Everything else equal, 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.
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 determine which neighborhoods in Bakersfield are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Bakersfield for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Castle Ranch looks to be the cheapest 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 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.
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Bakersfield For 2024
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Population: 2,903
Cost Of Living Index: 95 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (2nd cheapest)
More on Castle Ranch: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 3,023
Cost Of Living Index: 110 (2cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (4th cheapest)
More on Haggin Oaks: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 7,064
Cost Of Living Index: 111 (23rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (6th cheapest)
More on Stone Meadows: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 5,739
Cost Of Living Index: 96 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (30th cheapest)
More on Rexland Acres: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 7,703
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.03 (35th cheapest)
More on College Heights-Baker Street: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 4,384
Cost Of Living Index: 114 (28th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (8th cheapest)
More on The Oaks: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 6,222
Cost Of Living Index: 104 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.2 (17th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (16th cheapest)
More on Hillcrest: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 3,776
Cost Of Living Index: 113 (26th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (14th cheapest)
More on Tevis Ranch: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 2,611
Cost Of Living Index: 121 (33rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (13th cheapest)
More on Southern Oaks: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 7,189
Cost Of Living Index: 129 (38th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (7th cheapest)
More on Seven Oaks: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Bakersfield Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Bakersfield, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
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 39 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.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Bakersfield. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live 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.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Bakersfield are Castle Ranch, Haggin Oaks, Stone Meadows, Rexland Acres, College Heights-Baker Street, The Oaks, Hillcrest, Tevis Ranch, Southern Oaks, and Seven Oaks.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Bakersfield aren’t all cheap. Stonegate takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Bakersfield.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Bakersfield are Stonegate, Downtown, Tyner Homes, Ridgeview Estates, and East Bakersfield.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities 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 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castle Ranch | 95 |
| 2 | Haggin Oaks | 110 |
| 3 | Stone Meadows | 111 |
| 4 | Rexland Acres | 96 |
| 5 | College Heights-Baker Street | 92 |
| 6 | The Oaks | 114 |
| 7 | Hillcrest | 104 |
| 8 | Tevis Ranch | 113 |
| 9 | Southern Oaks | 121 |
| 10 | Seven Oaks | 129 |
| 11 | The Seasons | 109 |
| 12 | Csu Bakersfield | 120 |
| 13 | Stockdale Estates | 138 |
| 14 | Laurelglen | 111 |
| 15 | Terra Vista | 121 |
| 16 | Park Stockdale | 102 |
| 17 | Spice Tract | 102 |
| 18 | Bakersfield Country Club | 116 |
| 19 | Silver Creek | 114 |
| 20 | Eastridge Estates | 111 |
| 21 | Lakeview | 94 |
| 22 | Benton Park | 101 |
| 23 | Amberton | 124 |
| 24 | Rio Bravo | 128 |
| 25 | Stockdale Greens | 101 |
| 26 | Quailwood | 105 |
| 27 | La Cresta-Altavista | 108 |
| 28 | Artisan | 121 |
| 29 | Oleander Sunset | 102 |
| 30 | Riviera-Westchester | 113 |
| 31 | Southgate | 96 |
| 32 | Homaker Park | 85 |
| 33 | Casa Loma | 90 |
| 34 | Sagepointe | 104 |
| 35 | East Bakersfield | 93 |
| 36 | Ridgeview Estates | 113 |
| 37 | Tyner Homes | 105 |
| 38 | Downtown | 99 |
| 39 | Stonegate | 123 |