Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 4,162 residents in California.
Health is its weak spot: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country. At about $208K, a typical home costs 3 years of the Bakersfield metro’s $70K median household income. It also trails on incomes: the median household income is $47K, and 37% of residents live below the poverty line. The overall grade comes out at D−, behind almost every U.S. town. In the ranking it comes 831st of 841 in California. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index.
Where Ford City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Ford City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,347 in 1950, 4,348 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2022 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
Explore the history →Ford City is unincorporated, so Kern County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ford City.
Ford City has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
The nearest emergency room, Mercy Hospital, is 28.3 miles away in a straight line.
The share of adults in Ford City who have obesity: 41%. Just over two in five adults get no exercise outside work here, above both the California town median (24%) and the median of U.S. towns (25%). Among 847 California towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Ford City. Also worth knowing: on the CDC’s 32 measures, Ford City is ahead of California on 1 and behind on 25.
| Ford City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ford City | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.9% | 6.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 36.3% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Taft City school district. 271 students attend Ford City’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 271 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
72% of Ford City’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 18%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Ford City has 148 jobs for its 1,103 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Ford City’s average trip to work comes in at 35 minutes. Jobs in Ford City grew by 52 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 148. The top destinations are Taft (21%), Bakersfield (16%) and Los Angeles (4%). Only 3% of working residents stay in Ford City for work; the rest commute out.
| Ford City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 37% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Taft weather station records that about 113 days a year reach 90°, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 97.3°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.9°.
In Ford City, the January low is 39°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
| Ford City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 4 of its 979 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Ford City itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
Parks and preserves in Ford City: one, of 2 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ford City Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 3 years of the Bakersfield metro’s $70K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 97% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,229, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Ford City’s median rent stands at $1,075 a month.
| Ford City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 37% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,075 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ford City
About 6 of every 100 Ford City residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Ford City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Ford City is located 1 mile (1.61 km) north of Taft, at an elevation of 892 feet (272 m). The population was 4,348 at the 2020 census, up from 4,278 at the 2010 census. It is immediately north of Taft, between the huge Midway-Sunset Oil Field to the southwest, and the almost exhausted Buena Vista Oil Field to the northeast. State Route 119 passes east of town from its junction with SR 33 to the south.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ford City grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #831 of 841 in California. It grades D− for health and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
The typical home is worth about $208,000, 73% below the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.