2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Bakersfield, CA vs Petaluma, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Petaluma, is 45% more than it is in Bakersfield and is 31% above the National Average.
- Bakersfield unemployment rate is 8.0%.
- Petaluma unemployment rate is 5.0%.
 Bakersfield, CAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth24.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$28,837  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$100,379$69,021
 Family Median Income$75,253  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Bakersfield, CAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.0%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock5.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K7.8%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.5%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K14.1%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock19.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K8.1%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock17.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Bakersfield, CAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance11.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services2.3%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library6.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.2%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.9%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support21.2%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.4%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair9.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock9.5%13.1%
Reviews for Bakersfield    75 Reviews

I am a millennial, born and raised here. As someone who wrestled with staying for years, there are a lot of valid reasons to not come to Bakersfield. Air quality, summer  More

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Over 5 years ago

I have lived here all of my life. 40+ years. It used to be fun and kinda safe but now it is so scary to go outside. We are literally a homeless dumping ground and there  More

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I moved here from Seattle 25 years ago, when it had a population of 200,000, and practically the only place to get coffee was a place called “Duke’s Ranch”. Why did I  More

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Reviews for Petaluma    16 Reviews

I agree with the low star reviews. Been here for 25 years, raised a family and seen everything turn to the left and worse. Weather is glorious, love the old Victorians  More

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We’ve lived here for 3 years and we love it. It has taken some time to grow on us. We moved from SF where we had lived over 15 years, we were not used to one year leases  More

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I’ve lived here a couple of years (after living in others parts of the Bay Area for 15+ years) and I love it! Great neighborhoods, friendly folks, good schools with  More

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