Bakersfield anchors a county that produces 72% of California's oil and ranked first nationally in agricultural commodity value as recently as 2023. Those two sectors generate large but episodic income streams. An asset-backed loan can bridge the interval between commodity cycles without requiring liquidation of productive holdings.
Kern County produces approximately 90 million barrels of oil per year, accounting for 72% of California's total output and ranking the county 13th among all U.S. oil-producing counties in 2023. The Midway-Sunset Oil Field, discovered in 1894 and the largest oilfield in California by total oil in place (approximately 27 billion barrels), had produced close to 4 billion barrels through the end of 2023. The three largest Kern fields together — Midway-Sunset, South Belridge, and Kern River — supply roughly one-third of California's entire oil production.
That production base now operates under a defined regulatory ceiling. California Senate Bill 237 (Chapter 118, Statutes of 2025), signed September 19, 2025, caps new well drilling at 2,000 CalGEM permits per year and exempts Kern County's ordinance from further CEQA challenge until January 1, 2036. The cap does not constrain current production — it constrains expansion. For operators and royalty holders assessing a multi-year financial position, that distinction matters: existing wells are unaffected; new development faces a fixed annual permit ceiling.
Energy employment is well-compensated but concentrated. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction carried an average annual wage of $84,821 in Bakersfield in 2024, second only to utilities ($108,580) among all local industries. The largest sectors by headcount — health care, retail, and educational services — pay considerably less. When energy income passes through a relatively small cohort, commodity price swings produce concentrated and abrupt liquidity pressure on that group.
Kern County ranked as the top agricultural producing county in the nation in 2023, with a gross commodity value of $8,626,533,000 — a 12% increase over 2022. The five largest contributors were grapes ($1.619 billion), citrus ($1.277 billion), pistachios ($1.003 billion), almonds ($892.3 million), and carrots ($858.9 million), together accounting for roughly two-thirds of total ag revenue.
By 2024, county crop value fell approximately 8% to $7.96 billion. The decline was not purely price-driven: almond acreage dropped by approximately 14,000 acres year-over-year, and table grapes and wine grapes shed approximately 24,000 acres combined. When planted acreage contracts, productive capacity falls with it. A lender appraising agricultural land as collateral needs current acreage data — not the prior crop report — to arrive at a defensible valuation.
Kern County's unemployment rate moves with harvest cycles in ways the statewide average does not reflect. The county reached a seasonally unadjusted 9.5% in January 2024 and again in March 2025, compared with California's 5.3% in March 2025. The farming sector recorded an 11.7% month-over-month employment decline between February and March 2025 alone.
For farm operators, royalty holders, and oil-field service businesses, these cycles create predictable liquidity gaps: revenue and distributions arrive in clusters; fixed costs do not pause. An asset-backed structure — where a lien on a pledged high-value portable asset stands in for income verification — can bridge that interval without requiring the borrower to sell a productive holding at an off-cycle price. Qualification turns on the collateral's appraised value, not the borrower's seasonal income pattern.
The Bakersfield MSA recorded real GDP of $46.94 billion (chained 2017 dollars) in 2023, up from $44.63 billion in 2022, with current-dollar output at approximately $59.8 billion. Both energy and agriculture contribute substantially to that figure, but both distribute income unevenly across the calendar — which is the specific timing problem an asset-backed loan is designed to address.
We lend against tangible personal property, including gold and bullion, fine jewelry, and watches. Assets of this kind are portable, independently appraised, and well-suited to short-term secured lending regardless of the borrower's income timing. Loans are originated by licensed lender partners; all figures on this site are general guidance and do not constitute a loan offer or commitment. Approval is based on the appraised value and condition of the specific asset at the time of application; terms vary by asset type and prevailing market conditions.
The how it works page describes our process from initial inquiry through disbursement. To discuss a specific asset, reach us through the contact page.
Loans are originated by licensed lender partners. Loan offers, terms, rates and final decisions are made by the originating licensed lender at appraisal — figures shown here are general guidance, not loan offers.
Last reviewed August 27, 2026.
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