Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Palm Springs earns a D, 666th among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of safety. Its police reported 229 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 92% of U.S. towns. In its favor, it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. 35% of residents are 65 or older in Palm Springs, above both the California town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Its National Register listings include Palm Springs Tramway Valley Station and Tramway Gas Station. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
Where Palm Springs beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Thomas O'Donnell House
Its 33 National Register listings are more than in 97% of California towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,434 in 1940, 44,575 in 2020. The archive holds 34 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 5 maps from 1940 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Palm Springs is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 5%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palm Springs. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
12 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arena
8 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak6 mi LandmarkForest Lawn Cemetery
26 mi MountainSan Gorgonio Mountain
in town MuseumPalm Springs Air MuseumJoshua 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 · Palm Springs Air Museum: Ted Rufus Ross, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palm Springs, 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 Springs.
Palm Springs is a second-home town and draws workers from Cathedral City and beyond, but it reports more crime than Rancho Mirage and its other graded neighbors.
25,414 jobs are based in Palm Springs, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 22.2 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
The median commute is under 14 miles. Palm Springs had 25,414 jobs in 2023, up 2,452 from 2013. The share of working residents in Palm Springs who work locally: 30%. The top destinations are Palm Desert (6%), Rancho Mirage (6%) and Cathedral City (4%).
| Palm Springs | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 26% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Palm Springs Unified school district runs its public schools. Below: Two of its 11 schools, each with why it was picked. The 4 public schools in Palm Springs teach 2,122 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cielo Vista CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 824 | – |
| Palm Springs HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,497 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Rancho Mirage (C−) to Cathedral City (C+). Reported crimes fell from 1,940 to 1,557 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Palm Springs, the level of violent crime is 5 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime for Palm Springs comes to 29.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Palm Springs | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 29.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its 19,102 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 93% of California towns.
Palm Springs’ trail network density is 1.4 miles per square mile. Walkers can cover 127 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is San Bernardino National Forest, at 664 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument | 85.2 mi | 32,199 |
| 2. Demuth Park | 2.3 mi | 52 |
| 3. Prescott Preserve | 1.1 mi | 121 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
27.1% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 2.4% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
7.9% of Palm Springs residents are under 18. Here, 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 37% in California as a whole.
| Palm Springs | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 7.9% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 58.5 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 29% | 29% |
39% women, 61% men
About 159 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.4 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 70% are men (CA 50%). Median age: women 57.9, men 58.8.
| Palm Springs | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 3.9% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.6% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.9% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20.8% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 16.8% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.5% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Flood insurance has paid out on 129 claims in Palm Springs since 1978. FEMA puts half of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 49% to earthquakes. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Palm Springs weather station records that about 183 days a year reach 90°, more than in 100% of U.S. towns. January nights average 44.8°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 105.6°.
Expect warm winters and scorching summers in Palm Springs, with very little rain. The January low in the town is 45°F. It almost never snows.
| Palm Springs | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 106°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 45°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $612K, is 12% below its July 2022 peak.
A home in Palm Springs typically sold within 67 days of listing. For Palm Springs, the going rate for rent is $1,562 a month. Sellers in Palm Springs got 97.3% of the asking price, typically.
| Palm Springs | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 64% | 55% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,562 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Among adults in Palm Springs, 12% binge drink and 14% report frequent mental distress. This California town does better than the California average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 10. 44% of adults have high blood pressure here.
| Palm Springs | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 31% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Palm Springs | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.3% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.4% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Palm Springs
About 4 of every 100 Palm Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Palm Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
33 places in Palm Springs on the National Register of Historic Places.
32 notable people were born in Palm Springs.
City in California, United States
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: Séc-he) is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately 94 square miles (240 km2), making it the largest city in Riverside County by land area. With multiple plots in checkerboard pattern, more than 10% of the city is part of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians reservation land and is the administrative capital of the most populated reservation in California. The population of Palm Springs was 44,575 as of the 2020 census, but because Palm Springs is a retirement location and a winter snowbird destination, the city's population triples between November and Marc…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Palm Springs.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Springs | #666 | D | D | D | C+ | B− |
| Cathedral City | #611 | D | D | C+ | C+ | C |
| Desert Hot Springs | #739 | D− | C− | C | C+ | D |
| Rancho Mirage | #607 | D | D− | C− | C+ | B |
| Whitewater | — | — | B− | — | C− | D |
Whitewater has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Whitewater reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Palm Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palm Springs grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #666 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 6.8 years of the area's median household income ($89,662 across the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area).
32 notable people were born here, including Alison Lohman and Cameron Crowe.
