Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 52,375, settled in 1928.
Cathedral City grades D overall, ranked 611th of 841 in California. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Cathedral City’s July high is 106°F, against 89°F in California’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Cathedral City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
Where Cathedral City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Cathedral City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Cathedral City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,855 in 1960, 51,493 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1968 and 4 maps from 1941 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cathedral City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
8 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arenain town LandmarkForest Lawn Cemetery
13 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak
28 mi MountainSan Gorgonio Mountain
40 mi State parkAnza-Borrego Desert State ParkJoshua Tree National Park: Sergiy Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Acrisure Arena: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0 · San Jacinto Peak: Wattewyl, CC BY 3.0 · San Gorgonio Mountain: Doc Searls, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park: No machine-readable author provided. Miskatonic assumed (based on copyright clai, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cathedral City, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Cathedral City.
Cathedral City reports less crime than Desert Hot Springs or any other graded neighbor, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak.
Since 2008, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cathedral City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Palm Springs Unified school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Workman MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,020 | – |
| Cathedral City HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,334 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
The typical value, about $474K, is 7% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Cathedral City home is worth about $474,000, down 2.3% in a year, 38% below the California typical home. Cathedral City’s median rent is $1,601 a month.
| Cathedral City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,601 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 20,577 working residents takes 19.9 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Cathedral City for work: only 10% work in town. The average trip to work in Cathedral City is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Cathedral City grew to 9,301 in 2023, 1,525 more than in 2013.
| Cathedral City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.8% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Cathedral City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument | 1.1 mi | 198 |
| 2. Dennis Keat Soccer Park | — | 15 |
| 3. Panorama Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cathedral City beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 16% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Cathedral City.
| Cathedral City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Cathedral City | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15.5% | 10.6% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.8% | 27.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.4% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Palm Springs weather station records that about 183 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. January nights average 44.7°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 105.9°.
Cathedral City has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Crime runs higher than in most U.S. towns, but its C+ tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Desert Hot Springs (C) comes closest.
Within California, it does better than 66% of towns.
| Cathedral City | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cathedral City
About 6 of every 100 Cathedral City residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 towns share a border with Cathedral City.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral City | #611 | D | D | C+ | C+ | C |
| Rancho Mirage | #607 | D | D− | C− | C+ | B |
| Palm Springs | #666 | D | D | D | C+ | B− |
| Garnet | #626 | D | C | — | C+ | D |
| Thousand Palms | #536 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Desert Hot Springs | #739 | D− | C− | C | C+ | D |
Garnet and Thousand Palms report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cathedral City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cathedral City grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #611 of 841 in California. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Within California, it does better than 66% of towns.
Yes. That is 5.3 years of the area's median household income ($89,662 across the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
