Ridgecrest, California demographics

Ridgecrest, CA demographics: median age 33.4; 30.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Ridgecrest city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0660704. The survey estimates a population of 28,225 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Ridgecrest is 33.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.5 years. There are 11,303 households (±500). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	33.4 ±1.5	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 28,225
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	7,678 ±734	27.2% ±2.6 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	7,003 ±662	24.8% ±2.3 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	10,050 ±791	35.6% ±2.8 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	3,494 ±451	12.4% ±1.6 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 28,225
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	14,854 ±617	52.6% ±2.2 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	13,371 ±622	47.4% ±2.2 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 28,225
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	18,525 ±912	65.6% ±3.2 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	1,245 ±412	4.4% ±1.5 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	361 ±207 · low precision	1.3% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,194 ±328	4.2% ±1.2 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	99 ±60 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,967 ±735	10.5% ±2.6 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	3,834 ±830	13.6% ±2.9 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 28,225
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	21,551 ±896	76.4% ±3.2 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	6,674 ±891	23.6% ±3.2 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 11,303
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	5,002 ±375	44.3% ±2.7 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	628 ±184	5.6% ±1.6 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,128 ±272	10.0% ±2.4 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	3,850 ±553	34.1% ±4.7 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	695 ±213	6.1% ±1.9 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 11,303
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,627 ±306	32.1% ±2.3 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	7,676 ±668	67.9% ±5.1 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 11,303
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	3,850 ±553	34.1% ±4.7 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,224 ±446	28.5% ±3.7 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	2,017 ±371	17.8% ±3.2 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,169 ±255	10.3% ±2.2 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	612 ±164	5.4% ±1.4 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	183 ±91	1.6% ±0.8 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	248 ±119	2.2% ±1.0 pp	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 28,225
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	26,054 ±461	92.3% ±1.6 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	2,171 ±455	7.7% ±1.6 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 26,138
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	21,774 ±785	83.3% ±2.8 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	3,000 ±764	11.5% ±2.9 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	252 ±179 · low precision	1.0% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	45 ±39 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	7 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	291 ±173 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	67 ±81 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	35 ±32 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	306 ±146	1.2% ±0.6 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	273 ±170 · low precision	1.0% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	39 ±42 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	49 ±44 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 18,444
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,450 ±357	7.9% ±1.9 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,781 ±533	20.5% ±2.8 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,991 ±521	27.1% ±2.7 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,520 ±455	13.7% ±2.4 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	4,000 ±502	21.7% ±2.6 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,702 ±403	9.2% ±2.2 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 28,000
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	24,246 ±649	86.6% ±2.3 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,857 ±537	6.6% ±1.9 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,062 ±345	3.8% ±1.2 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	382 ±196 · low precision	1.4% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	453 ±235 · low precision	1.6% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

3.7% of Ridgecrest residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 93.3% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Ridgecrest	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.7% ±1.1 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.3% ±2.0 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	15.0% ±2.3 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Ridgecrest . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Ridgecrest housing and cost context or return to the city profile.