Short answer
The Bakersfield-Delano metro (Kern County) had 1,287 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 14,570 people with $996.6 million in annual payroll, according to Census County Business Patterns. Most are small: 1,124 have fewer than 20 employees and 21 have 100 or more. Heavy and civil contractors, including 14 oil and gas pipeline builders, employ 3,503. Check any contractor on the CSLB license check, and for pipeline or site work look for an A or C-34 license.
- 1,287 construction establishments and 14,570 employees in Kern County in 2023, 1.5% of California's construction establishments.
- 14 oil and gas pipeline construction establishments employ 1,976 people, an average of 141 each.
- Average construction pay of $68,400 is well below the California average of $84,200.
- Single-family homes were 88% of the 3,159 housing units permitted in Kern County in 2025.
- No SEC-listed construction company is headquartered in the metro.
On this page
This page is for people hiring, researching or selling to construction companies in Bakersfield and the rest of Kern County: homeowners, growers and businesses that need a builder, contractors looking for subcontractors, and B2B sellers. It uses Census counts, the state's licensing rules and public bid sources.
Kern County's construction market in numbers
The Bakersfield-Delano, CA Metro Area (CBSA 12540) is Kern County. County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23):
| Measure | Kern County, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 1,287 |
| Employees | 14,570 |
| Annual payroll | $996,583,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 11.3 |
| Average annual pay | $68,400 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.16% (of 814,557) |
Kern has 1.5% of California's construction establishments and 1.7% of its construction jobs. Its average construction pay of $68,400 is $15,800 below the state average of $84,200 and below the US average of $76,580.
Read the count carefully. It covers establishments (locations) that had paid employees in the pay period including March 12, 2023. A firm with a Bakersfield office and a Delano yard counts twice; self-employed contractors without payroll aren't counted; and out-of-county firms that work on Kern projects, common on large pipeline and energy jobs, are counted where they're based.
Pipelines and civil work
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 912 | 9,058 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 208 | 2,530 |
| Electrical (238210) | 187 | 2,134 |
| Foundation, structure and exterior (2381) | 194 | 1,682 |
| Building finishing (2383) | 182 | 1,259 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 50 | 699 |
| Building construction (236) | 302 | 2,009 |
| Residential building (2361) | 223 | 1,008 |
| Commercial and institutional building (236220) | 72 | 865 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 73 | 3,503 |
| Oil and gas pipeline and related structures (237120) | 14 | 1,976 |
| Water and sewer lines (237110) | 25 | 396 |
| Highway, street and bridge (2373) | 14 | 615 |
Heavy and civil firms are 5.7% of Kern's construction establishments but employ 24.0% of its construction workforce, against 13.7% nationally. The 14 oil and gas pipeline establishments alone employ 1,976 people, close to the 2,009 at all 302 building contractors. Residential builders are tiny by comparison: 223 establishments averaging 4.5 employees.
Size
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 764 |
| 5 to 9 | 214 |
| 10 to 19 | 146 |
| 20 to 49 | 110 |
| 50 to 99 | 32 |
| 100 to 249 | 18 |
| 250 or more | Not published |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the counts for 250 to 499, 500 to 999 and 1,000 or more in Kern County, to avoid identifying individual employers. From the total, 21 establishments have 100 or more employees, so 3 have 250 or more. In bands: 1,124 (87.3%) have 1 to 19 employees, 142 have 20 to 99 and 21 have 100 or more.
A single-family housing market
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counts new housing units authorized in the metro:
| Units authorized | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family | 2,812 | 2,793 |
| 2 to 4 units | 359 | 241 |
| 5 or more units | 73 | 125 |
| Total | 3,244 | 3,159 |
Single-family homes were 88% of 2025's units, against 47% in the Los Angeles metro. For framers, roofers, concrete and plumbing contractors, that means steady work with production and custom builders rather than apartment towers.
