Caregiver Jobs in Taft, CA
Taft is a west Kern oil town of about 6,900 with no hospital of its own and an older age profile than the county. No caregiver has joined from Taft yet; a free profile puts you first in line for local postings.
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Finding caregiver jobs in Taft
Taft is an incorporated city on the west side of Kern County with 6,896 residents on 1 January 2026, and the unincorporated places that run into it, Ford City (4,162 people), South Taft (2,939) and Taft Heights (1,291), bring the community to roughly 15,000. Its age profile is older than the county's: 14.4% of city residents are 65 or over against 11.9% county-wide, and 29.8% of households include someone that age. The fact that shapes care work is that Taft has no licensed hospital. The state's facility listing shows three primary care clinics in town and nothing larger; the nearest acute hospital is Mercy Southwest in Bakersfield, about 31 road miles and 45 minutes by car, with Kern Medical a further ten miles on.
No caregiver has created a profile from Taft and nothing is posted within 50 miles, so the nearest live market is Bakersfield. If you live here, build the profile, set a radius that reaches south-west Bakersfield, and make clear that you drive: a client coming home from Mercy Southwest needs someone who can take them to follow-up visits 30 miles away. Taft College on Cougar Court has 4,464 students and offers dental hygiene and allied health programmes but no nursing or nurse assistant course, so CNA training means Bakersfield College.
Open caregiver opportunities near Taft, CA
Real postings from families on CaregiverConnect, matched to Taft by distance.
No open postings in Taft right now
No family within 50 miles has an open posting today. Nearest current postings: Los Angeles, CA, about 102 miles away. A profile created now is visible to Kern County families as soon as they join, and they can send you a direct request.
This list is generated from live postings on CaregiverConnect. We never show sample, demo or expired jobs here.
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Types of caregiver jobs in Taft
In a town this size the likely requests are senior care and companionship, recovery help after a Bakersfield hospital stay, respite for a spouse or adult child, and dementia support. Agencies are based in Bakersfield, 30 miles off, which favours a local independent who can start at short notice.
- Senior caregiving: day-to-day help so an older adult can stay at home.
- Personal care: bathing, dressing, grooming, transfers.
- Companion care: company, errands, appointments, light help.
- Dementia care: routine-based support for memory loss.
- Respite care: cover so a family caregiver can rest or work.
- Live-in: room and board as part of the arrangement.
- Overnight: supervision through the night.
- Part-time and full-time: set by day and time block on your profile.
Caregiver pay in Taft
Public figures first, then what they mean for private work. Statistics describe employed aides across the Bakersfield–Delano, CA metro (Kern County); private rates on CaregiverConnect are agreed between each caregiver and family and are not tracked by any agency.
| Measure | Hourly | Source and coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Home health and personal care aides, Bakersfield–Delano, CA metro (Kern County) | $16.50 median ($16.92 mean) | BLS OEWS, May 2025; 17,270 jobs; concentration 1.84× national |
| IHSS provider wage, Kern County | $17.90 | CDSS; effective July 1, 2026 |
| California minimum wage | $16.90 | effective January 1, 2026 |
Who is the employer. A family that hires you directly is your employer under California's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. The state minimum wage ($16.90 an hour from 1 January 2026; some cities set more, for example $17.75 in the City of San Diego) is the legal floor, and a personal attendant earns overtime at 1.5× after 9 hours in a day or 45 in a week. The main exceptions are IHSS recipients and an employer's own parent, spouse or child. Source: California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ.
Kern County projection: 14,340 aide jobs in 2023 to 19,940 in 2033 (+39.1%), about 30,570 openings over the decade including replacements (California EDD, 2023–2033 projections). Openings are not the same as net new jobs.
The table is metro and county data; Taft has no figures of its own. The city's median household income ($72,772) is close to the county's, yet 32% of households received food stamp benefits in the ACS period, so IHSS at $17.90 an hour from July 2026 is likely to fund much of the paid care in Taft. Private arrangements that include driving to Bakersfield are normally set above the $16.50 employed median, with mileage agreed on top.
IHSS wages for every county we cover, with effective dates, are in the IHSS pay by county guide.
How the public numbers relate to private rates, and what affects them, is covered in the caregiver pay guide.
Caregiver requirements in California, applied to Taft
State rules, applied to Taft: you need no licence to be hired directly by a family for non-medical help; Home Care Aide registration is required only for agency aides (optional, $35, for independents); IHSS providers enrol with the Kern County IHSS Public Authority in Bakersfield, which means fingerprinting and an in-person orientation on Truxtun Avenue; CNA and HHA roles need CDPH certification. Taft College does not list a nursing programme, so the certificate route is Bakersfield College. You are a mandated reporter for elder abuse; Kern County's line is (800) 277-7866. See the requirements guide.
Training and career resources near Taft
Verified Taft addresses, plus the Bakersfield offices that handle IHSS and training.
- West Side Family Health Care100 E. North Street, (661) 765-1935. The West Side Health Care District’s clinic, a licensed primary care clinic and Taft’s public health provider.
