Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 53,259, settled in 1947.
Palm Desert grades D overall, 584th among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of safety. Its crime rate is higher than 82% of U.S. towns, with 74 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 74% of U.S. towns. 38% of residents are 65 or older in Palm Desert, above both the California town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 87 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on hazard risk. Palm Desert is home to College of the Desert.
Where Palm Desert beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| College of the Desert | 7,129 |
| California Indian Nations College | 29 |
2 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Palm Desert is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 11,801 in 1980, 51,163 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2012 and 2 maps from 1941 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palm Desert. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
3 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arena7 mi LandmarkForest Lawn Cemetery
19 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak
36 mi MountainSan Gorgonio Mountain
33 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 Palm Desert, 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 Palm Desert.
Palm Desert is a second-home town, draws workers from Indio and beyond and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.
55 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. Palm Desert’s trail density is 2.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Civic Center Park, 52 acres with 1.4 miles of trail.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument | 13.8 mi | 1,707 |
| 2. Civic Center Park | 1.4 mi | 52 |
| 3. Ironwood Park | 0.8 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Desert Sands Unified school district. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Desert Charter MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,298 | – |
| Palm Desert HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,079 | A− |
| George Washington CharterTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 746 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
26,613 jobs are based in Palm Desert, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 21 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
About one in 5 of Palm Desert’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Palm Desert is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Palm Desert has added 2,765 jobs, to 26,613 in 2023.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
218 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 99% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 218 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palm Desert.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 2.4% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
13% of residents are under 18 in Palm Desert. Palm Desert has grown 4.1% since 2020, to 53,259 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 41% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Palm Desert.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 57.5 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 29% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.6 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 59.8, men 55.2.
| Palm Desert | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.9% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.2% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.1% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 20.6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.5% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.8% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.4% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.3% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 2,022 to 1,193 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Palm Desert reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 82% report less.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $538K, is 11% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Palm Desert home is worth about $538,000, down 1.3% in a year, 29% below the California typical home. 65% of Palm Desert renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 65% | 55% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,778 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Indio Fire Stn weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 184 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. January nights average 45°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 106.5°.
Palm Desert has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 107°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 45°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Palm Desert beats the California average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10.
| Palm Desert | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 31% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 79% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Palm Desert | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.2% | 17.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.3% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.4% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Palm Desert
About 6 of every 100 Palm Desert residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Palm Desert’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 notable people were born in Palm Desert.
City in California, United States
Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about 14 miles (23 km) east of Palm Springs, 121 miles (195 km) northeast of San Diego and 122 miles (196 km) east of Los Angeles. The population was 51,163 at the 2020 census, and the city has been one of the state's fastest-growing since 1980, when its population was 11,801.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Palm Desert.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Desert | #584 | D | D− | C− | B | B |
| Indian Wells | #213 | B− | C− | C+ | B | B+ |
| Rancho Mirage | #607 | D | D− | C− | C+ | B |
| Thousand Palms | #536 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Bermuda Dunes | #433 | C | D | — | B | B |
Thousand Palms and Bermuda Dunes report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Palm Desert with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palm Desert grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #584 of 841 in California. It grades B for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 6 years of the area's median household income ($89,662 across the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area).
6 notable people were born here, including Jack Blades and David Wachs.
