In fiscal year 2025, Ridgecrest reported a median commercial property tax rate of 0.7%, positioning it as the seventh-lowest among Kern County cities, BlockShopper.com says.
The median rate countywide was 0.9% for fiscal 2025, placing Ridgecrest 0.2 percentage points under the county median.
Four other cities in Kern County also had a 0.9% median rate that year, including Rosedale and Arvin.
Among all 24 cities in the county, the range extended from 0.3% in Mojave up to 3.5% in East Bakersfield.
Ridgecrest’s median commercial property tax rate stood at 0.9% in fiscal 2024, where it ranked eighth in the county.
Commercial property tax rates averaged 1.76% for 53 major U.S. cities in 2024, according to a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy analysis. The report estimates that a $1 million property, with $200,000 in fixtures, would result in an annual property tax of about $21,060. Rates showed significant variation, falling below 1% in some cities and reaching as high as 4% elsewhere.
In various states, classification systems can impose higher effective property tax rates on commercial, industrial, and apartment properties than on residential properties. In certain areas, businesses are taxed at rates several times higher than those for homes. For instance, Charleston’s commercial rate can be about six times greater.
| Rank | City | Tax Rate % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Bakersfield | 3.5% |
| 2 | Rexland Acres | 3.4% |
| 3 | China Lake Acres | 2.7% |
| 4 | Potomac Park | 1.5% |
| 5 | Delano | 1.1% |
| 6 | Wofford Heights | 1% |
| 6 | Taft | 1% |
| 6 | Tehachapi | 1% |
| 9 | Bakersfield | 0.9% |
| 9 | East Niles | 0.9% |
| 9 | Inyokern | 0.9% |
| 9 | California City | 0.9% |
| 13 | Lake Isabella | 0.8% |
| 13 | Oildale | 0.8% |
| 13 | Wasco | 0.8% |
| 13 | Rosamond | 0.8% |
| 13 | Lamont | 0.8% |
| 18 | Ridgecrest | 0.7% |
| 18 | Rosedale | 0.7% |
| 18 | Arvin | 0.7% |
| 18 | Golden Hills | 0.7% |
| 18 | Shafter | 0.7% |
| 23 | Greenfield | 0.5% |
| 24 | Mojave | 0.3% |
| Rank | Address | Tax Rate % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 101 W. Drummond Ave. | 2.3% |
| 2 | 722 Norma St. | 1.3% |
| 3 | 218 N. Sanders St. | 1.2% |
| 4 | 712 W. California Ave. | 1% |
| 4 | 913 W. Alene Ave. | 1% |
| 6 | 1639 S. China Lake Blvd. | 0.8% |
| 7 | 1281 Norma St. | 0.7% |
| 7 | 1310 N. Norma St. | 0.7% |
| 9 | 1661 N. Triangle Drive | 0.5% |
| 10 | 1317 N. China Lake Blvd. | 0.4% |
Note: Address details for some properties may be incomplete or missing due to limitations in county assessor data.
Information for this article came from BlockShopper.com. You can access the source data here.