Downtown Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA

Background Image

Downtown Bakersfield - Bakersfield, CA

Area Guide

Share Guide

One of California’s more affordable downtown areas

Diverse Great Location Artistic Historic

Downtown Bakersfield is the heart of this San Joaquin Valley city. Historic Downtown Bakersfield is the center of the city’s culture, dining, and nightlife scene. Cocktail bars, antique shops, and trendy restaurants serving everything from poke to vegan burgers dot the district. Along with a great dining and nightlife scene, Downtown Bakersfield is home to an active arts scene. Downtown houses several art galleries and studios, museums, and theaters like the Bakersfield Museum of Art and the Bakersfield Fox Theater, which is known for its comedy shows and concerts. Food, art, and cultural festivals throughout the year also keep the area lively. There are apartments and houses available for rent at lower costs compared to other California cities in Downtown Bakersfield, although there are new developments being added as well.

Rent Trends

As of March 2025, the average apartment rent in Downtown Bakersfield is $1,206 for a studio, $1,125 for one bedroom, $1,311 for two bedrooms, and $1,564 for three bedrooms. Apartment rent in Downtown Bakersfield has decreased by -3.7% in the past year.

  • Studio

  • 390 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,206/month

    Average Rent

  • 1 BR

  • 718 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,125/month

    Average Rent

  • 2 BR

  • 910 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,311/month

    Average Rent

  • 3 BR

  • 1,192 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,564/month

    Average Rent

Transportation

75

Very Walkable

out of 100 WalkScore® Rating

If you enjoy walking, you’ll enjoy renting in this area! It’s a very walkable neighborhood.

42

Some Transit

out of 100 TransitScore® Rating

You'll likely want a car when living in this area since it has few transit options.

51

Bikeable

out of 100 BikeScore® Rating

While there’s some bike infrastructure in this area, you’ll still need a car for many errands.

Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Buena Vista Museum of Natural History
  • Kern County Museum
  • California Living Museum

Commuter Rail

Airports

  • Meadows Field

Top Apartments in Downtown Bakersfield

Houses for Rent in Downtown Bakersfield

Property Management Companies

Search Nearby Rentals

Methodology

† Our analysis of utilities, groceries, transportation, healthcare, home prices, and other goods and services is sourced from the Cost of Living Index, a respected benchmark published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) that provides a thorough overview of living expenses across different regions.

Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Consumer goods, services, and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The data on this page is updated quarterly. It was last published in February 2025.