Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 43/100
D
Median home value$542,000
Riverside $536,300
Median rent$1,778/mo
Riverside $1,846/mo
Cost-burdened households46%
Riverside 41%
Palm Desert
Riverside County51,990 residents2 school districts
52
D+
Suburbgrade score
17th of 60 Riverside suburbs. Strongest on commute & transport, held back by employment & income.
52
Riverside median 47
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Palm Desert yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 52 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 Palm Desert is like to live in, by category
Bars show Palm Desert against Riverside. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 39/100
D−
Within-state proficiency44th pct
Riverside median 36th pct
Student–teacher ratio25.8
Riverside median 22.9
Graduation rate90%
Riverside median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 69/100
B−
Housing cost index103
Riverside 100
Eff. tax rate0.84%
Riverside 0.79%
Local sales tax8.75%
Riverside median 8.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 73/100
B
Mean commute21.0 min
Riverside 33.2 min
Under 30 minutes82%
Riverside 53%
Transit stops / sq mi0.1
Riverside median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 60/100
C
Restaurants & cafés39
Riverside median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
Riverside median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks13
Riverside median 19 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 32/100
F
Median household income$77,513
Riverside $89,662
Unemployment6.4%
Riverside 6.8%
Professional occupations41%
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 Palm Desert 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 Palm Desert on employment & income
Palm Desert's weakest grade is F. Three suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Indio7 mi from Palm DesertD 52 D+ Cathedral City9 mi from Palm DesertD− 49 D+ La Quinta8 mi from Palm DesertF 46 D Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Palm Desert
Is Palm Desert, CA a good place to live?
Palm Desert scores 52 out of 100, 17th of 60 Riverside suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Palm Desert expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $542,000, 1% above the Riverside median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.84%. $1,778/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Palm Desert?
Schools grade D−. The districts serving Palm Desert sit at the 44th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 90% graduation rate and a 25.8 student–teacher ratio. Palm Desert is served by Desert Sands Unified and Palm Springs Unified School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Palm Desert?
The mean commute is 21.0 min, with 82% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 15% working from home. Transit density is 0.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Palm Desert?
Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 39 restaurants and cafés and 13 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Palm Desert old or new?
The median home in Palm Desert was built in 1985 — 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. 68% 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.