It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County, the most productive oil-producing county in California.

In May 1961, Bakersfield invited the city of Wakayama, Japan, to become its first sister city, and in June, the mayor of Wakayama, Zenichi Takagaki, accepted the invitation. The passage of Resolution 81-61 on August 21, 1961, by the Bakersfield City Council cemented the two as sister cities--a relationship that has endured for decades.