What it's like to live in Shafter
Shafter is a small city in California with rent below 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. Shafter deals with county unemployment above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, college degree attainment below the national average, and larger class sizes than the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Fast-growing population
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- High poverty rate
- Hot summers
How Shafter compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Shafter
Based on Shafter's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,506
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $50,120 a year
- 48% of Shafter renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$67,160
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $33,580
- Homes cost 4.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 11% below US
$1,253/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,253 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices run above average, with a median around $335,800. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $335,800 · 48% 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)
SafetyNear US average
324 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 1235/100k · Shafter Police Department · 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 run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 36°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
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
7 public schools inside the boundary
There are 7 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 20:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is César E. Chávez National Monument (40 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Shafter's strongest points are rent below the national average and a population that has grown fast since 2020; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,253/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Shafter
All California guides →Not sure Shafter is the one?
Put it side by side with another city.