Cottonwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California. The CDP is within the Bakersfield's census county division, and borders the city of Bakersfield on every side except the west, where it abuts Casa Loma.
As listed in the Geographic Names Information System, its elevation is 387 feet.
Its population was 3,971 at the 2020 census, the first census it was included in.
Cottonwood first appeared as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. census.