Fewer adults with frequent mental distress in Desert Palms than in almost every U.S. town
Desert Palms differs from California on 26 of 32 measures CDC estimates: 17 better, 9 worse.
Modeled estimates for adults 18+, CDC’s own estimate for Desert Palms. How CDC estimates town health
What stands out about health in Desert Palms
Cancer, heart disease and arthritis run high in Desert Palms
1 in 5 adults have had cancer (21.8%), 3 times the California rate. 1 in 6 adults have heart disease (16%), 3 times the California rate. Arthritis is also above the state: 52.5%, vs 20.8% across California. In all, Desert Palms runs above California on eight of 11 chronic conditions. Age is part of it: 84% of residents are 65 or older (California 16%), and cancer, heart disease and arthritis are more common later in life. Conditions ↓
More high blood pressure in Desert Palms, and more people treating it
58.2% of adults have high blood pressure (California 30.5%), but 88.4% of them take medicine for it, vs 71.3% statewide. Checkups ↓
Desert Palms keeps up with checkups
It beats California on five of five routine checkups and screenings, including yearly checkups (89.3% vs 71.9%) and dentist visits (72.3% vs 62.8%). Checkups ↓
Written from the CDC, Medicare and HRSA data on this page. CDC PLACES 2025 release: modeled estimates for adults, not counts; “higher” and “lower” mean the California figure falls outside Desert Palms’ likely range.
What’s behind Desert Palms’ grade
On seven CDC estimates for adults, Desert Palms is healthier than 47% of U.S. towns, #553 of 847 in California. Mental distress holds the grade up (fewer adults with frequent mental distress than almost every U.S. town); diabetes pulls it down (better than 4%).
Health estimates follow income closely across the country: towns with higher household incomes usually score higher (a correlation of 0.77 across 21,157 graded towns). Desert Palms’ median household income is $79,792; among the 10,761 U.S. towns within 25% of that ($60K–$100K), it’s healthier than 46%, about where its income would put it.
Where Desert Palms compares well: binge drinking, 4.7% (U.S. 15.4%); sleep under 7 hours, 26.4% (U.S. 36%); no health insurance (ages 18–64), 4.4% (U.S. 11%).
Out of every 100 Desert Palms adults…
Desert Palms runs above CA on 8 of 12 conditions. Tap one to see it as people.
Desert Palms is an older town: 84% of residents are 65 or older, vs 16% across California. Heart disease, COPD and arthritis rise with age, so higher rates here say as much about who lives in Desert Palms as about how healthy they are.
Keeping up with care
Share of Desert Palms adults getting routine care. The full ring is 100%; the dark tick marks California.
Care in and near Desert Palms
No hospital or community health center in Desert Palms itself. These are the nearest.
Hospitals: Medicare overall star ratings, 1–5. Community health centers charge on a sliding scale by income. Distances are straight-line from the center of Desert Palms; ≈ marks a hospital located by its town, not its street. Shortage areas: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Everyday habits, side by side with California
Share of adults, with the California figure marked.
How Desert Palms adults are doing
On 3 of 4 measures, Desert Palms does better than California.
3 in 10 Desert Palms adults feel lonely. A hello is a start.
Groups are the easiest way in: a walking group, a book club, your street.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s free, confidential and open 24/7.
Making ends meet
Needs that shape health as much as any doctor visit: food, housing, utilities and a way to get around.
6.9% of Desert Palms adults receive SNAP (food stamps), compared with 15.6% across California.
Desert Palms and the towns around it
Desert Palms’s Health Grade ranks 2nd of 4 graded towns around it.
Nearby towns are shaded from CDC’s estimates for their ZIP codes, or CDC’s own figure for cities and villages.
Health next door
| Town | Health | Obesity | Diabetes | Smoking | Figures from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Palms | B− | 28.5% | 18.1% | 7.6% | CDC place |
| Indio | C | 38.3% | 13.6% | 11.9% | CDC place |
| Thousand Palms | C− | 39.8% | 16.3% | 13.2% | CDC place |
| Bermuda Dunes | B | 35.6% | 11.2% | 10.8% | CDC place |
Same-state neighbors only, ordered by length of shared border.
Living with a disability
Shown without a better/worse judgment.
of Desert Palms adults live with a disability (California 30.4%). Walking or climbing stairs is the most common.
Every CDC estimate for Desert Palms
Share of adults, 40 measures, with CDC’s likely range.
On the 32 measures below that have a better and a worse direction, Desert Palms is better than California on 17 and worse on 9; on the rest, the California figure falls inside Desert Palms’ likely range, so we call them about the same. Disability and SNAP are described, not compared as better or worse.
