City · Riverside County, California

Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, part of the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area. It has 45,070 residents. Palm Springs, California has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,110 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #684 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), suicide rate (low) and firearm deaths (low). It ranks worst on median Air Quality Index (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and high ozone days (high).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,110 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #684 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 45,070 (2020-2024)
Land area: 95 mi²
Density: 476.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 0655254

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety47#8,200/15,637
Economy36#10,040/15,631
Housing5#14,189/14,977
Health64#5,554/15,609
Healthcare45#8,633/15,650
Environment1#15,336/15,453
Education24#11,952/15,649
Infrastructure72#4,402/15,650
Community18#12,853/15,651
Leisure & amenities26#11,584/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Palm Springs, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Riverside County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high36.3%
96/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationRiverside County value
Suicide rate · low10.1 /100k
82/100California 9.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRiverside County value
Firearm deaths · low6.8 /100k
82/100California 6.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRiverside County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high44.5%
80/100California 37.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Public transit commuters · high1.4%
79/100California 2.9%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Public EV charging ports · high9.0 /10k
78/100California 17.5 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyRiverside County value

Weaknesses

Median Air Quality Index · high80
0/100California 602025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRiverside County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.551
1/100California 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
High ozone days · high100 days
1/100California 38 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRiverside County value
Days with unhealthy air · high29.9%
1/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRiverside County value
Students per teacher · high22.8×
1/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsRiverside County value
Rent-burdened households · high64.1%
1/100California 55.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
47,897 (2015-2019) → 45,070 (2020-2024)
−5.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
32.2% (2015-2019) → 12.9% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
6.4 /1k (2021) → 2.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−60%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$53,441 (2015-2019) → $73,119 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
17.3% (2015-2019) → 11.8% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
58.9% (2015-2019) → 64.0% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Palm Springs, California improved on 6 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved6

Child poverty−19 points32.2% → 12.9%
Poverty−5.5 points17.3% → 11.8%
Uninsured−3 points10.4% → 7.4%
Household income+37%$53,441 → $73,119
Bachelor's++4.6 points39.9% → 44.5%

Declined1

Price / income+1.0×7.3× → 8.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Palm Springs, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	22.2 min2020-2024	+0.7 min	Within the margin of error	39%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.9%2015-2019	44.5%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Improved	65%
Broadband subscriptions	86.1%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Improved	33%
Child poverty rate	32.2%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	−19 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	0.79%2015-2019	0.71%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	32%
High school diploma or higher	90.8%2015-2019	92.1%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Home price to income ratio	7.3×2015-2019	8.3×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5382015-2019	0.5512020-2024	+0.013	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$53,4412015-2019	$73,1192020-2024	+37%	Improved	69%
Poverty rate	17.3%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Improved	82%
Public transit commuters	1.8%2015-2019	1.4%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Rent as share of income	35.9%2015-2019	38.0%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Rent-burdened households	58.9%2015-2019	64.0%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Unemployment rate	8.6%2015-2019	7.7%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.4%2015-2019	7.4%2020-2024	−3 points	Improved	76%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Palm Springs, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Palm Springs, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Palm Springs, California itself moved −2.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

45,070 residents (±122)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

24,567 households (±564)

Palm Springs, California
California share

Under $25k18%4,304
$25k–50k19%4,612
$50k–75k15%3,606

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

24,567 households (±564)

Palm Springs, California
California share

Own66%16,184
Rent34%8,383

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.0 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

19,307 workers (±838)

Palm Springs, California
California share

Drive alone62%11,915
Carpool6.5%1,256
Public transit1.4%277

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Riverside County, the county holding most of Palm Springs's residents.

Riverside County has 46,244 employer establishments, 185 for every 10,000 residents (0.74× the US rate of 248; 0.70× California's), with 687,526 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,621. The Census Bureau also counts 206,817 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 46,244; 206,817 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 185; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 687,526
Average annual pay: $52,621; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Riverside County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	4,325	17.3	0.83×About typical	46,805	$68,457	8,717
Specialty trade contractors	4,129	16.5	1.07×About typical	47,560	$64,364	11,622
Restaurants and other eating places	4,016	16	0.87×About typical	80,845	$25,568	900
Lessors of real estate	2,520	10.1	0.82×About typical	8,456	$58,350	16,106
Limited-service restaurants	2,028	8.1	1.01×About typical	40,512	$22,729	360
Building equipment contractors	1,669	6.7	1.11×About typical	17,166	$69,074	2,796
Truck transportation	1,602	6.4	1.27×More than typical	11,003	$54,945	7,358
Services to buildings and dwellings	1,557	6.2	0.92×About typical	15,506	$42,446	14,586
Offices of physicians	1,529	6.1	0.94×About typical	11,899	$94,551	1,123
Construction of buildings	1,484	5.9	0.78×Fewer than typical	10,553	$72,857	6,597
Full-service restaurants	1,338	5.3	0.70×Fewer than typical	31,853	$29,532	263
Management, scientific and technical consulting	1,202	4.8	0.72×Fewer than typical	4,478	$55,412	6,169

Rank places for an industry Open Riverside County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,503,742 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Palm Springs, California: $31.75 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $1.4M; +55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $31.75; US $2,007
Sole-source: 26%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.0%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Park Service$771.4K54%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$311.7K22%
USTRANSCOM$106.6K7.4%
Bureau of Land Management$104.2K7.3%
Federal Aviation Administration$99.6K7.0%
Offices, Boards and Divisions$36.5K2.6%
Defense Logistics Agency$5820.0%
Forest Service$4850.0%

Top recipients

DAVID M. DORNBUSCH AND COMPANY$771.4K54%
WATER'S EDGE STRATEGY LLC$311.7K22%
SUN COUNTRY, INC.$106.6K7.4%
L & E MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC$81.8K5.7%
BAYSIDE-ERRG JV$51.2K3.6%

Spending by fiscal year

3.2MFY2017
3MFY2018
2.1MFY2019
3.5MFY2020
1.4MFY2021
1.2MFY2022
1.6MFY2023
1.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1.1M76%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$106.6K7.4%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$81.8K5.7%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$51.2K3.6%
Justice, public order, and safety activities · 9221$36.7K2.6%
Legal services · 5411

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Palm Springs, California

CDD AML PINTO IV$516.2K
BAYSIDE-ERRG JV· Riverside County, CA· Construction & real property· Sep 22, 2025 – Jun 4, 2026· 140L1225F0059
NASA DBEC VIABLE "ONE NASA" MODEL DEVELOPMENT$349K
WATER'S EDGE STRATEGY LLC· Riverside County, CA· Research & development· Apr 1, 2026 – May 12, 2026· 80NSSC26P0423
CS PROSPECTUS DEVELOPMENT FOR GLBA001$188.6K
DAVID M. DORNBUSCH AND COMPANY· Riverside County, CA· Professional services· Sep 23, 2026 – Sep 23, 2026· 140P2126F0186
CS-PROSPECTUS DEVELOPMENT BLRI001, 003

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Palm Springs, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Palm Springs, California's figures are part of those of Riverside County, CA ($1.1B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Palm Springs is mostly in Riverside County.

See federal money in Riverside County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Palm Springs, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Riverside County38100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA27

Other cities and towns in Riverside County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0655254

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends