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Indio vs Desert Palms

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

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Indio, CAHomes around $509KCalifornia · 91,950 people
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Desert Palms, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 6,579 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.

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

Indio and Desert Palms share a border

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

IndioDesert PalmsIndioDesert Palms
Indio ↔ Desert Palms4.9 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
IndioDesert Palms
Snow a year0″0″
January low47°F47°F
July high106°F106°F
Growing season (days)365d365d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)94th92nd
Outdoors & history
IndioDesert Palms
Conserved land3.2%0.3%
Settled1873—
Archive photos14—
Famous people born here22—
Community
IndioDesert Palms
Library hours a week38 hrs—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined10

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.

IndioDesert Palms
People
Population 91,950Highest 6,579Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +17.2%Highest CA: +6.1% -3.9%Lowest CA: +6.1%
Median age 38.6±1.1Lowest about the CA average 77.1±2.1Highest 103% above CA
Kids under 18 24.8%±1.6Highest CA: 22% 0.5%±0.9Lowest CA: 22%
Age 65+ 18.6%±1Lowest CA: 15.7% 84.3%±14Highest CA: 15.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 20.5%Lowest CA: 37.1% 46.3%Highest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.5%±0.8Highest CA: 7.6% 1.8%±1.2Lowest CA: 7.6%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $77,167±$6kLowest 22% below CA $79,792±$20kHighest 20% 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 $458,400±$10kLowest 38% below CA $567,400±$30kHighest 23% below CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,437±$53Lowest 29% below CA $1,957±$698Highest 4% 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 $4,559Lowest 11% below CA $5,185Highest about the CA average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.9%±6.3Lowest CA: 55.3% 60.9%±47.5Highest 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 11.5%Highest CA: 12% 9.6%Lowest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 67.1%Lowest CA: 55.9% 86.4%Highest 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 23 minLowest 20% below CA 25 minHighest 13% below CA
Work from home 5.1%±1Lowest CA: 17.2% 38.3%±15.4Highest CA: 17.2%
Work in townworking residents 16.3%Highest 3.9%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.8 miLowest 79.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.58Highest 0.35Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Palm Desert (11%)Palm Desert (6%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Desert Palms2% work in Indio
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 3.2%Highest 0.3%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 25.2 miHighest 16.2 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.8 miLowest 6.0 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 14Highest 0Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 83.2Lowest 125Highest
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.

Indio neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 6d

New to Indio Schools

1 neighbor in Indio can answer.

Desert Palms neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Desert Palms’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Indio and Desert Palms

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Indio

Towns like Indio

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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