Johannesburg is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, in a mining district of the Rand Mountains. Johannesburg is located 1 mile east-northeast of Randsburg, at an elevation of 3,517 feet. The terminus of the Randsburg Railway was here from 1897 to 1933. The population was 172 at the 2010 census, down from 176 at the 2000 census. Johannesburg is divided from the neighboring community of Randsburg by a ridge. The town is frequently referred to as "Jo-burg" by locals and frequent visitors to the northwest Mojave.