The city of Bakersfield, California is located in Kern County, at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. It is located in between Los Angeles and Fresno and according to the cities official travel website, Bakersfield is considered to be the 11th fastest growing city within the state of California.
Bakersfield was ranked the 11th largest city within the state of California as well as the 58th biggest city in the U.S. in 2010, with a population estimated to be around 338,952. After Fresno and Sacramento, Bakersfield is California's third biggest inland municipality. With a population of 800,458, the Bakersfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is the 63rd largest urban area within the country. Agriculture, manufacturing, as well as petroleum refining and extracting make up the economy within this region.
Sierra Nevada's southern tip is located just to the east of Bakersfield. The city limits end at the Sequoia National Forest, which is located at foot of the Greenhorn Mountain Range and the entrance to the Kern Canyon. Tejon Ranch, which is situated in the Tehachapi Mountains, can be found to the south, and to the west is the Temblor Range. The Carrizo Plain National Monument and the San Andreas Fault are located just behind the Temblor Range, more or less 35 miles (56 km) from Bakersfield.
With a total area of 114.4 square miles (296 km2), Bakersfield is a big city. 98.86% (Approximately 113.1 square miles, or 293 km2) is land while the other 1.14%, equaling around 1.3 square miles or 3.4 km2, is water. It lies roughly an hour and thirty minutes drive away northern Los Angeles (roughly one hundred miles or 160 km) and approximately four and thirty minutes southeast of Sacramento (around three hundred miles or 480 km)
Rated fifth among the nation's top medium sized cities for business by a recent Inc. Magazine, Bakersfield is a corporate hotspot, providing one of the most inexpensive and desirable locations on the West Coast. It is strategically situated at the southern end of Great Central Valley in California, where it is considered part of the world's fifth largest economy. The large labour pool as well as existing office space makes it an ideal place for businesses to situate themselves.
The are numerous well-known businesses located in Bakersfield comprising State Farm Insurance (which employs 1,500 people at its regional bank office), ACS Inc. and Pleasant Holidays call centers, DIVR, Inc., ProSoft Technology, and Lortz Manufacturing, which is a tech firm that makes tiny components that are utilized in the aerospace and space age industries.