Checking a Bakersfield contractor
California's Contractors State License Board (CSLB) licenses contractors statewide. A license is needed for any job of $1,000 or more in labor and materials, any job that needs a permit, and any job using employees.
| If the work is | Look for |
|---|---|
| Pipelines, oil field roads, grading, water systems | A (General Engineering), or a specialty such as C-34 Pipeline or C-12 Earthwork and Paving |
| A new building or a remodel with several trades | B (General Building) |
| A home remodel | B-2 (Residential Remodeling) or B |
| One trade: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing | C-10, C-36, C-20, C-39 |
Then check the license status, the $25,000 bond and workers' compensation on the CSLB license check, ask for recent permits in the city or county, and keep any home improvement deposit to 10% of the price or $1,000, whichever is less. Contractors on public works must also be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations.
Selling to Kern County contractors
| Segment | Establishments (CBP 2023) | Who to reach |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline, utility and civil contractors | 73 heavy and civil, 50 site preparation | Operations, equipment and safety managers |
| Mechanical and electrical trades | 395 | The owner; a service or operations manager at larger firms |
| Residential builders and remodelers | 223 | The owner |
| Commercial builders | 72 | Owner, project managers and estimators |
At the 1,124 establishments with fewer than 20 employees, the owner decides on almost everything. Of the 21 establishments with 100 or more employees, 13 are specialty trade contractors and 8 are heavy and civil firms, and the subsector tables imply that all 3 with 250 or more are heavy and civil. At those firms, safety and equipment leaders hold budgets.
Illustrative example. The company and its assumptions are invented; the establishment counts are from CBP 2023.
Kern Safety Supply (kernsafety.example) sells flame-resistant clothing and gas detection equipment. Its core list is the 73 heavy and civil establishments plus the 50 site preparation firms: 123 accounts. If each crew member needs $900 of gear a year and it supplies a third of the 4,202 people those firms employ, that's about $1.26 million in annual sales. Knowing which firms just won pipeline or utility work is the slow part; Bebop researches each account on a list like this and suggests the angle to open with.
Sources for names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| CSLB public data portal | Lists of licensees by classification and county, including Kern |
| CSLB license check | Status, classification, bond and workers' compensation |
| CSLB license classifications | What each class, including C-34 Pipeline, covers |
| DIR public works contractor registration | Contractors registered for public works |
| Caltrans Contracting Opportunities Portal | State highway projects out to bid, by district |
| City of Bakersfield purchasing and bids | City bid opportunities, posted through PlanetBids |
| Kern Council of Governments | Regional transportation planning and projects |
| AGC of California | The state's largest construction trade association |
Next step: compare the larger California markets in the Sacramento and Los Angeles reports, or build a list with the construction companies industry guide.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual CBSA data for 2024 and 2025, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- License classifications, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- What kind of contractor do I need?, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- Finding the right contractor, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- Public works contractor registration, California Department of Industrial Relations, accessed 30 October 2026
- Doing business with the City of Bakersfield, City of Bakersfield, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Bakersfield?
Census County Business Patterns counted 1,287 construction establishments with paid employees in the Bakersfield-Delano metro, which is Kern County, in 2023. They employed 14,570 people. The count is of locations with payroll, not companies, and leaves out self-employed contractors with no employees. Firms from outside the county that work on Kern projects are counted where they're based.
What kinds of construction companies are in Kern County?
Mostly specialty trades: 912 of the 1,287 establishments, led by plumbing and HVAC (208) and electrical (187) contractors. There are 302 building contractors and 73 heavy and civil firms. The civil firms are the largest employers, with 3,503 people, including 1,976 at 14 oil and gas pipeline construction establishments, an average of 141 each.
What license does a pipeline contractor need in California?
California's Contractors State License Board licenses pipeline work under the A General Engineering classification or the C-34 Pipeline specialty, and grading under C-12 Earthwork and Paving or A. Check the license, bond and workers' compensation on the CSLB license check. Contractors on public works projects must also be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations.
How much do construction workers earn in Bakersfield?
Construction establishments in Kern County paid an average of $68,400 per employee in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns: $996.6 million in annual payroll across 14,570 employees. That's below the California construction average of $84,200 and the US average of $76,580. It's an average across all construction jobs, not a wage for any trade.