What is the population of Tehachapi city?

Tehachapi city has 12,366 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #447 of 1,618 in California.

What is the median household income in Tehachapi city?

Median household income in Tehachapi city is $67,785 a year, 13.7% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Tehachapi city?

Median gross rent is $1,278 a month and the median home value is $344,700, so rent absorbs about 22.6% of median household income.

Is Tehachapi city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 5.1× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Tehachapi city is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 22.6% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

California · Census place 78092

Tehachapi, CA population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Tehachapi, California (Tehachapi, CA — Census place “Tehachapi city”) is 12,366 residents, ranking #447 of 1618 places in California. Median household income is $67,785, the median home is worth $344,700 and median gross rent runs $1,278 a month. Looking for the Tehachapi California ZIP code list? 2 ZIP codes serve Tehachapi, CA: 93561, 93581.

Population: 12,366Tehachapi city residents
Median household income: $67,785Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $344,700Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $1,278Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 39.2 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 61.2%Owner-occupied households

Tehachapi ZIP codes (California)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Tehachapi.

The Tehachapi CA ZIP code list below covers 2 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

What the numbers mean in Tehachapi city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Tehachapi city median would spend about 22.6% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 5.1× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 11.9% of residents and 61.2% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Tehachapi city, CA in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Tehachapi city is a mid-size town in California, with 12,366 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #447 of 1,618 ranked by population — larger than 72% of them. The median age here is 39.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Tehachapi city earn a median of $67,785 a year, 13.7% below the national figure of $78,538 and 26% below the $91,111 median for the 1,050 California cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 11.9% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Tehachapi city is valued at $344,700, 13.6% above the national figure and 42% below the $589,600 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,278 a month, 9.1% below the national figure, or roughly $15,336 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 22.6% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 5.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 61.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in California.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Tehachapi city?: Tehachapi city has 12,366 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #447 of 1,618 in California.
What is the median household income in Tehachapi city?: Median household income in Tehachapi city is $67,785 a year, 13.7% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Tehachapi city?: Median gross rent is $1,278 a month and the median home value is $344,700, so rent absorbs about 22.6% of median household income.
Is Tehachapi city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 5.1× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Tehachapi city is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 22.6% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Tehachapi city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.