Bakersfield California is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the United States. Over the past two decades the population has grow by over 62 percent. Bakersfield's agricultural and petroleum industries, both of which are among the largest in the United States, have created many job opportunities for residents in the area. However, the largest reason that the area has seen such a drastic rise in the overall population is due to the staggering rate of immigration to the area. The immigrant population has skyrocketed in the past several decades, and is estimated to continue to do so into the future.

The primary ethnic group in Bakersfield are the Latinos. They comprise over 80 percent of the foreign-born population, and almost 40% of the total population of the area. The Latino population has increase exponentially since the early 1980's, and has continued to grow into the present. There are dozens of Latino people groups represented in Bakersfield, the largest of which are from Mexico. The area also has a small but growing Asian population, represented by

The area also has a small but growing Asian population. The Vietnamese, Filipino, Korean, and South Asian Indian populations have seen steady increases over the past decade. There are several Asian enclaves located in Bakersfield, and the Asian population is expected to continue to grow in the future.