Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,838.
Pine Mountain Club grades D− overall, 830th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of incomes and schools. The median household income is $69K, and 10% of residents live below the poverty line. Its public schools trail 76% of California towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: it has 19 miles of trail and 68% conserved land. Pine Mountain Club’s average trip to work is 56 minutes, where California’s towns sit at 28 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. On walkability, just 9 of California’s 1,063 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Los Padres National Forest, 7,172 acres with 11.1 miles of trail.
Where Pine Mountain Club beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
68.4% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Pine Mountain Club is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,600 in 2000, 2,422 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 2 maps from 1943 on.
Explore the history →Pine Mountain Club 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 Pine Mountain Club.
Pine Mountain Club is a second-home town and keeps more of its land conserved than most of California, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Its 7,350 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other California town.
There are 19 miles of trail across 4 parks and preserves. Pine Mountain Club’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Los Padres National Forest | 11.1 mi | 7,172 |
| 2. Wind Wolves Preserve | 0.6 mi | 156 |
| 3. Chumash Wilderness | 0.4 mi | 1,811 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its one school is below. Pine Mountain Club’s only public school teaches 54 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak to Peak Mountain CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 54 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 98% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Pine Mountain Club, 40% come from wildfires and 39% from earthquakes. Federal aid has come to Pine Mountain Club households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $377K, is 14% below its July 2022 peak.
For households in Pine Mountain Club, the share who live in a home they own is 83%. The typical rent in the town is $2,145 a month. Also worth knowing: on the market locally: a median 84 days to sell.
| Pine Mountain Club | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,145 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 83% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 398 working residents takes 56.3 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Half of commuters travel less than 71 miles. Since 2013, Pine Mountain Club has added 21 jobs, to 141 in 2023. Just 6% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (9%), Bakersfield (6%) and Visalia (4%).
| Pine Mountain Club | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $69,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.5% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
37.3% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 2.4% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
For Pine Mountain Club, the midpoint age is 48.6 years. Children under 18 are just over one in ten residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 25% of residents (16% statewide). The share of adults 25 and older in Pine Mountain Club who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 43%.
| Pine Mountain Club | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.6 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 29% | 29% |
45% women, 55% men
About 120 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.4 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Pine Mountain Club | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 3.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.7% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.7% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.8% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.7% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.3% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.6% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.3% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
July afternoons average 77.1°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 28.5°.
The seasons in Pine Mountain Club: mild winters, pleasant summers, with very little rain. The peak summer temperature for Pine Mountain Club comes to 77°F.
| Pine Mountain Club | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 29°F | 41°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The nearest emergency room, Community Memorial Hospital - Ojai, is 28.1 miles away in a straight line. Against the 10,461 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pine Mountain Club’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
79% of adults had a checkup this year in Pine Mountain Club. Against the California average, Pine Mountain Club comes out ahead on 12 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 9. Among adults locally, 31% feel lonely and 14% have diabetes.
| Pine Mountain Club | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 79% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Pine Mountain Club | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.5% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Pine Mountain Club; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Pine Mountain Club residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Pine Mountain Club’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in California, United States
Pine Mountain Club is an unincorporated community in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,422. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Pine Mountain Club as a census-designated place (CDP). It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pine Mountain Club grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #830 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health and C− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 5.4 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 D−.