- Omni Family Health, Taft1100 4th Street, (661) 630-1063. Licensed primary care clinic.
- Taft College29 Cougar Court, (661) 763-7700. 4,464 students; associate degrees in dental hygiene and allied health; no nurse assistant course listed.
- Taft Area TransitThe City of Taft’s bus service; an electric bus entered service in 2020. Not a substitute for a car when clients need Bakersfield appointments.
- West Side Recreation and Park District500 Cascade Place, (661) 763-4246. Community programmes and facility bookings for the Taft area.
- Kern County IHSS Public Authority5357 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, (661) 868-0987. IHSS enrolment and the provider registry.
- Bakersfield College, Nurse Assistant Training ProgramThe nearest verified CNA programme.
Taft in numbers
ACS 2020–2024 counts 7,125 people in the city: 14.4% aged 65 or over, 31.5% Hispanic or Latino, 26.3% speaking Spanish at home (54% of Ford City residents are Hispanic). The median home value is $252,600 and the median rent $1,069, both well under the county, and the mean commute of 18.8 minutes shows that most people work locally; the Census category that includes oil and gas extraction employs 8.6% of workers, and education, health care and social assistance 27.3%.
Taft's medical infrastructure is three clinics; everything acute, and dialysis, happens in Bakersfield. County labour-market detail is on the Kern County page.
How to find caregiver work in Taft on CaregiverConnect
CaregiverConnect is a marketplace, not an agency. Families post what they need, caregivers apply, and the two of you work out the arrangement directly.
Tell us about your experience
Years of experience, the care types you provide, any certifications. No licence is needed for non-medical care.
Set your availability and rate
Full-time, part-time or live-in; days and time blocks; hourly rate; travel radius; vehicle.
Create your account
Name, email, ZIP code, password. Your profile is live immediately for families in your radius.
Browse, apply or respond
Open postings plus a matched list. Apply, or answer a family's direct request; the family chooses who to hire. Applying to open postings and starting a new conversation are part of Caregiver Premium ($7.99/month, cancel anytime). Replying to a family who contacts you is always free.
Agree on the details
Message to settle schedule, duties and pay. CaregiverConnect takes no cut of what you earn.
Caregiver jobs near Taft
Families often post from neighbouring towns. Set your travel radius in your profile and you will appear in their searches too.
Taft is part of Kern County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
- Shafter, CA26 mi
- Caregiver jobs in Bakersfield, CA27 mi
- Oildale, CA30 mi
- Wasco, CA35 mi
Useful reading before you apply
California caregiver requirements: HCA registry, IHSS and CNA explained
Which rules apply to a caregiver in California depends on who pays them. A plain-language map of the Home Care Aide Registry, IHSS provider enrolment and CNA/HHA certification, with the official sources.
What caregivers earn in California and Arizona: BLS, IHSS and minimum wage (2026)
Median hourly pay for home health and personal care aides by metro area from the May 2025 BLS survey, county IHSS wages, state minimum wages, and how private rates relate to them.
How to find private caregiver jobs without an agency
Where families who hire directly actually look, how to be found, what to put in writing, and the legal basics of being a household employee.
Caregiver interview preparation: questions families ask and how to answer them
What a family interview for private caregiving work really covers, the questions to expect, the questions you should ask, and what to bring.
- California Department of Finance, E-1 2026
- ACS 2020–2024 profile, Taft city (Missouri Census Data Center mirror)
- ACS 2020–2024 profiles, Ford City, South Taft and Taft Heights CDPs
- CDPH/CHHS, Licensed and Certified Healthcare Facility Listing (September 2026)
- West Side Health Care District / West Side Family Health Care
- NCES College Navigator, Taft College
- Kern COG, City of Taft TAM Plan 2022
- West Side Recreation and Park District
- OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap (road distances)
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Bakersfield-Delano, CA (31-1120)
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- California EDD, 2023–2033 county projections
- Kern County IHSS Public Authority
Caregiver jobs in Taft: frequently asked questions
Is anyone hiring caregivers in Taft on this site?
Not at the moment; Taft has no postings and no caregiver profiles yet. Create the profile anyway and turn on alerts, since the first family to post here will be shown whoever is already listed.
Where is the nearest hospital to Taft?
Mercy Southwest on Old River Road in Bakersfield, about 31 road miles. Taft itself has clinics only, which is why families value a caregiver who drives.
Can I train as a CNA at Taft College?
No. Taft College lists dental hygiene and allied health degrees but no nursing or nurse assistant programme; Bakersfield College is the verified option.
How does IHSS work for a Taft provider?
The same as anywhere in Kern County: enrol with the Public Authority in Bakersfield, complete Live Scan and the in-person orientation, and you are paid $17.90 an hour for authorised hours from July 2026.
What should I charge a private family in Taft?
Use the pay table as the frame: $16.50 metro median, $17.90 IHSS, $16.90 minimum. Add a clear mileage rate for Bakersfield trips rather than folding it into the hourly figure.
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