Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Tehachapi earns a D−, 782nd among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 84% of U.S. towns, with 42 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $73K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it has 15 miles of trail. Tehachapi’s density of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both California’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 21 of California’s 463 towns score higher on civic life. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top.
Where Tehachapi beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Errea House14,414 counted in 2010 and 12,939 in 2020; an estimated 11,852 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 8.4% since 2020, after 10.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Tehachapi is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 255 in 1890, 12,939 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1980 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tehachapi, and how to reach them.
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 Tehachapi.
Tehachapi has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more, has more than doubled its jobs in ten years and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of California.
Parks and preserves in Tehachapi: 5, covering 21 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Park | — | 14 |
| 2. Philip Marx Central Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Aviator Park and Campground | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Tehachapi High, with 1,260 students. The Tehachapi Unified school district runs its public schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacobsen MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 925 | C+ |
| Tehachapi HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,260 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
FEMA puts 37% of Tehachapi’s expected hazard losses down to wildfires, and 31% to inland flooding. The national flood insurance program has paid one claim in the town since 1983. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Tehachapi after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2023.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 325 to 218 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent offense rate in Tehachapi is 3.9 per 1,000 residents. In Tehachapi, the level of property crime is 16.5 per 1,000 residents, above both the California town median (13.3) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9).
| Tehachapi | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.5 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among households in Tehachapi, 59% are owner-occupiers. The going rate for rent for Tehachapi comes to $1,295 a month. On the market in the town: a median 11 days to sell.
| Tehachapi | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,295 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 33.1°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 85% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 89.4°.
The town’s January low is 33°F.
| Tehachapi | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 33°F | 41°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Tehachapi: 15% of adults report frequent physical distress. 69% of Tehachapi adults had a checkup this year.
| Tehachapi | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Tehachapi | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 15.2% | 10.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.9% | 7.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 14.2% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 2,294 in 2013 to 4,757.
7.2% of workers do their job from home in Tehachapi. About one worker in five stays in Tehachapi for work. Jobs in Tehachapi grew by 2,463 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 4,757. The top destinations are Bakersfield (9%), Los Angeles (6%) and Golden Hills (4%).
| Tehachapi | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 7.2% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Tehachapi; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Tehachapi residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
2 places in Tehachapi on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Tehachapi.
City in California, United States
Tehachapi ( ; Kawaiisu: Tihachipia, meaning "hard climb") is a city in Kern County, California, United States, in the Tehachapi Mountains, at an elevation of 3,970 feet (1,210 m), between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. Tehachapi is 35 miles (56 km) east-southeast of Bakersfield, and 20 miles (32 km) west of Mojave. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10 square miles (26 km2). As of the 2020 census, Tehachapi had a population of 12,939. The Tehachapi area is known for the nearby Tehachapi Loop (a popular railfan site), the Pacific Crest Trail and for the favorable weather conditions for the aerial sport of gliding.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Tehachapi.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tehachapi | #782 | D− | D | C− | B− | C+ |
| Golden Hills | #688 | D | D | — | B− | B |
| Bear Valley Springs | #489 | C− | D | — | B− | A− |
Golden Hills and Bear Valley Springs report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Tehachapi with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tehachapi grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #782 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 6 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.
4 notable people were born here, including John Meehan and Boo Johnson.
