California
(661) Area Code 661 — Bakersfield, California
661 Area Code – Bakersfield, California: Location, Time Zone & History
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Map of Area Code 661
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History & Cultural Notes
Long before it had its own telephone code, the country around Bakersfield had already made its mark on American music. Starting in the 1950s and 60s, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and other local artists built the twangy, honky-tonk-inflected "Bakersfield Sound," a style that stood apart from the polished Nashville mainstream. The 661 area code arrived decades later, on February 13, 1999, when it split off from area code 805. It took the inland, eastern portion of the old 805 territory — Kern County and the Antelope Valley — while 805 kept the coastal counties.
Beyond Bakersfield, 661 reaches a mix of high-desert and valley communities:
- Santa Clarita, home to film and television production facilities and Six Flags Magic Mountain
- Palmdale and Lancaster, centers of U.S. aerospace flight testing near Edwards Air Force Base and Air Force Plant 42
- Ridgecrest and Tehachapi, smaller high-desert communities
- Delano, in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley
The economy reflects that geographic spread: Kern County ranks among the top oil-producing counties in the country, centered on the Kern River and Elk Hills fields, while the valley floor supports major almond, grape, and citrus farming. Together, oil, agriculture, aerospace, and film support keep the area code's territory economically diverse.