Census-designated place · Kern County, California

Cottonwood (CDP), California

Cottonwood is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, part of the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro area. It has 3,107 residents. Cottonwood (CDP), California has a quality-of-life score of 1 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,550 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #1,034 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), job growth (high) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on poor or fair health (high), physical inactivity (high) and lack of reliable transportation (high).

1Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,550 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #1,034 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 3,107 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 7,908.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 0616623

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety5#14,789/15,637
Economy8#14,408/15,631
Housing—
Health8#14,346/15,609
Healthcare13#13,656/15,650
Environment1#15,252/15,453
Education0#15,592/15,649
Infrastructure50#7,792/15,650
Community2#15,274/15,651
Leisure & amenities24#11,814/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cottonwood (CDP), California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kern County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high33.6%
91/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationKern County value
Job growth · high2.5%
91/100California 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataKern County value
Public EV charging ports · high14.1 /10k
90/100California 17.5 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyKern County value
Drought exposure · low2%
89/100California 9%United States 43%Nov 2025–Oct 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAKern County value
Broadband subscriptions · high96.5%
85/100California 93.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.323
84/100California 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Poor or fair health · high44.5%
0/100California 21.5%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · high47.4%
0/100California 23.5%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · high24.8%
1/100California 9.6%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · high49.9%
1/100California 18.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high11.9 µg/m³
1/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKern County value
High school diploma or higher · low60.0%
1/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
84.9% (2016-2020) → 45.3% (2020-2024)
−40 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
82.1% (2016-2020) → 55.3% (2020-2024)
−27 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 15.7% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.1% (2016-2020) → 96.5% (2020-2024)
+21 pts4 yearsCensus table B28002US 85.2% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
41.3% (2016-2020) → 60.0% (2020-2024)
+19 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.5% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$23,639 (2016-2020) → $44,247 (2020-2024)
+87%4 yearsCensus table B19013US $67,340 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.2× (2016-2020) → 7.3× (2020-2024)
+74%4 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

There is not enough history to compare Cottonwood (CDP), California over five years.

Cities and towns like Cottonwood (CDP), California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cottonwood (CDP), California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Cottonwood (CDP), California five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,107 residents (±796)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,107 residents (±796)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

White2.9%†89
Black21%†653
Hispanic or Latino72%†2,246

Education

1,201 residents (±388)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

No high school diploma40%†481
High school or GED34%†411
Some college14%†165

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

772 households (±178)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Under $25k19%†144
$25k–50k47%†365
$50k–75k18%†141
$75k–100k4.9%†38
$100k–150k11%†84
$150k–200k0.0%0
$200k or more0.0%0

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

772 households (±178)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Own16%†127
Rent84%645

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

645 households (±163)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Under $75013%†85
$750–1,00033%†213
$1,000–1,50047%†300

Home values

127 homes (±70)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Under $150k6.3%†8
$150k–250k13%†16
$250k–400k58%†74

Age of homes

799 homes (±168)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

2010 or later3.0%†24
2000–200939%310
1980–199926%†204

Size of homes

799 homes (±168)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Studio1.3%†10
1 bedroom9.6%†77
2 bedrooms44%†353

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

691 workers (±257)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Drive alone90%†624
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit1.9%†13
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home7.4%†51
Other0.4%†3

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

640 workers (±249)

Cottonwood (CDP), California
California share

Under 15 min15%†99
15–29 min50%†320
30–44 min30%†191

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Bakersfield-Delano, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kern County, the county holding most of Cottonwood's residents.

Kern County has 14,352 employer establishments, 156 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.60× California's), with 219,016 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,579. The Census Bureau also counts 59,790 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 14,352; 59,790 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 156; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 219,016
Average annual pay: $56,579; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kern County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,371	14.9	0.72×Fewer than typical	15,772	$67,137	1,914
Restaurants and other eating places	1,352	14.7	0.80×About typical	25,258	$24,177	329
Truck transportation	921	10	1.98×More than typical	5,869	$58,647	5,727
Specialty trade contractors	912	9.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	9,058	$63,643	2,757
Limited-service restaurants	717	7.8	0.97×About typical	14,090	$22,253	148
Lessors of real estate	604	6.6	0.53×Fewer than typical	2,173	$49,166	4,115
Offices of physicians	515	5.6	0.87×About typical	4,885	$76,718	343
Full-service restaurants	450	4.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	8,165	$27,687	107
Automotive repair and maintenance	415	4.5	0.90×About typical	2,274	$44,248	1,251
Building equipment contractors	402	4.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	4,749	$67,403	623
Services to buildings and dwellings	349	3.8	0.56×Fewer than typical	2,476	$37,973	4,322
Management, scientific and technical consulting	306	3.3	0.50×Fewer than typical	1,215	$70,695	1,163

Rank places for an industry Open Kern County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 917,599 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cottonwood is mostly in Kern County.

See federal money in Kern County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cottonwood (CDP), California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).