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Moving to
Golden Hills.
Golden Hills is an unincorporated community in Kern County, CA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Golden Hills
Golden Hills is an unincorporated community in California with household incomes running above the national average and a population that has grown fast since 2020. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Golden Hills deals with county unemployment above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and larger class sizes than the national average.
The good
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Fast-growing population
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Above-average commute times
- Air quality concerns
- High student-teacher ratio
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Golden Hills compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Golden Hills
Based on Golden Hills's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,754
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $55,080 a year
- 43% of Golden Hills renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$82,060
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $41,030
- Homes cost 4.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,377/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,377 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $410,300. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $410,300 · 43% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
9.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Kern County is 9.0%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Kern County (county-wide)
Safety
1060 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Golden Hills doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Kern County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs above the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 2069/100k · Policed by Kern County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 27% above US
33 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 33.1 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 11% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 84°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 31°F and snow a regular occurrence. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 17% below US
30% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 30% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
1 public school inside the boundary
There is 1 public school inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 24:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is César E. Chávez National Monument (7 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Golden Hills's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a population that has grown fast since 2020; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,377/mo) equals 17% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up, people who dread long commutes, and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Golden Hills
All California guides →Moving to Tehachapi →
1 mi away · pop. 11,946
Rent $1,295/mo · Income $72,957
Compare with Golden Hills →Moving to Rosamond →
27 mi away · pop. 21,473
Rent $1,498/mo · Income $79,386
Compare with Golden Hills →Not sure Golden Hills is the one?
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