Riverside County · Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario · population 53,147
Where Palm Desert stands
Steady, no major recent move.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 17.1 price-to-rent ratio, Palm Desert is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →Palm Desert has held up across the cycle: home values at $551,924 with +5.1% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.
Palm Desert is a West Coast market off recent highs, and the regional fundamentals (taxes, regulation, out-migration) are still working against it. The bear case isn't that prices go to zero — it's that they don't recover meaningfully for years.
About Palm Desert
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, with an estimated population of 53,147. It anchors the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area. The population grew 1.0% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Palm Desert is $551,924 as of 2026-04, down 2.5% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.1% annual growth (-9.5% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Palm Desert average $2,692 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.3%). The composite momentum score is 55 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.
▲ Bull case
▼ Bear case
About Palm Desert (Wikipedia)
Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about 14 miles (23 km) east of Palm Springs, 121 miles (195 km) northeast of San Diego and 122 miles (196 km) east of Los Angeles. The population was 51,163 at the 2020 census, and the city has been one of the state's fastest-growing since 1980, when its population was 11,801.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Playbook
Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.
Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.
Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Riverside County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Riverside County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Cities like Palm Desert
Run the numbers for Palm Desert
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Palm Desert listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news
- Women’s Golf to Compete in NCAA Championship in Palm Desert, Californiadenisonbigred.com · 3d ago
- 77835 California Dr Apt C2, Palm Desert, CA 92211Realtor.com · 3d ago
- Brush Fire Burns In Mountains Between Temecula, Palm DesertPatch · 2d ago
- A look inside Platinum Cowboy in Palm DesertThe Desert Sun · 2w ago
- Palm Desert Baseball ScheduleMaxPreps · 5d ago
- 78969 Lavender Cir, Palm Desert, CA 92211Realtor.com · 3d ago
Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Cities similar to Palm Desert
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.