Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Bakersfield might be more expensive than living in rural California, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
So what exactly are those Bakersfield neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Bakersfield are the cheapest.
Here are the cheapest neighborhoods in Bakersfield for 2020:
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Bakersfield for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Castle Ranch looks to be the cheaptest Bakersfield neighborhood to live in.
At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Bakersfield. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Bakersfield that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Bakersfield.
Once you’re done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Best Counties To Live In California
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
How We Determined The Cheapest Bakersfield Hoods In 2020
In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Bakersfield, we had to determine what criteria defines “cheap”.
Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 37 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Bakersfield.” We’re lookin’ at you, Castle Ranch.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the cheapest places Bakersfield. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Bakersfield For 2020
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Population: 2,903
Cost Of Living Index: 96 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (5th cheapest)
More on Castle Ranch: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Castle Ranch comes in at $54,089 and the median home value is $113,500 for 2020.
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Population: 3,854
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (12th cheapest)
More on Casa Loma: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Casa Loma comes in at $31,648 and the median home value is $60,600 for 2020.
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Population: 2,731
Cost Of Living Index: 101 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (17th cheapest)
More on Stockdale Greens: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Stockdale Greens comes in at $54,042 and the median home value is $118,400 for 2020.
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Population: 2,291
Cost Of Living Index: 110 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.007 (2nd cheapest)
More on Haggin Oaks: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Haggin Oaks comes in at $88,015 and the median home value is $232,600 for 2020.
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Population: 5,292
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (1st cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.3 (1st cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.03 (34th cheapest)
More on Homaker Park: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Homaker Park comes in at $24,221 and the median home value is $7,450 for 2020.
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Population: 6,840
Cost Of Living Index: 103 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (16th cheapest)
More on Park Stockdale: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Park Stockdale comes in at $51,450 and the median home value is $134,840 for 2020.
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Population: 5,739
Cost Of Living Index: 97 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (27th cheapest)
More on Rexland Acres: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Rexland Acres comes in at $36,108 and the median home value is $90,500 for 2020.
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Population: 1,321
Cost Of Living Index: 106 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (18th cheapest)
More on Quailwood: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Quailwood comes in at $56,593 and the median home value is $148,400 for 2020.
/10
Population: 5,036
Cost Of Living Index: 114 (28th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (3rd cheapest)
More on The Oaks: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in The Oaks comes in at $91,875 and the median home value is $249,286 for 2020.
/10
Population: 6,485
Cost Of Living Index: 115 (29th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (13th cheapest)
More on Silver Creek: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Silver Creek comes in at $89,795 and the median home value is $190,500 for 2020.
Summing Up The Cheapest Places In Bakersfield
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Bakersfield where prices are low and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Bakersfield aren’t all cheap. Stone Creek takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Bakersfield.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Best Places To Raise A Family In California
- Best Places To Retire In California
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Bakersfield For 2020
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castle Ranch | 96 |
| 2 | Casa Loma | 90 |
| 3 | Stockdale Greens | 101 |
| 4 | Haggin Oaks | 110 |
| 5 | Homaker Park | 86 |
| 6 | Park Stockdale | 103 |
| 7 | Rexland Acres | 97 |
| 8 | Quailwood | 106 |
| 9 | The Oaks | 114 |
| 10 | Silver Creek | 115 |
| 11 | Terra Vista | 122 |
| 12 | Artisan | 122 |
| 13 | Tevis Ranch | 113 |
| 14 | The Seasons | 110 |
| 15 | Csu Bakersfield | 120 |
| 16 | Hillcrest | 104 |
| 17 | College Heights-Baker Street | 92 |
| 18 | East Bakersfield | 93 |
| 19 | Laurelglen | 111 |
| 20 | Spice Tract | 102 |
| 21 | Stone Meadows | 112 |
| 22 | Bakersfield Country Club | 116 |
| 23 | Eastridge Estates | 111 |
| 24 | Oleander Sunset | 102 |
| 25 | Southgate | 97 |
| 26 | Benton Park | 101 |
| 27 | Rio Bravo | 129 |
| 28 | Sagepointe | 104 |
| 29 | Downtown | 99 |
| 30 | La Cresta-Altavista | 109 |
| 31 | Riviera-Westchester | 113 |
| 32 | Lakeview | 95 |
| 33 | Seven Oaks | 129 |
| 34 | Tyner Homes | 105 |
| 35 | Ridgeview Estates | 113 |
| 36 | Stonegate | 123 |
| 37 | Stone Creek | 128 |
