Tehachapi is a city in Kern County, California, United States, in the Tehachapi Mountains, at an elevation of 3,970 feet, between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. Tehachapi is 35 miles east-southeast of Bakersfield, and 20 miles west of Mojave. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10 square miles and a population of 14,414.