Kern County vs Santa Barbara County
Two neighbouring counties in California, compared on population, size, income and housing. They share 1.6 mi of border.
Kern County
California
Santa Barbara County
California
Both outlines are drawn at true relative size. Kern County spans about 227.8 km at its widest.
Side by side
| Measure | Kern County | Difference | Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 927,068 | +109.7% | 442,065 |
| Change since 2020 | 2.3% | +3.7 pp | -1.4% |
| Land area | 8,135 sq mi | +197.5% | 2,734 sq mi |
| Population density | 114 per sq mi | -29.6% | 162 per sq mi |
| Median household income | $70,210 | -28.5% | $98,161 |
| Median home value | $338,300 | -57.2% | $790,700 |
| Median age | 32.7 | -5.5% | 34.6 |
| Households | 284,931 | +90.5% | 149,608 |
| Housing units | 306,999 | +91.2% | 160,592 |
Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026; US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. The difference column is computed here: the first county's figure against the second, expressed as a percentage of the second. The change-since-2020 row is the exception: two growth rates differ in percentage points (pp), not percent. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
What the numbers say
- Kern County holds about 2.1 times the population of Santa Barbara County: 927,068 against 442,065.
- Kern County covers more ground, at 8,135 square miles against 2,734.
- Santa Barbara County is the more crowded of the two, at 162 people per square mile against 114.
- Median household income is higher in Santa Barbara County, by 27,951 dollars a year.
- Since 2020, Kern County has grown by 2.3% and Santa Barbara County has shrunk by 1.4%.
- They share 1.6 mi of common border, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which almost no other county reference presents.
Full pages
Want a different pair? Compare any two of the 3,144 US counties.
Rebuilt from source data 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.