Clearing road of drifted sand near Thermal, Calif, 1926
Thermal’s story
124 years in pictures
The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1926 and 3 maps from 1941 on.
- 1902Thermal is settled
ThermalCA
A town of 1,800, settled in 1902.
Population
1,800
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$298K
−0.5% in a year
Median age
34.3
years
Jobs based here
1,615
A job hub
Is Thermal a good place to live?
Thermal’s best subject grades are a B+ for cost of living and walkability; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Thermal has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Thermal stand out
Where Thermal beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
Jobs here1,615
Residents who work907
Work
A regional job hub: more jobs per worker than 91% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023.
Typical home value
Thermal$298K
California$762K
Cost of livingB+
3.3 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 74% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Worth knowing · Natural hazardsD−
Earthquakes and inland flooding at the top
FEMA National Risk Index.
A job hub
Every workday, about 1,587 people come to Thermal for work
Where Thermal’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
1,615jobs based in Thermal
3%of working residents work in town
19 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Thermal grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Thermal is from typical.
Hazard riskearthquakes tops the listD−Open →HealthLess healthy than 94% of U.S. towns; John F Kennedy Memorial Hospital 8.1 miles awayDOpen →SchoolsC−Open →Cost of livingB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.9 of 20; 4.8% of households have no car; 7.1% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 34.3; 9% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 26 attractions →Salton Sea and 18 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Thermal. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi LakeSalton Sea
Big draw9 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arena
30 mi State parkAnza-Borrego Desert State Park
40 mi MountainNiland Geyser
34 mi MountainSan Jacinto PeakSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Salton Sea: NASA, Public domain · Joshua Tree National Park: Sergiy Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Acrisure Arena: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park: No machine-readable author provided. Miskatonic assumed (based on copyright clai, CC BY 2.5 · Niland Geyser: California Department of Transportation, Public domain · San Jacinto Peak: Wattewyl, CC BY 3.0
Getting set up
Moving to Thermal: who provides what
Thermal is unincorporated, so Riverside County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerImperial Irrigation District18.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCoachella Vwd: Cove Community water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & county servicesRiverside CountyRiverside County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereRiverside Registrar of VotersRiverside County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code9227492274 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Thermal.
HousingCost of living grade B+
Compared with most of California and the rest of the country, the median rent in Thermal is lower
57% of households own their home in Thermal, against 64% in California’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. The typical home value here is about $298,000, down 0.5% in a year, 61% below the California typical home.
$298KZillow home value
| Thermal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $986 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 57% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Thermal$298K
California$762K
−0.5%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
SchoolsC−
Thermal’s public schools trail 76% of California districts
Two of the 3 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the Coachella Valley Unified school district. The 2 public schools in Thermal teach 759 students between them.
24%of CA districts it outscoresC−School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Kelley ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 505 | D |
| La Familia Continuation HighLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 254 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
HealthD
More of Thermal’s adults have obesity than in the typical California or U.S. town
CDC measures, 32 in all: Thermal beats California on 1 and trails on 22. 16% of adults have diabetes here, where California’s towns sit at 12% and U.S. towns at 12%. Only 8 of the 848 California towns we compare have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Thermal. Thermal: 43% of adults worry about having enough food.
6%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Thermal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 22% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 24% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 16% | 14% |
32 measures vs. California
1 better9 too close to call22 worse
| What stands out | Thermal | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.7% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 29.1% | 10.6% |
John F Kennedy Memorial Hospital
8.1 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commute
A job hub: Thermal has 1.8 jobs for every working resident and draws in 1,587 commuters
The top destinations are Indio (11%), Coachella (9%) and Palm Desert (8%). Most people who work leave Thermal to do it: just 3% work in town. The share of residents in Thermal who live below the poverty line: 19%. Employers in Thermal shed 857 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,615.
3%work in town
| Thermal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Thermal3%
Indio11%
Coachella9%
Palm Desert8%
La Quinta4%
19 mi
median commute distance
1,615
jobs based in Thermal
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
B+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D−
Natural hazards: very high risk in Thermal, mostly earthquakes
Half of Thermal’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 47%. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 98% of U.S. communities. One declared disaster, in 2004, has brought federal aid to Thermal households.
98risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
EarthquakesInland flooding
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
107°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter44–71°
Spring59–88°
Summer77–106°
Fall61–90°
Dec 2
typical first frost
Feb 7
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
107°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsC
Conservation land takes up 0.1% of Thermal
9.0 miles of trail. Thermal’s concentration of trails stands at 1.0 miles per square mile.
0.1%conserved
| Thermal | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
0.1%
conserved · 5 of 5,989 acres
9.0 mi
of trails · 1 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Thermal
17pages on Thermal
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Thermal; the nearest are
California Indian Nations CollegeCommunity college · Public · Palm Desert16.4 mi$7,743 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-San MarcosUniversity or college · Public · San Marcos68.5 mi$8,082 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Thermal residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Thermal
Resort community in Riverside County, Southern California, United States
Thermal is an unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California, United States, located approximately 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Palm Springs and about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of the Salton Sea. The community's elevation is 138 feet (42 m) below mean sea level. It is served by area codes 760 and 442 and is in ZIP Code 92274. The population was 2,676 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Thermal a census-designated place (CDP), which does not precisely correspond to the historical community.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 9.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- -138 ft
- ZIP code
- 92274
Thermal’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Thermal.
CoachellaThermal
How the neighbors grade
Thermal has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Thermal reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Thermal with a neighbor →
Questions about Thermal
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Thermal, CA expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.