Palmdale, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Palmdale

Los Angeles County · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · population 162,536

Shrinking
Palmdale, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Palmdale, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
56
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Palmdale stands

Population shrinking 1.0% per year.

Median home $503,393
1-year -0.9%
5-yr CAGR +4.4%
vs 5-yr peak -2.1%
Population -1.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-12$503k$225k$328k$432k$535k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
70/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

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 · monthly
$2,752/mo$1,904$2,426$2,948202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent124135100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 15.2
Lean buy

At a 15.2 price-to-rent ratio, Palmdale 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 →
Home YoY
45 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
61 · w22%
Distance from peak
77 · w18%
Population growth
29 · w16%
Rent YoY
54 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
78 · w10%
Long thesis

Palmdale has held up across the cycle: home values at $503,393 with +4.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Palmdale's population is shrinking 1.0% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Palmdale

Palmdale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with an estimated population of 162,536. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The population has contracted 1.0% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Palmdale is $503,393 as of 2026-04, down 0.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.4% annual growth (-2.1% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Palmdale average $2,752 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.4%). The composite momentum score is 56 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -2.1% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○The data is the data: Palmdale has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.0% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Palmdale (Wikipedia)

Palmdale is a suburban city in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the Antelope Valley of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorRonda PerezCite web
Area106.32 sq mi
Elevation2657 ft
Established1886
Motto"A Place to Call Home"
Densityauto/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

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.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

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 Los Angeles County right now.

NWS active alerts (CA)California Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Los Angeles County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Palmdale

2 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Leona Valley$658,839-1.8%
2Desert View Highlands$448,093+2.8%

Cities like Palmdale

Lancaster, CA53 · StableSalinas, CA59 · StablePomona, CA59 · StableGlendale, CA55 · Stable

Run the numbers for Palmdale

ToolCan I afford Palmdale?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Palmdale rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Palmdale to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolPalmdale cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Palmdale listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

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.

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