Palm Desert, California, United States

🇺🇸 Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately 14 miles east of Palm Springs, 121 miles north-east of San Diego and 122 miles east of Los Angeles. A major centre of growth in the Coachella Valley, Palm Desert is a popular retreat for "snowbirds" from colder climates, who swell its population by an estimated 31,000 each winter. Palm Desert has seen more residents become "full-timers", mainly from the coasts and urban centres of California, who have come for both affordable and high-valued homes.

History Palm Desert is located in the ancestral homeland of Cahuilla, a division of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Their bird songs and funeral songs share the oral tradition of how they were present on these lands for over 10,000 years.

The area was first known as the Old MacDonald Ranch, but the name changed to Palm Village in the 1920s when date palms were planted. Local historians said the main residents of pre-1950 Palm Desert were Cahuilla Indian farmers of the now extinct San Cayetano tribe, but a few members of the Montoya family of Cahuilla/Spanish descent were prominent leaders in civic life.

The first residential development occurred in 1943 in connection with an Army maintenance camp in the area. That site was later developed into "El Paseo", an upscale shopping district not unlike Rodeo Drive. In 1948, the Palm Desert Corporation began to develop real estate, and in 1951 the area was given its present name.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.0 square miles (70 km²), of which, 26.8 square miles (69 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (0.76%) is water.

The elevation (City hall) is 224 feet (68 m) above sea level. Elevations vary from the lower northern half once covered in sand dunes to the upper slope southern cove (300–900 feet or 91–274 metres) all the way to the ridgeline at 1,000 feet (300 m). Palm Desert is located in the Coachella Valley, the north-western extension of the Sonoran Desert.

Sun City Palm Desert, California lies on the northern side of Interstate 10 from Palm Desert itself, but is unincorporated and not part of the City of Palm Desert (the original name was Sun City Palm Springs from 1991 to 1996).

Demographics The 2010 United States Census reported that Palm Desert had a population of 48,445. The population density was 1,793.3 inhabitants per square mile (692.4/km²). The racial makeup of Palm Desert was 39,957 (82.5%) White (70.4% Non-Hispanic White), 875 (1.8%) African American, 249 (0.5%) Native American, 1,647 (3.4%) Asian, 55 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 4,427 (9.1%) from other races, and 1,235 (2.5%) from two or more races. There were 11,038 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin (22.8%).

The Census reported that 48,137 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 98 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 210 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 23,117 households, out of which 4,253 (18.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,253 (44.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,177 (9.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 811 (3.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,227 (5.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 373 (1.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7,948 households (34.4%) were made up of individuals, and 4,370 (18.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08. There were 13,241 families (57.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.65.

The population was spread out, with 7,534 people (15.6%) under the age of 18, 3,333 people (6.9%) aged 18 to 24, 8,731 people (18.0%) aged 25 to 44, 12,924 people (26.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 15,923 people (32.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males.

There were 37,073 housing units at an average density of 1,372.4 per square mile (529.9/km²), of which 15,171 (65.6%) were owner-occupied, and 7,946 (34.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 16.8%. 30,667 people (63.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,470 people (36.1%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Palm Desert had a median household income of $53,456, with 9.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Economy: Top employers According to the City's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 JW Marriott Desert Springs Golf Resort, Marriott Desert Springs Villas; 2 Universal Protection Service; 3 Securitas; 4 Avida Caregivers; 5 Organization of Legal Pro's; 6 Sunshine Landscape; 7 Costco Wholesale; 8 Big Horn Golf Club; 9 Yellow Cab of Desert; 10 Whole Foods Market.

Recreation Palm Desert is the home of the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, a combination zoo and botanical garden featuring over 500 animals from 150 species over 80 acres. The location also hosts an extensive collection of desert plants with a state-of-the-art animal hospital. Founded in 1970, The Living Desert hosts over 500,000 visitors a year.

Resorts, tennis, and golf clubs There are around thirty golf courses throughout the city which has a long history with the sport. Palm Desert is home to hundreds of tennis courts, both public and private. Pickleball has also gained popularity throughout the region in the 2010s and 2020s.

The city's first golf course and tennis club was Shadow Mountain in 1952, followed by Marrakesh in 1954, the Palm Desert Greens mobile home park golf course in 1961, and the Palm Desert Country Club in 1962. The latter, located five miles (8 km) east of the original city, was formally annexed in 1992. The total number of golf clubs (more than 30 located within 10 miles or 16 km from the city) have made Palm Desert known as the "World's Golf Capital".

Desert Willow Golf Resort is the City Of Palm Desert's municipal golf course, and has two championship courses: Mountain View and Firecliff. It is associated with the Westin Desert Willow Resort at the golf course location. The Firecliff course is listed at No. 13 in Golf Magazine's 'Best Courses you can Play' 2010 list for California.

