Kern County, CA real estate

What the numbers say

Kern County, CA real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in Kern County listed for $396,500, down 3.2% from a year earlier. That is 45% below the California median of $725,000.

Homes spent a median of 58 days on the market, slower than 56 days a year ago. That makes Kern County the #22 fastest-selling of 42 California counties we track.

Homeowners in Kern County pay a median of $2,984 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $338,300, an effective rate of about 0.88%. The California average is 0.70%, which makes Kern County the #58 lowest-tax of 58 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $1,300 a month, and $1,197 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 25 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $397,000 home here comes to about $2,618 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $112,000 a year (the median household here earns $70,210).