Oildale, California

Oildale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Oildale is located north-northwest of downtown Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 32,684 at the 2010 census, up from 27,885 at the 2000 census. In the 2020 census, Oildale's population was 35,520. It is an unincorporated suburban town just north of Bakersfield across the Kern River, west of the Kern River Oil Field, and east of Highway 99.

History

Previously called Waits and North Side, Oildale was founded in 1909 when Samuel Dickinson subdivided his land. The first post office opened at Oildale in 1916. Most of the original U-2 spy planes flown out of Groom Lake were built at a secret factory in Oildale disguised as a tire factory, just west of Meadows Field Airport on Norris Road.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Oildale is adjacent to three large oil fields, including two of the largest in California. The enormous Kern River Oil Field to the east and northeast has more active oil wells (9,183 at the end of 2006) than any other field in California except for the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in southwestern Kern County (which has 11,145). Also adjacent is the huge Kern Front Oil Field, north of town, and the smaller Fruitvale Oil Field, to the southwest.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Oildale had a population of 36,135. The population density was . The racial makeup of Oildale was 66.3% White, 2.6% African American, 2.0% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 14.7% from other races, and 13.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.7% of the population.

The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 13,025 households, out of which 36.9% included children under the age of 18, 34.9% were married-couple households, 11.2% were cohabiting couple households, 32.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 21.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.9% of households were one person, and 10.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.76. There were 8,504 families (65.3% of all households).

The age distribution was 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% aged 18 to 24, 28.8% aged 25 to 44, 22.6% aged 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 32.7years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males.

There were 13,769 housing units at an average density of , of which 13,025 (94.6%) were occupied. Of these, 40.4% were owner-occupied, and 59.6% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 6.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 80.9% spoke only English at home, 16.9% spoke Spanish, 0.9% spoke other Indo-European languages, 0.6% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.6% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 82.2% were high school graduates and 12.3% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income in 2023 was $49,622, and the per capita income was $23,955. About 23.5% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Oildale had a population of 32,684. The population density was . The racial makeup of Oildale was 27,463 (84.0%) White, 255 (0.8%) African American, 590 (1.8%) Native American, 316 (1.0%) Asian, 30 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 2,635 (8.1%) from other races, and 1,395 (4.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,301 persons (19.3%).

The census reported that 32,636 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 48 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 12,023 households, 4,775 (39.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 4,476 (37.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,372 (19.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,078 (9.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,322 (11.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 132 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,099 households (25.8%) were one person and 1,062 (8.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71. There were 7,926 families (65.9% of households); the average family size was 3.23.

The age distribution was 9,426 people (28.8%) under the age of 18, 3,627 people (11.1%) aged 18 to 24, 8,810 people (27.0%) aged 25 to 44, 7,561 people (23.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,260 people (10.0%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 31.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.

There were 13,555 housing units at an average density of 2,075.0 per square mile, of the occupied units 5,211 (43.3%) were owner-occupied and 6,812 (56.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.5%. 13,576 people (41.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19,060 people (58.3%) lived in rental housing units.

People from Oildale

* Vern Burke - Pro football player
*Merle Haggard - Country music artist
*Kevin Harvick - NASCAR driver
* Gerald Haslam - Author
* Amber Hollibaugh - Writer, filmmaker, activist and organizer
*Buck Owens - Country music artist
*Jonathan Davis - Lead singer of Korn
* John Joseph Hernandez - Last rightful heir and sovereign ruler of Oildale

References

External links

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Census-designated places in Kern County, California
Populated places established in 1909
1909 establishments in California
Census-designated places in California