Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 37/100
F
Median home value$453,100
Riverside $536,300
Median rent$1,601/mo
Riverside $1,846/mo
Cost-burdened households45%
Riverside 41%
Cathedral City
Riverside County52,267 residentsPalm Springs Unified
49
D+
Suburbgrade score
26th of 60 Riverside suburbs. Strongest on commute & transport, held back by amenities.
49
Riverside median 47
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Cathedral City yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 49 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Cathedral City is like to live in, by category
Bars show Cathedral City against Riverside. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 44/100
D
Within-state proficiency34th pct
Riverside median 36th pct
Student–teacher ratio20.5
Riverside median 22.9
Graduation rate92%
Riverside median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index89
Riverside 100
Eff. tax rate0.85%
Riverside 0.79%
Local sales tax9.25%
Riverside median 8.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Mean commute19.9 min
Riverside 33.2 min
Under 30 minutes85%
Riverside 53%
Transit stops / sq mi0.2
Riverside median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 31/100
F
Restaurants & cafés12
Riverside median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Riverside median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks6
Riverside median 19 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median household income$73,572
Riverside $89,662
Unemployment6.0%
Riverside 6.8%
Professional occupations27%
Riverside 33%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Cathedral City yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Cathedral City on amenities
Cathedral City's weakest grade is F. Four suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Indio15 mi from Cathedral CityC+ 52 D+ Palm Springs5 mi from Cathedral CityC+ 54 C− Palm Desert9 mi from Cathedral CityC 52 D+ Yucca Valley20 mi from Cathedral CityC− 41 D− Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Cathedral City
Is Cathedral City, CA a good place to live?
Cathedral City scores 49 out of 100, 26th of 60 Riverside suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Cathedral City expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $453,100, 16% below the Riverside median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.85%. $1,601/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Cathedral City?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Cathedral City sit at the 34th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 92% graduation rate and a 20.5 student–teacher ratio. Cathedral City is served by Palm Springs Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Cathedral City?
The mean commute is 19.9 min, with 85% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.8% working from home. Transit density is 0.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Cathedral City?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 12 restaurants and cafés and 6 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Cathedral City old or new?
The median home in Cathedral City was built in 1988 — close to the Riverside median of 1987. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 66% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.