Potomac ParkCA
A town of 10,138.
Is Potomac Park a good place to live?
Potomac Park earns a D−, ranked 773rd of 841 in California, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $51K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Potomac Park’s July high is 99°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F).
What makes Potomac Park stand out
Where Potomac Park beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Potomac Park | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 31.6% | 10.6% |
98% of working residents leave Potomac Park for work
Where Potomac Park’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Potomac Park grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Potomac Park is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Potomac Park: who provides what
Potomac Park 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Potomac Park.
Potomac Park has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has property taxes about half the California norm, but it has household incomes well below the California norm.
Potomac Park stands out in California and nationally: a larger share of its adults say their health is fair or poor
43% of Potomac Park adults say their health is fair or poor. Only 7 of the 847 California towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Potomac Park. 23% of Potomac Park adults report frequent mental distress.
| Potomac Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 22% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Potomac Park | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.9% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 31.6% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Potomac Park’s schools rank behind 77% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Bakersfield City school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Vernon ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 614 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Most of Potomac Park’s workers commute out: the town has 0.4 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Potomac Park for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Potomac Park grew to 1,057 in 2023, 214 more than in 2013. Potomac Park’s average trip to work is 23 minutes.
| Potomac Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $51,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
High risk in Potomac Park, with earthquakes at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Potomac Park
The Bakersfield Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 112 days a year reach 90°, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 99.3°, hotter than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 40.1°.
Potomac Park has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The January low in Potomac Park is 40°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Virginia Avenue Park | — | 9 |
| 2. Potomac County Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Potomac Park sells for about $250K
The median property tax bill is $1,793, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
38% of households own their home in Potomac Park.
| Potomac Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,218 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Dignity Health Arena and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Potomac Park. Close and well known come first.
3 mi Stadium & arenaDignity Health Arena
34 mi MuseumFort Tejon
4 mi MuseumKern County Museum85K visitors a year
24 mi National MonumentCésar E. Chávez National Monument31K visitors a year7 mi Zoo & aquariumCalifornia Living Museum
3 mi MuseumBakersfield Museum of ArtPhoto credits
Dignity Health Arena: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0 · Fort Tejon: Yellowute at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Kern County Museum: (WT-de) Mistoffeles, CC BY-SA 4.0 · César E. Chávez National Monument: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0 · Bakersfield Museum of Art: Skyman9999. Skyman9999, CC0
Everything we know about Potomac Park
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Potomac Park
About 7 of every 100 Potomac Park residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About Potomac Park
Census-designated place near Bakersfield, US
Potomac Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California. As of the 2020 census, Potomac Park had a population of 9,164. The CDP is within the Bakersfield's census county division, and borders the city of Bakersfield to the west and south, East Bakersfield and Hillcrest to the north, and East Niles, California to the east. As listed in the Geographic Names Information System, its elevation is 404 feet.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Potomac Park’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Potomac Park.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potomac Park | #773 | D− | C | — | C− | D− |
| Bakersfield | #780 | D− | D− | D | C | C |
| East Bakersfield | #775 | D− | C | — | C− | D− |
Potomac Park and East Bakersfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Potomac Park with a neighbor →
Questions about Potomac Park
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Potomac Park, CA a good place to live?
It grades D− for health and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Potomac Park, CA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $220,000, 71% 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.