| Adults who… | Desert Palms | CA | U.S. | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall health | ||||
| Fair or poor health | 26%21.2–31.6 | 22.1% | 19.4% | About the same |
| Frequent physical distress (physical health not good 14+ days a month) | 18.5%15.7–21.8 | 13.4% | 13% | Worse |
| Frequent mental distress (mental health not good 14+ days a month) | 9.9%8.5–11.3 | 16.4% | 15.9% | Better |
| Conditions | ||||
| Obesity | 28.5%24.8–32.6 | 27.8% | 32.9% | About the same |
| Diabetes | 18.1%15.7–20.7 | 11.7% | 12% | Worse |
| High blood pressure | 58.2%54.4–62 | 30.5% | 34.4% | Worse |
| High cholesterol (adults screened in 5 years) | 54.4%50.7–58.2 | 35.4% | 37.1% | Worse |
| Arthritis | 52.5%48.6–56.3 | 20.8% | 25.3% | Worse |
| Asthma | 9.2%8.1–10.4 | 9.3% | 9.9% | About the same |
| Cancer, other than skin cancer | 21.8%19.7–24.2 | 6.4% | 7.9% | Worse |
| Coronary heart disease | 16%13.8–18.4 | 5.6% | 6.4% | Worse |
| COPD | 11.7%9.3–14.8 | 5.1% | 6.3% | Worse |
| Stroke | 7.5%6.3–8.8 | 3.1% | 3.4% | Worse |
| Lost all teeth (ages 65+) | 11.5%9.4–14 | 10.6% | 12.3% | About the same |
| Habits | ||||
| Smoke cigarettes | 7.6%6–9.5 | 10.9% | 11.8% | Better |
| No exercise outside work | 29.6%24.2–35.3 | 24.6% | 24.7% | About the same |
| Binge drinking | 4.7%3.9–5.6 | 15.3% | 15.4% | Better |
| Sleep under 7 hours | 26.4%23.1–29.9 | 35.1% | 36% | Better |
| Checkups and coverage | ||||
| No health insurance (ages 18–64) | 4.4%3.3–5.7 | 10.6% | 11% | Better |
| Checkup in the past year | 89.3%87.6–91 | 71.9% | 77.4% | Better |
| Dentist visit in the past year | 72.3%69.6–74.9 | 62.8% | 63.2% | Better |
| Cholesterol check in 5 years | 96.7%96–97.4 | 85.4% | 87.1% | Better |
| Taking blood pressure medicine (adults with high blood pressure) | 88.4%86–90.5 | 71.3% | 76.5% | Better |
| Colorectal cancer screening (ages 45–75) | 77.2%73.4–80.7 | 57.5% | 65.5% | Better |
| Mammogram in 2 years (women 50–74) | 83.3%78.4–87.6 | 75.7% | 76.4% | Better |
| Mind and connection | ||||
| Ever told they have depression | 17.8%15.5–20.2 | 20.1% | 20.6% | About the same |
| Feel lonely | 29.6%25.8–33.6 | 37.3% | 32.5% | Better |
| Lack social and emotional support | 20%16.8–23.4 | 28.6% | 23.6% | Better |
| Everyday needs | ||||
| Worried about having enough food | 7.4%5.4–9.8 | 17.9% | 15% | Better |
| Worried about keeping housing | 4.1%3.3–5.1 | 14.9% | 12% | Better |
| Threatened with a utility shut-off | 2.3%1.9–2.8 | 7.3% | 7.6% | Better |
| Lack reliable transportation | 4.2%3.3–5.1 | 9.3% | 7.9% | Better |
| Received SNAP (food stamps) | 6.9%5–9.2 | 15.6% | 11.6% | Lower |
| Disability | ||||
| Any disability | 48.7%43–54.3 | 30.4% | 30.1% | Higher |
| Difficulty walking or climbing stairs | 29.8%24.7–35.4 | 13.8% | 13.6% | Higher |
| Difficulty concentrating or remembering | 11%8.9–13.6 | 14.6% | 13.9% | Lower |
| Hearing difficulty | 17.4%15.1–19.9 | 5.9% | 6.7% | Higher |
| Vision difficulty | 6.8%5.3–8.5 | 5.6% | 5.4% | About the same |
| Difficulty doing errands alone | 11.1%8.7–13.9 | 8.1% | 7.9% | Higher |
| Difficulty dressing or bathing | 5.3%4.2–6.6 | 3.9% | 3.8% | Higher |
Each figure is the share of adults 18+ unless the label says otherwise; small numbers after it are CDC’s likely range (95% interval). “About the same” means the California figure falls inside that range.
Questions about health in Desert Palms
Is Desert Palms a healthy place to live?
On seven CDC estimates for adults, Desert Palms is healthier than 47% of U.S. towns: B− for health, #553 of 847 in California. Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes it’s healthier than 46%. These are modeled estimates of who lives there, not a measure of local care or habits alone.
What is the obesity rate in Desert Palms?
CDC estimates 28.5% of adults have obesity, likely between 24.8% and 32.6%, against 27.8% across California and 32.9% nationally.
What hospital is closest to Desert Palms?
John F Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio, 6.3 miles in a straight line from Desert Palms’ center point, is the nearest general hospital with an emergency room; Medicare rates it 2 of 5 stars.
How many people in Desert Palms have no health insurance?
CDC estimates 4.4% of adults ages 18–64 have no health insurance (likely 3.3–5.7%), against 10.6% across California.
How accurate are these numbers?
They’re modeled estimates: CDC applies national survey answers to each area’s age, sex, race and education mix, so they describe who lives in Desert Palms more than anything measured there. At the ends of CDC’s ranges the grade could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Neighbors talk health
Doctors taking patients, urgent care, staying active in Desert Palms.
Health estimates: CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2025 release. The California figure combines its counties, weighted by adult population. Hospitals and star ratings: Medicare Care Compare (CMS). Health centers and shortage areas: HRSA. The Health Grade is our own summary of CDC’s estimates, not an official rating. Ages: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Town boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau. This page isn’t medical advice. In an emergency, call 911.