Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 25/100
F
Median home value$354,800
Riverside $536,300
Median rent$1,412/mo
Riverside $1,846/mo
Cost-burdened households53%
Riverside 41%
Desert Hot Springs
Riverside County33,200 residents2 school districts
36
F
Suburbgrade score
52nd of 60 Riverside suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by amenities.
36
Riverside median 47
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Desert Hot Springs yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 36 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 Desert Hot Springs is like to live in, by category
Bars show Desert Hot Springs against Riverside. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 39/100
D−
Within-state proficiency31st pct
Riverside median 36th pct
Student–teacher ratio20.6
Riverside median 22.9
Graduation rate89%
Riverside median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index76
Riverside 100
Eff. tax rate0.82%
Riverside 0.79%
Local sales tax8.75%
Riverside median 8.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 41/100
D−
Mean commute28.5 min
Riverside 33.2 min
Under 30 minutes61%
Riverside 53%
Transit stops / sq mi0.1
Riverside median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 10/100
F
Restaurants & cafés0
Riverside median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries0
Riverside median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks4
Riverside median 19 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 28/100
F
Median household income$52,761
Riverside $89,662
Unemployment6.6%
Riverside 6.8%
Professional occupations16%
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 Desert Hot Springs 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 Desert Hot Springs on amenities
Desert Hot Springs's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Indio24 mi from Desert Hot SpringsC+ 52 D+ Palm Springs11 mi from Desert Hot SpringsC+ 54 C− Palm Desert18 mi from Desert Hot SpringsC 52 D+ Yucca Valley13 mi from Desert Hot SpringsC− 41 D− Banning20 mi from Desert Hot SpringsF 34 F Valle Vista25 mi from Desert Hot SpringsF 34 F Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Desert Hot Springs
Is Desert Hot Springs, CA a good place to live?
Desert Hot Springs scores 36 out of 100, 52nd of 60 Riverside suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Desert Hot Springs expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $354,800, 34% below the Riverside median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.82%. $1,412/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Desert Hot Springs?
Schools grade D−. The districts serving Desert Hot Springs sit at the 31st pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 89% graduation rate and a 20.6 student–teacher ratio. Desert Hot Springs is served by Palm Springs Unified and Banning Unified School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Desert Hot Springs?
The mean commute is 28.5 min, with 61% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 5.8% working from home. Transit density is 0.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Desert Hot Springs?
Within two miles there are 0 groceries, 0 restaurants and cafés and 4 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Desert Hot Springs old or new?
The median home in Desert Hot Springs was built in 1990 — 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. 67% 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.