lacking complete kitchen | 1% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| No telephone service available | 1.2% | 1.2% | 0.9% |
Housing Value
What owner-occupied units are worth
Median home value
$252,600
owner-occupied units
Housing Cost Burden
32.8%
of homeowners with a mortgage are cost-burdened
Note: Households spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs are considered cost-burdened.
Financial characteristics
Property value and housing costs
Tenure, crowding, and utilities
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property value | |||
| Median Value | $252,600 | $338,300 | $734,700 |
| Under $100,000 | 10.8% | 7.7% | 4.2% |
| $100,000 - $200,000 | 7% | 9.8% | 2.7% |
| $200,000 - $300,000 | 57.6% | 22.6% | 4.3% |
| $300,000 - $500,000 | 20.3% | 42.8% | 17.1% |
| $500,000 - $1,000,000 | 2.6% | 14.9% | 42.1% |
| $1,000,000 and more | 1.6% | 2.1% | 29.6% |
| Owner-occupied households | |||
| With a mortgage | 47.2% | 66% | 67.4% |
| Without a mortgage | 52.8% | 34% | 32.6% |
| Median monthly owner costs | |||
| With a mortgage | $1,665 | $1,968 | $2,946 |
| Without a mortgage | $691 | $631 | $829 |
| Gross rent | |||
| Median rent | $1,069 | $1,300 | $2,036 |
Education Profile
How educated is the community and how education pays off
Adults with a college degree
9%
of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher
Taft
9%
Kern County
18.8%
California
37.1%
Adults without a high school diploma
17.9%
of adults (25+) without a high school diploma
Taft
17.9%
Kern County
23%
California
15.2%
School Enrollment
Who is enrolled in school and at what level
School enrollment
1,696
population (age 3+) enrolled in school
College-going rate (18-24 yr olds)
45.3%
of 18-24-year-olds in college or graduate school
Enrollment & school type
Enrollment levels, college-going rate, and public vs private school split
Population 3+ currently enrolled in a school
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total enrolled (age 3+) | 1,696 | 263,996 | 9,917,839 |
| Nursery / preschool | 0% | 4.2% | 5% |
| K–12 | 71.3% | 74.7% | 64.9% |
| Kindergarten | 6.1% | 5.3% | 4.9% |
| Elementary: Grades 1–4 | 25.9% | 22.2% | 18.7% |
| Elementary: Grades 5–8 | 13.7% | 23.1% | 19.9% |
| High School: Grades 9–12 | 25.5% | 24.2% | 21.5% |
| College or graduate school | 28.7% | 21.1% | 30.1% |
| College, undergraduate | 24.5% | 17.7% | 24.3% |
| Graduate, professional school | 4.2% | 3.4% | 5.8% |
| College-going rate · 18-24 yr olds | 45.3% | 32.1% | 46.8% |
| School type | |||
| Public school | 91.5% | 90.7% | 85% |
| Private school | 8.5% | 9.3% | 15% |
Education Attainment by Level & Gender
What is the highest level of education completed among adults
Education attainment
5,160
population 25 years and over
Attainment by gender
Male vs Female
Adults (25+) · Share within each education level
Educational Attainment Overview
Distribution and key education attainment rates for adults (25+)
Highest credential completed · adults 25+
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population (25+) | 5,160 | 563,569 | 27,073,960 |
| Less than 9th grade | 8% | 12.9% | 8.7% |
| 9th–12th, no diploma | 9.9% | 10.1% | 6.5% |
| High school diploma or GED | 31% | 27.9% | 20.5% |
| Some college, no degree | 36.2% | 22.6% | 19.3% |
| Associate's degree | 5.9% | 7.7% | 7.9% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 9% | 18.8% | 37.1% |
| Bachelor's degree | 4.9% | 12.3% | 22.7% |
| Graduate or professional | 4.1% | 6.5% | 14.4% |
| High School or higher | 82.2% | 77% | 84.7% |
Earnings by education level
percentage as applicable
Median Earnings
$47,376
Median earnings for adults 25+, by level
Poverty Rate
10.7%
for ages 25+, with bachelors degree or higher
Outcomes by Education Level
Earnings and poverty rates across education levels (25+)
Adults 25+
| Taft | Kern County | California | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median earnings | |||
| Population 25+, with earnings | $47,376 | $42,429 | $56,395 |
| Less than high school graduate | $— | $28,019 | $32,480 |
| High school graduate (includes equivalency) | $55,227 | $37,931 | $41,382 |
| Some college or associate's degree | $48,221 | $44,929 | $50,157 |
| Bachelor's degree | $40,134 | $70,034 | $80,933 |
| Graduate or professional degree | $132,760 | $95,862 | $111,188 |
| Poverty rates | |||
| Less than high school graduate | 26.5% | 26.3% | 20% |
| High school graduate (includes equivalency) | 15.9% | 17% | 13.9% |
| Some college or associate's degree | 19.9% | 13.4% | 10.1% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 10.7% | 6.5% | 5% |
About Neilsberg Research
Neilsberg Research team are data scientists with expertise in processing, analysis and visualization of big data helping small businesses make right decisions.
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