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Cost of living, pay and housing

35.48° N · 119.28° W · GEOID 0672338

Smith Corner

Kern County, California · part of the Bakersfield, CA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

CaliforniaSmith Corner, CASmith CornerSmith Corner

The short answer

Smith Corner is home to 718 people. Median household income is $48,281 a year and median rent is $1,106 a month, 27.5% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is moderate. The median home is valued at $115,800, about 2.4x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,106
19% below the median place
Median household income
$48,281
40% below the median place
Median home value
$115,800
64% below the median place
Unemployment
8.6%
76% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Smith Corner

  • Between the 2019 and 2020 surveys, rent rose 3.7% a year while household income rose -5.8%, so rent outran pay by more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-highest of 654 California places.
  • Households average 4.63 people, larger than in 99% of places its size. It is the 2nd-highest of 655 California places.
  • Only 0% of workers mostly work from home, fewer than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 615 California places.
  • 54% of residents were born outside the US, more than in 99% of places its size.
  • After the median rent, and with prices for everything else adjusted to the US average, the median household has about $34,000 a year left, less than in 95% of places its size.
01

Moving to Smith Corner

Kern County loses about 2.0 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in23,856
Moved out25,282
Net−1,426

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within California, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within CaliforniaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$55K
Leavers$62K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Kern County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
0.0% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.0% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Kern County report $55,100 a year in income on average; those leaving, $62,400, so leavers earn more than newcomers.
Income you would need
$44,200 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,106 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,968 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $115,800.
Getting to work
24 minutes each way on average; 0.0% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Pharr, TX matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved here in the past year1
0.0%
below the median place (median 5.7%)
Moved from another state1
0.0%
below the median place (median 2.0%)
Income of households moving in7
$55,079
22% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureSmith CornerAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year10.0%below (median 5.7%)
Moved from another state10.0%below (median 2.0%)
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure-2.0233% below
Income of households moving in7County figure$55,07922% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$62,41911% below
02

What it costs to live here

Median home value is $115,800, 64% below the median place.

Smith Corner27.5%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$44,240
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
27.5%
35% above the median place
Home price to income
2.4x
37% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
28%
just under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$33,700
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Smith Corner, $1,106 a month, and local prices for everything else (103.1 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Smith Corner.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Smith Corner? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Median home value1
$115,800
64% below the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,031
68% below the median place
Median year built1
1963
1% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureSmith CornerAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,10619% below
Rent to income127.5%35% above
Property tax rate10.9%2% below
Home price to income12.4x37% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure100.90% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,6563% above
HUD area median income4County figure$81,90024% below
Property tax paid (median)1$1,03168% below
Median home value1$115,80064% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure2.0%37% below
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure51.0%1% below
Homeownership175.5%14% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure56.4%12% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1County figure$1,9685% above
Vacant homes1County figure7.2%2% above
Median year built119631% below
03

Work and pay

Works from home is 0.0%, below the median place (median 12.4%).

Works from home1
0.0%
below the median place (median 12.4%)
Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Income per person1
$12,028
70% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureSmith CornerAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$48,28140% below
Income per person1$12,02870% below
Unemployment1County figure8.6%76% above
Average annual pay6County figure$61,7376% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure2.8%24% below
Jobs6County figure347,044130% above
Poverty rate1County figure19.1%77% above
Mean commute1County figure24 min2% below
Works from home10.0%below (median 12.4%)
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Household size is 4.6, 85% above the median place.

Household size1
4.6
85% above the median place
High school or higher1
46.9%
49% below the median place
Born abroad1
53.8%
above the median place (median 8.8%)
All 8 people measures
MeasureSmith CornerAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population17186646th largest
Median age129.923% below
Bachelor's or higher1County figure18.8%41% below
High school or higher146.9%49% below
Household size14.685% above
Born abroad153.8%above (median 8.8%)
No health insurance1County figure7.8%22% above
Homes with broadband178.7%15% below
05

Life in Smith Corner

26 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars15.9 −24%
Shops21.9 −28%
Arts, recreation and fitness1.9 −54%
Doctors' offices and clinics15.0 −26%
Child care centers1.5 −35%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public school students10
197,431
above the median place (median 4,897)
Public schools10
275
above the median place (median 9)
Shops per 10k8
21.9
28% below the median place
All 9 schools and local life measures
MeasureSmith CornerAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure275above (median 9)
Public school students10County figure197,431above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher10County figure22.445% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure15.924% below
Shops per 10k8County figure21.928% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure1.954% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure15.026% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure1.535% below
National Register listings9County figure26100% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Annual precipitation is 8.9 in, 80% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Smith Corner. Larger places are fetched first.

Annual precipitation11
8.9 in
80% below the median place
July average high11
96°F
10% above the median place
Heat wave risk12
99.5
10% above the median place
All 10 weather and risk measures
MeasureSmith CornerAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure96°F10% above
January average low11County figure36°F44% above
Average temperature11County figure62°F13% above
Annual precipitation11County figure8.9 in80% below
Natural hazard risk12County figure98.97% above
Tornado risk12County figure19.876% below
Wildfire risk12County figure99.863% above
Heat wave risk12County figure99.510% above
Median air quality index13County figure7063% above
Good air days13County figure17.5%74% below
08

Smith Corner in 2030: where the trends point

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median household income$48,281 (2024)$57,500$48,500 to $68,000+3.0%
Median home value$115,800 (2024)$165,000$119,000 to $227,000+6.0%

The median home would be worth 2.9 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.4 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Smith Corner

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Pharr, TX$1,037$52,814Compare
Bloomfield, NM$984$48,472Compare
Bay City, TX$1,025$53,840Compare
Gantt, SC$1,062$47,316Compare
Gantt, SCBay City, TXBloomfield, NMPharr, TXSmith Corner, CAPharrBloomfieldBay CityGanttPharrBloomfieldBay CityGantt

Common questions

Is Smith Corner a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2020 surveys, rent rose 3.7% a year while household income rose -5.8%, so rent outran pay by more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-highest of 654 California places. Households average 4.63 people, larger than in 99% of places its size. It is the 2nd-highest of 655 California places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Smith Corner expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 27.5% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $115,800.

What salary do you need to live in Smith Corner?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $44,240 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Smith Corner?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Pharr, TX, Bloomfield, NM, Bay City, TX and Gantt, SC.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  13. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Smith Corner with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Smith Corner itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/smith-corner-california

Citytistics. “Smith Corner, California.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/smith-corner-california/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.