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Desert Palms vs Indio

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: age 65+ (+65.7 pts in Desert Palms) and size (14× in Indio).

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Desert Palms, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 6,579 people
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Indio, CAHomes around $509KCalifornia · 91,950 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $320 more a month in Desert Palms

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Desert Palms$3,410/mo
Typical home $567K (Census) · tax rate 0.91% · or rent about $1,957/mo · Housing →
Indio$3,090/mo
Typical home $509K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.99% · or rent about $1,437/mo · Housing →

The difference: $320 a month, about $3,800 a year, between Desert Palms and Indio.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Desert Palms places higher on 11 of 18 CA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Where they are

Desert Palms and Indio share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Desert PalmsIndioDesert PalmsIndio
Desert Palms ↔ Indio4.9 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
32 Desert Palms residents work in Indio (2.3% of its workers)
Work & commute in Desert Palms →
Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
Desert PalmsIndio
Snow a year0″0″
January low47°F47°F
July high106°F106°F
Growing season (days)365d365d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)92nd94th
Outdoors & history
Desert PalmsIndio
Conserved land0.3%3.2%
Settled—1873
Archive photos—14
Famous people born here—22
Community
Desert PalmsIndio
Library hours a week—38 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined01

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Desert PalmsIndio
People
Population 6,579Lowest 91,950Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -3.9%Lowest CA: +6.1% +17.2%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 77.1±2.1Highest 103% above CA 38.6±1.1Lowest about the CA average
Kids under 18 0.5%±0.9Lowest CA: 22% 24.8%±1.6Highest CA: 22%
Age 65+ 84.3%±14Highest CA: 15.7% 18.6%±1Lowest CA: 15.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 46.3%Highest CA: 37.1% 20.5%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.8%±1.2Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.5%±0.8Highest CA: 7.6%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $79,792±$20kHighest 20% below CA $77,167±$6kLowest 22% below CA
Desert Palms and Indio are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $567,400±$30kHighest 23% below CA $458,400±$10kLowest 38% below CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,957±$698Highest 4% below CA $1,437±$53Lowest 29% below CA
Desert Palms and Indio are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $5,185Highest about the CA average $4,559Lowest 11% below CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 60.9%±47.5Highest CA: 55.3% 57.9%±6.3Lowest CA: 55.3%
Desert Palms and Indio are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 9.6%Lowest CA: 12% 11.5%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 86.4%Highest CA: 55.9% 67.1%Lowest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 2000 24 yrs newer than CA 2000 24 yrs newer than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 25 minHighest 13% below CA 23 minLowest 20% below CA
Work from home 38.3%±15.4Highest CA: 17.2% 5.1%±1Lowest CA: 17.2%
Work in townworking residents 3.9%Lowest 16.3%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 79.3 miHighest 10.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.35Lowest 0.58Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Palm Desert (6%)Palm Desert (11%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 2% work in IndioFew work in Desert Palms
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 0.3%Lowest 3.2%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 16.2 miLowest 25.2 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 6.0 miHighest 0.8 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 14Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 125Highest 83.2Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#462 of 574 in CA
School district —Coachella Valley Unified · Desert Sands Unified
High school in town —Indio High
Students per teacherat that high school — 23.6
California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Desert Palms neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Desert Palms’s Town Square.

Indio neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 6d

New to Indio Schools

1 neighbor in Indio can answer.

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Bordering Desert Palms

Towns like Desert Palms

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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