Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 45,411, settled in 1876.
Coachella grades D overall, 619th among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of health. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 82% of the country. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Coachella’s July high is 107°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Only 68 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on hazard risk. Coachella's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 100% of U.S. towns.
Where Coachella beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Coachella’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 Coachella is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,755 in 1950, 41,941 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 3 maps from 1941 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Coachella. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
Big draw30 mi LakeSalton Sea
13 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arena
32 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak
33 mi State parkAnza-Borrego Desert State Park19 mi LandmarkForest Lawn CemeteryJoshua Tree National Park: Sergiy Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Salton Sea: NASA, Public domain · Acrisure Arena: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0 · San Jacinto Peak: Wattewyl, CC BY 3.0 · 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 Coachella, 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 Coachella.
Coachella has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 99% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Coachella Valley Unified school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coral Mountain AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 815 | C− |
| Coachella Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,300 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
38 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Coachella’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Bagdouma Park, 33 acres with 1.2 miles of trail.
| Coachella | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bagdouma Park | 1.2 mi | 33 |
| 2. De Oro Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
| 3. Rancho Las Flores Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Coachella home is worth about $433,000, up 0.8% in a year, 43% below the California typical home. The median rent in Coachella is $1,144 a month.
| Coachella | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,144 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
33% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Coachella. Coachella beats the California average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 42% of adults feel lonely in Coachella.
| Coachella | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 22% | 19% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 66% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Coachella | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.3% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 25.8% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Coachella for work: only 11% work in town. 2.9% of Coachella workers work from home. Since 2013, Coachella has added 705 jobs, to 6,987 in 2023.
| Coachella | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 2.9% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 867 to 769 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 57% of towns.
| Coachella | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Desert Resorts Rgnl Ap weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 298 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Desert Resorts Rgnl Ap weather station records that about 187 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns.
Coachella has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 107°, January nights drop to 43° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Coachella
About 5 of every 100 Coachella residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
City in the United States
Coachella ( KOH-ə-CHEL-ə, commonly koh-CHEL-ə) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is the namesake and easternmost city of the Coachella Valley, in Southern California's Colorado Desert. Originally a railroad town, Coachella is a prominent hub for agriculture and shipping across Southern California and the Western United States. Coachella had a population of 41,941 in the 2020 Census. The city is officially bilingual in English and Spanish, with 90% of people speaking Spanish.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Coachella.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachella | #619 | D | C | C | C+ | C− |
| Indio | #577 | D | D | C+ | B | C |
| Vista Santa Rosa | — | — | C | — | C− | C− |
| Thermal | — | — | B+ | — | C− | D |
Vista Santa Rosa and Thermal have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Vista Santa Rosa and Thermal report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Coachella with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Coachella grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #619 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 57% of towns.
That is 4.8 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 C.
