Midway steam plant site 1921, 1921
Buttonwillow’s story
131 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1921.
- 1895Buttonwillow is settled
ButtonwillowCA
A town of 1,163, settled in 1895.
Photo: Jey0h (talk) · CC BY 3.0
Population
1,163
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$232K
−0.7% in a year
Household income
$35K
median
Median age
29.0
years
Jobs based here
384
Balanced
Is Buttonwillow a good place to live?
Buttonwillow’s best subject grade is a B for walkability; its weakest is a D for incomes. Buttonwillow’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile, where California’s towns sit at 1.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Buttonwillow has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Small town
1,163 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How Buttonwillow grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Buttonwillow is from typical.
Jobs & income$35K median household income; 384 jobs based hereDOpen →HealthMercy Hospital 23.4 miles awayDOpen →Hazard riskearthquakes tops the listC−Open →Cost of livingCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.5 of 20; 12.2% of households have no car; 4.4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →SchoolsC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 29.0; 2% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Buttonwillow: who provides what
Buttonwillow is unincorporated, so Kern County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterButtonwillow Cwd water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers89% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesKern CountyKern County provides services here
SchoolsButtonwillow Union Elementary School DistrictKern High School District2 districts serve Buttonwillow; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereKern County Clerk - Elections OfficeKern County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code9320693206 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Buttonwillow.
HousingCost of living grade C
The typical home in Buttonwillow: about $232K
The midpoint rent for Buttonwillow comes to $1,131 a month, below the California town median ($1,896 a month) and near the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). 38% of Buttonwillow households own their home.
$232KZillow home value
| Buttonwillow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,131 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Buttonwillow$232K
California$762K
−0.7%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in March
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
SchoolsC+
On state tests, Buttonwillow’s schools trail 56% of California districts
Its one school is below. The Buttonwillow Union Elementary school district runs its public schools. Also worth knowing: 288 students attend the town’s public school.
44%of CA districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttonwillow ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 288 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
HealthD
Health in Buttonwillow trails 92% of U.S. towns
17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Buttonwillow. CDC measures, 32 in all: Buttonwillow beats California on 1 and trails on 20. Two figures for adults locally: 38% get no exercise outside work, 38% worry about having enough food.
8%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Buttonwillow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 9% | 8.1% |
32 measures vs. California
1 better11 too close to call20 worse
| What stands out | Buttonwillow | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.3% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 24.6% | 10.6% |
Mercy Hospital
23.4 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−
Natural hazards: high risk in Buttonwillow, mostly earthquakes
One declared disaster, in 2023, has brought federal aid to Buttonwillow households. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 77% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 54% come from earthquakes and 28% from inland flooding.
77risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
EarthquakesInland floodingHeat waves
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Buttonwillow has mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 98°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
98°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter40–61°
Spring51–77°
Summer65–96°
Fall53–80°
Nov 26
typical first frost
Feb 9
typical last frost
+1.9°
vs. the 20th-century average
98°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
The median household income in Buttonwillow is lower than in most of California or the rest of the country
The top destinations are Bakersfield (22%), Shafter (10%) and Wasco (3%). The share of residents in Buttonwillow who live below the poverty line: 25%. Commuting out is the norm locally: 1% of working residents work locally. The mean commuting time locally is 33 minutes.
1%work in town
| Buttonwillow | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $35,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Buttonwillow1%
Bakersfield22%
Shafter10%
Wasco3%
Delano2%
24 mi
median commute distance
384
jobs based in Buttonwillow
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
OutdoorsB−
Conservation land takes up 0.5% of Buttonwillow
There are 0.8 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve. Buttonwillow has one park or preserve, 12 acres in all.
0.5%conserved
0.5%
conserved · 23 of 4,409 acres
0.8 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buttonwillow Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Buttonwillow
17pages on Buttonwillow
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Buttonwillow; the nearest are
Taft CollegeCommunity college · Public · Taft18 mi$1,108 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-BakersfieldUniversity or college · Public · Bakersfield19.4 mi$8,090 in-state tuitionPorterville CollegeCommunity college · Public · Porterville50.3 mi$1,438 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Buttonwillow residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
A shrinking town
Buttonwillow has shrunk 11% from 2010 to 2020
1,508 counted in 2010 and 1,337 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
About Buttonwillow
Census-designated place in California, United States
Buttonwillow is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California. Buttonwillow is 26 miles (42 km) west of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 269 feet (82 m). The population was 1,337 at the 2020 census, down from 1,508 at the 2010 census. The center of population of California is located in Buttonwillow.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 269 ft
- ZIP code
- 93206
- Area code
- 661
Questions about Buttonwillow
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Buttonwillow, CA expensive?
That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($70,210 across the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.