Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 94,269, settled in 1873.
Indio grades D overall, 577th of 841 graded towns in California. What it does well: it is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. Indio’s July high is 107°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Indio's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where Indio beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
76,036 counted in 2010 and 89,137 in 2020; an estimated 94,269 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.6% since 2020, after 17.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Indio is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,296 in 1940, 89,137 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 3 maps from 1941 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Indio. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
Big draw36 mi LakeSalton Sea
7 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arena
26 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak13 mi LandmarkForest Lawn Cemetery
34 mi State parkAnza-Borrego Desert State ParkJoshua 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 Indio, 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 Indio.
Indio has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, has seen reported crime fall by about half and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
Expected losses in Indio break down as 54% from earthquakes and 45% from inland flooding. Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims in the town since 1998.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The public schools here belong to the Desert Sands Unified school district. Below: Two of its 21 schools, each with why it was picked. 6 public schools serve Indio, with 3,817 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Glenn Middle School of International StudiesLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,099 | D− |
| Indio HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,962 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
The typical rent for Indio comes to $1,437 a month. Sellers in Indio got 97.1% of the asking price, typically. On the market here: a median 70 days to sell.
| Indio | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,437 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
Jobs based here grew from 13,142 in 2013 to 19,637.
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Indio rose by 6,495, to 19,637. The mean commuting time in the town is 23 minutes. The top destinations are Palm Desert (11%), La Quinta (8%) and Rancho Mirage (5%). For working residents here, the share who work locally is 16%.
| Indio | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Indio: 37% of adults feel lonely. Two figures for adults in the town: 25% worry about having enough food, 31% get no exercise outside work.
| Indio | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Indio | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 18.3% | 10.6% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 21.1% | 14.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.2% | 17.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Count the trails in 14 parks and preserves and they come to 23 miles. For Indio, the concentration of trails is 0.7 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 14, covering 71 acres.
| Indio | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Miles Avenue Park | 0.4 mi | 19 |
| 2. South Jackson Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Indio Community Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Indio Fire Stn weather station records that about 184 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. January nights average 44.1°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 107.1°.
Indio’s January low is 44°F. It almost never snows.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 2,036 to 964 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 65% of towns. In Indio, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 7.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Indio | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Indio
About 6 of every 100 Indio residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Indio’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
19 notable people were born in Indio.
City in California, United States
Indio (Spanish for "Indian") is a city in central Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. Indio is approximately 125 miles (201 km) east of Los Angeles, 23 miles (37 km) east of Palm Springs, and 98 miles (158 km) west of Blythe, California. The population was 89,137 at the 2020 United States census, up from 76,036 at the 2010 census, an increase of 17%. Indio is the most populous city in the Coachella Valley, and was formerly referred to as the "Hub of the Valley," a Chamber of Commerce slogan used in the mid-twentieth century. Indio is now nicknamed the "City of Festivals," a reference to the numerous cultural e…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Indio.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indio | #577 | D | D | C+ | B | C |
| Desert Palms | #667 | D | D− | — | B | B− |
| La Quinta | #566 | D | D− | C | C+ | B |
| Coachella | #619 | D | C | C | C+ | C− |
| Bermuda Dunes | #433 | C | D | — | B | B |
| Indio Hills | — | — | C | — | B | C |
| Vista Santa Rosa | — | — | C | — | C− | C− |
Indio Hills and Vista Santa Rosa have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Desert Palms, Bermuda Dunes, Indio Hills and Vista Santa Rosa report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Indio with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Indio grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #577 of 841 in California. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 65% of towns.
Yes. That is 5.7 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.
19 notable people were born here, including Vanessa Marcil and Oscar Loya.
