Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lake). It was incorporated as a city in 1963. The population was 27,959 at the 2020 census, up slightly from 27,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city in Kern County.

Ridgecrest is surrounded by four mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west, the Coso Range on the north, the Argus Range on the east, and the El Paso Mountains on the south. The most isolated community in Kern county, it is approximately from the Lancaster/Palmdale area, from Bakersfield, and from San Bernardino, the three nearest major urban centers. Private air travel in and out of the city is provided through the Inyokern Airport. There are currently no scheduled commercial flights.

The city has been near the epicenter of major earthquakes, including one in 1995 and a series of quakes in July 2019.

History Native American tribes of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Kawaiisu thrived in the Indian Wells Valley. The Shoshone tribe left behind petroglyphs in the Coso Range that can be found in Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons. Their petroglyphs and artwork are displayed in the Maturango Museum and Petroglyph Park.

During the mid-1800s, travelers began crossing through the Indian Wells Valley. In 1826, Jedediah Smith's beaver trappers arrived, followed in 1834 by Joseph Walker when he crossed Walker Pass into the Indian Wells Valley. Throughout the rest of the nineteenth century, mining booms brought more settlers to the valley. In the 1880s, Chinese railroad workers briefly settled in the area, giving local China Lake its name.

Until the twentieth century, non-permanent settlers had arrived and traveled throughout the Indian Wells Valley. This changed, however, when the Los Angeles Aqueduct was built and finished from 1908–1913. This, plus the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad brought lasting settlers to the Indian Wells Valley.

The settlement that eventually became Ridgecrest began as a farming community called Crumville in 1912, honoring James and Robert Crum, local dairymen. The first post office opened in 1941. By 1943, Ridgecrest had grown to 115 homes and 196 residents. The Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) was established in November 1943, providing a strong job base for the years to come.

Ridgecrest incorporated in 1963. During this era the growth of Ridgecrest was governed by the continuing needs of the high tech industries coupled to the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) programs for testing arms and guidance systems. Today, the city serves as an essential housing and business community for NAWS China Lake.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and of it (3.00%) is water. Ridgecrest is located in Indian Wells Valley, which is a southern extension of Owens Valley, broken up by the volcanic Coso Range.

1995 earthquake The area, associated with the Eastern California Shear Zone, has in the past experienced numerous earthquake swarms, groups of several thousand quakes under magnitude 6.0 or so, often with no obvious mainshock. The 1995 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence started on August 17, when a magnitude 5.4 quake, centered north of the town of Ridgecrest, shook the area and spawned over 2,500 aftershocks over the course of the following five weeks. Then, on September 20, 1995, the second large quake struck the area: it measured magnitude 5.8, and was at that time the largest earthquake to hit southern California since the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

2019 earthquakes

Between July 4 and 5, 2019, the city of Ridgecrest and surrounding communities experienced a series of significant earthquakes, including the strongest to impact the area in decades—a magnitude 7.1 mainshock. The epicenter of the main earthquake was located approximately 10 miles northeast of Ridgecrest.

The sequence began on July 4 with a 4.0-magnitude quake approximately southwest of Searles Valley. Later that morning, at 10:33 A.M., a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck around southwest of Searles Valley. This initial sequence triggered over 1,400 aftershocks in the Ridgecrest and Searles Valley regions.

On July 5, 2019, at 8:19 P.M., the magnitude 7.1 mainshock, known as the Ridgecrest mainshock occurred, significantly impacting the Ridgecrest area.

Climate The weather in the Indian Wells Valley is predominantly influenced by its high desert location. The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights with extremely arid conditions prevailing throughout the summer months. The mean annual maximum temperature for the Ridgecrest area is while the mean annual minimum temperature is . There are wide annual temperature fluctuations that occur from a high of to a low of . On average, annual rainfall is less than "equivalent rainfall" per year, which includes less than of snow. The area is known to have wind as high as . December is the coolest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The all-time minimum temperature of was recorded on December 23, 1963, and January 7, 1973.

July is the hottest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The all-time maximum temperature of was recorded on July 11, 2021, tied with July 1988 and July 1993.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Ridgecrest city, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)19,06719,01916,76376.49%68.87%59.96%Black or African American alone (NH)8461,0411,2223.39%3.77%4.37%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2042451570.82%0.89%0.56%Asian alone (NH)9481,1881,4573.80%4.30%5.21%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1271271610.51%0.46%0.58%Other race alone (NH)34431550.14%0.16%0.55%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)7001,0121,9202.81%3.66%6.87%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3,0014,9416,12412.04%17.89%21.90%Total24,92727,61627,959 100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Ridgecrest had a population of 27,959. The population density was . The median age was 34.7 years. The age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% aged 18 to 24, 29.7% aged 25 to 44, 22.3% aged 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.2 males age 18 and over.

The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.8% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized. In addition, 98.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,186 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18. Of all households, 43.7% were married-couple households, 8.2% were cohabiting couple households, 24.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 23.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 29.8% of households were one person, and 10.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47. There were 7,010 families (62.7% of all households).

There were 12,359 housing units at an average density of , of which 11,186 (90.5%) were occupied. Of these, 61.3% were owner-occupied and 38.7% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%, and the rental vacancy rate was 9.5%.

2023 estimate In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $88,107, and the per capita income was $40,173. About 7.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Ridgecrest had a population of 27,616. The population density was . The racial makeup of Ridgecrest was 21,387 (77.4%) White, 1,113 (4.0%) African American, 341 (1.2%) Native American, 1,209 (4.4%) Asian, 143 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 1,836 (6.6%) from other races, and 1,587 (5.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,941 persons (17.9%).

The Census reported that 27,420 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 109 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 87 (0.3%) were institutionalized.There were 10,781 households, out of which 3,901 (36.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,211 (48.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,352 (12.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 609 (5.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 681 (6.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 64 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,978 households (27.6%) were made up of individuals, and 1,001 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 7,172 families (66.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.10.

The population was spread out, with 7,544 people (27.3%) under the age of 18, 2,654 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 7,157 people (25.9%) aged 25 to 44, 6,844 people (24.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,417 people (12.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.9 males.

There were 11,915 housing units at an average density of , of which 6,525 (60.5%) were owner-occupied, and 4,256 (39.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 16,520 people (59.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,900 people (39.5%) lived in rental housing units.

2000 census

According to the census of 2000, there were 24,927 people, 9,826 households, and 6,691 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 11,309 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.02% White, 3.53% Black or African American, 1.08% Native American, 3.88% Asian, 0.58% Pacific Islander, 4.93% from other races, and 3.98% from two or more races. 12.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,826 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,971, and the median income for a family was $52,725. Males had a median income of $46,993 versus $29,558 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,312. About 10.2% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Crime index: 40.0% safe city High school or higher: 87.4% Bachelor's degree or higher: 24.4% Graduate or professional degree: 8.5% Unemployed: 6.8% Mean travel time to work: 14.9 minutes

Never married: 22.1% Now married: 56.7% Separated: 2.6% Widowed: 6.6% Divorced: 12.1%

Males: 12,924 – (49.9%) Females: 12,971 – (50.1%) Median resident age: 35.5 years California median age: 33.3 years

People in group quarters: 987 people in military barracks, etc. 87 people in nursing homes 33 people in other non-institutional group quarters 22 people in state prisons

Economy