Best PlacesEast Bakersfield, Bakersfield, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Bakersfield, Bakersfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield ranks 5,468th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Bakersfield, Bakersfield ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 72% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 71% of neighborhoods
Where East Bakersfield, Bakersfield ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Bakersfield, Bakersfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $40,981, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses East Bakersfield, Bakersfield's effective rate of 0.69%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for East Bakersfield, Bakersfield.
Who works in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield, and how
Work in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across East Bakersfield, Bakersfield.
What the weather is like in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield, month by month
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield sees roughly 176 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 51° | 40° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 51° |
| July | 102° | 88° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 55° |
Flying in and out of East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
The nearest airport, Meadows Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
Schools across East Bakersfield, Bakersfield average a C+, better than 66% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- East Bakersfield HighA · 75% proficient
- Highland HighA · 75% proficient
- Bakersfield HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Bakersfield, Bakersfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare East Bakersfield, Bakersfield against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield
Is East Bakersfield, Bakersfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Bakersfield, Bakersfield ranks 5,468th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Bakersfield, Bakersfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,837. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $40,981 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is East Bakersfield, Bakersfield safe?
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $572 per resident a year.
Compare East Bakersfield, Bakersfield with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Bakersfield, Bakersfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Bakersfield, Bakersfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Bakersfield, Bakersfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Bakersfield, Bakersfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Bakersfield, Bakersfield detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.