Hot desert
Taft, California
Kern County, California · Population 7.2k · 1,017 ft elevation
Living in Taft
Taft has a hot desert climate: scorching summers (July highs around 98°F) and mild winters (January lows around 40°F).
Precipitation is very dry at about 6″ a year, and it essentially never sees snow.
Skies are exceptionally sunny (84% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is poor: a median AQI of 70, with about 65 unhealthy-air days in the latest year.
Taft is an outdoor hub: about 40% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 4,700 ft around town.
Taft at a glance
- Population
- 7.2k
- Elevation
- 1,017 ft
- Average daily high
- 78°F84th percentile
- Average daily low
- 52°F76th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 6″1th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 0″0th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,772 hrs98th percentile
- Median AQI
- 7097th percentile
- Median home value
- $246k47th percentile
- Median rent
- $989/mo33th percentile
- Median household income
- $64k36th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.88%43th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 13.3%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 8.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- Homes with broadband
- 79%7th percentile
- Walkability index
- 6.416th percentile
- Average commute
- 20 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 22%12th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 47%
- Violent crime rate
- 380 per 100k80th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 2,278 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9986th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 9897th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 35%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 40%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 4,724 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58°F | 40°F | 1.1″ | 0.1″ | 198 hrs |
| Feb | 62°F | 43°F | 1.2″ | 0.1″ | 220 hrs |
| Mar | 69°F | 48°F | 1.0″ | — | 290 hrs |
| Apr | 75°F | 49°F | 0.6″ | — | 325 hrs |
| May | 83°F | 56°F | 0.4″ | — | 389 hrs |
| Jun | 92°F | 59°F | 0.0″ | — | 418 hrs |
| Jul | 98°F | 67°F | 0.0″ | — | 422 hrs |
| Aug | 97°F | 65°F | 0.0″ | — | 402 hrs |
| Sep | 92°F | 61°F | 0.1″ | — | 354 hrs |
| Oct | 80°F | 53°F | 0.3″ | — | 309 hrs |
| Nov | 66°F | 46°F | 0.4″ | — | 243 hrs |
| Dec | 58°F | 40°F | 0.9″ | — | 204 hrs |
Near Taft
- South Taft, CA · 2.5k
- Ford City, CA · 4.3k
- Rosedale, CA · 19k
- Pine Mountain Club, CA · 2.7k
- Greenacres, CA · 4.6k
- Greenfield, CA · 4.4k
- Old Stine, CA · 3.8k
- Bakersfield, CA · 408k
Largest places in California
- Los Angeles, CA · 3.9M
- San Diego, CA · 1.4M
- San Jose, CA · 990k
- San Francisco, CA · 836k
- Fresno, CA · 544k
- Sacramento, CA · 525k
- Long Beach, CA · 458k
- Oakland, CA · 438k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology