Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0Palm Desert is home to College of the Desert
College of the Desert (7,129 students on campus) is inside the city. About 6% of Palm Desert’s residents are enrolled in college, below California (8%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Palm Desert. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college in Palm Desert
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Palm Desert
One private college within 4.5 miles, and College of the Desert 1.4 miles away. The nearest public four-year college, Crafton Hills College, is 47.1 miles away.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles and the nearest public four-year college. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $75–110k, where Palm Desert’s median household income ($77,513) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: San Joaquin Valley College-Rancho Mirage (14).
What students study in Palm Desert
Share of bachelor’s and associate degrees by field at College of the Desert, weighted by undergraduates; then the biggest programs.
Biggest programs
College Scorecard: degree shares (PCIP; each college’s six largest fields are kept, the rest count as everything else) and the field-of-study file, median earnings 4 years after graduating.
Questions about college in Palm Desert
Is Palm Desert a college town?
No. About 6 of every 100 Palm Desert residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below California (8). The largest campus in the city, College of the Desert, has 7,129 students on campus.
What colleges are in Palm Desert?
College of the Desert is inside the city.
What is the closest community college to Palm Desert, and what does it cost?
College of the Desert in Palm Desert, 1.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $1,326 a year for California residents; the federal net price, $15,728, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Crafton Hills College cost if we live in California?
Tuition and fees are $1,188 a year in-state and $14,556 from out of state.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Palm Desert. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →