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Moving to
Oildale.
Oildale 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 Oildale
Oildale is an unincorporated community in California with rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Oildale deals with county unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and college degree attainment below the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- High poverty rate
How Oildale compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Oildale
Based on Oildale's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,562
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $51,240 a year
- 55% of Oildale renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$47,760
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $23,880
- Homes cost 4.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,281/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,281 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $238,800. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $238,800 · 55% 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
Oildale 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▼ 10% below US
23 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.3 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 39°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 66% below US
12% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
8 public schools inside the boundary
There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 21:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is César E. Chávez National Monument (29 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Oildale's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,281/mo) equals 30% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Oildale
All California guides →Moving to East Bakersfield →
3 mi away · pop. 11,062
Rent $1,090/mo · Income $38,644
Compare with Oildale →Moving to Bakersfield →
5 mi away · pop. 411,986
Rent $1,472/mo · Income $80,540
Compare with Oildale →Not sure Oildale is the one?
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