Wofford HeightsCA
Settled in 1953, this town now has 2,656 residents.
Is Wofford Heights a good place to live?
The data are hard on it. Incomes are its weak spot (D−): the median household income is $39K, and just over a fifth of residents live below the poverty line. Cost of living is its strong suit: a typical home costs about $224K, 3.2 years of the Bakersfield metro’s $70K median household income. It is strong on walkability as well — it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 66% of U.S. towns. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of 581st of 841 in California. Set against the rest, it does better than 13% of U.S. towns. Health is weaker too: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 86% of the country. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index.
98% of working residents leave Wofford Heights for work
Where Wofford Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Wofford Heights grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Wofford Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Wofford Heights: who provides what
Wofford Heights 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 Wofford Heights.
Wofford Heights trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of California.
Wofford Heights stands out in California and nationally, with the median rent lower than most
Homes are within reach (about $224K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 44 miles. The typical value, about $224K, is 8% below its July 2022 peak.
76% of Wofford Heights households live in a home they own, above the California town median (64%) and near the median of U.S. towns (73%). Values fell 2.7% in the year to September 2026.
| Wofford Heights | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $911 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Wofford Heights faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by wildfire
FEMA puts 60% of Wofford Heights’s expected hazard losses down to wildfires, and 23% to inland flooding. One declared disaster, in 2023, has brought federal aid to Wofford Heights households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A larger share of adults have diabetes in Wofford Heights than in most of California or the rest of the country
Against the 2,029 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wofford Heights’s, it is healthier than 63%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Only 7 of the 847 California towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Wofford Heights. 24% of Wofford Heights adults have been diagnosed with depression. The town does better than the California average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 17.
| Wofford Heights | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 31% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Wofford Heights | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8% | 10.6% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.5% | 15.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.2% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most people working in Wofford Heights commute elsewhere
Wofford Heights has 97 jobs for its 487 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
For residents in Wofford Heights, the share who live below the poverty line is 21%. Most working residents leave Wofford Heights for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs in the town fell by 39 from 2013 to 2023, to 97. In Wofford Heights, the typical journey to work is 31 minutes.
| Wofford Heights | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Open space protected for good: 9.2% of Wofford Heights
Trails total 4.8 miles in 1 park or preserve. For Wofford Heights, the trail network density is 0.8 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: one, of 3 acres.
| Wofford Heights | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wofford Heights Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wofford Heights: four seasons and hot summers
January nights average 35.2°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 92.9°.
The peak summer temperature in the town is 93°F.
| Wofford Heights | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 93°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Wofford Heights
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Wofford Heights; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Wofford Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Wofford Heights
Census-designated place in California, United States
Wofford Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Kern County, California, United States. Wofford Heights is located in the west Kern River Valley, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-southwest of Kernville, at an elevation of 2,684 feet (818 m). The population was 2,213 at the 2020 census, up from 2,200 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,684 ft
- ZIP code
- 93285
Wofford Heights’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Wofford Heights.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wofford Heights | #581 | D | B+ | — | C+ | D |
| Kernville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wofford Heights reports no FBI crime data of its own. Kernville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wofford Heights with a neighbor →
Questions about Wofford Heights
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Wofford Heights, CA a good place to live?
Wofford Heights grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #581 of 841 in California. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Wofford Heights, CA expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.