In the late-1970s and 1980s, a spate of private golf clubs, destination resorts and hotels appeared in the northern half of Palm Desert, such as the four-star JW Marriott Desert Springs Golf Resort and Spa in 1987 and the four-star Desert Willow Golf Resort in 2002. The city has over 30 hotels and 5,000 rooms, and lodging and hospitality is a major portion of the local tourist-based economy.

Government Palm Desert was incorporated as a city in 1973 and designated a charter city in 1997. It operates on a council-manager form of government. Residents of Palm Desert elect five non-partisan council members who serve four-year staggered terms, with elections occurring every two years. Currently the Palm Desert city council is elected through Single transferable voting (proportional ranked-choice voting). The position of mayor is non-elected and rotates annually among the members of the city council. The council serves to pass ordinances, approve budgets, and hire the city manager and city attorney. The city manager oversees administrative operations and the appointment of department heads.

In the California State Legislature, Palm Desert is in the 28th Senate District, represented by Democrat Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, and in the 42nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Jacqui Irwin.

In the United States House of Representatives, Palm Desert is in California's 41st congressional district, represented by Republican Ken Calvert.

Public safety The Riverside County Sheriff's Department maintains the Palm Desert station which provides contract police services to the municipalities of Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and Indian Wells, as well as the surrounding unincorporated areas.

The city of Palm Desert contracts for fire and paramedic services with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE. Palm Desert currently has three fire stations, which are Station 33 (Town Center), Station 67 (Mesa View), and Station 71 (North Palm Desert). Each fire station provides an engine company and a paramedic ambulance. Fire station 33 also has a truck company.

Education Palm Desert is the site for the main campus of College of the Desert, a community college, which has expanded greatly in size since the campus opened in 1962. One of the buildings was built by donations from the local Cahuilla Indian tribal nations. The University of California, Riverside also has an extension learning centre in the city.

California State University, San Bernardino first opened its Palm Desert campus in 1986, followed by its own stand-alone, 169 acre campus located on Cook Street in 2002. The Palm Desert Campus is a complete university with over 40 undergraduate, graduate, doctorate, and credential programs offered as the only full-service public school of higher education in the Coachella Valley.

The primary high school is Palm Desert High School (with 2200 students) which is part of the Desert Sands Unified School District. The main Middle School (with 1100 students) is Palm Desert Middle School, a charter school. The four elementary schools in the city are: George Washington Charter, Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. The northernmost part of Palm Desert is served by the Palm Springs Unified School District, so the students can attend Rancho Mirage High School in Rancho Mirage, or Nellie Coffman Middle School and Cathedral City High School in Cathedral City, California. Some students in the eastside are zoned to La Quinta High School and Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle School.

The Riverside County Department of Education operates San Cayetano Community School, a grade 1 to 12 educational facility. Palm Desert has 8 private schools in the immediate area: Desert Adventist Academy, Palm Desert Presbyterian School, Sacred Heart Catholic Academy, The Palm Valley School, the Learning Tree Academy, Xavier College Preparatory High School (Catholic-Jesuit), the Hope Academy, and the Desert Torah Academy, a Jewish community school and its social recreational Jewish Community Center. It also has meetings by the Jewish Federation of the Desert based in Palm Springs, serving an estimated 35,000 Jewish people in the Coachella Valley.

Utilities Electricity in Palm Desert is served by Southern California Edison.

Transport Modern transportation services include: • Palm Springs International Airport serves Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. ◦ Historical note: during World War II it was operated as the Palm Springs Army Airfield. • SunLine Transit Agency provides bus service in the Coachella Valley.

Highways include: I-10 – Interstate 10 runs north of the city.

SR 74 – The Pines to Palms Scenic Byway (California State Route 74) runs from the coast, over the San Jacinto Mountains and has its eastern terminus at Highway 111 in Palm Desert before continuing northbound as Monterey Avenue.

SR 111 – California State Route 111, which passes through the city.

Parks Palm Desert has 14 city parks: • Cahuilla Hills Park • Cap Homme/ Ralph Adams Park • Civic Center Park • Community Gardens • Freedom Park • Hovley Soccer Park • Ironwood Park • Joe Mann Park • Magnesia Falls City Park • Palm Desert Dog Park • Palma Village Park • University Dog Park • University Park East • Washington Charter School Park.

South of Palm Desert is the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, and north of Palm Desert is the Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Cemeteries The Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City is maintained by the Palm Springs Cemetery District. Also in Cathedral City is the Forest Lawn Cemetery, maintained by Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries.

Culture • Desert ARC Italian Festival • Greek Festival • Armenian Festival • CanadaFest • Scottish Festival.

Attractions • Palm Desert ◦ College of the Desert ◦ Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center, a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System ◦ Living Desert Zoo and Gardens ◦ McCallum Theatre ◦ Circle of Land and Sky temporary art installation by Phillip K. Smith III, part of the inaugural Desert X • Surrounding communities ◦ Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage. ◦ Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells.