Demographics of Palm Desert city, California

Palm Desert city, California had 53,259 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +2,066 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Palm Desert city, in four figures

53,259
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 51,990 ±43.; +4.0%
Change since July 2020: +2,066 people.; 57.5 ±1.5
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $77,513 ±$7,228
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Palm Desert city, California's population grew 4.0% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Palm Desert city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Palm Desert city, California's population grew 4.0% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Palm Desert city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	51,193	100.0	100.0
2021	51,536	100.7	100.2
2022	51,780	101.1	100.7
2023	52,284	102.1	101.6
2024	52,957	103.4	102.5
2025	53,259	104.0	103.1

Population of Palm Desert city, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	51,193	—
2021	51,536	+343
2022	51,780	+244
2023	52,284	+504
2024	52,957	+673
2025	53,259	+302

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 57.5 ±1.5: for men 55.2 ±2.0 and for women 59.8 ±1.6. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Palm Desert city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	1,431 ±329	2.8% ±0.6	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	5,216 ±613	10.0% ±1.2	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	3,117 ±639	6.0% ±1.2	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	10,461 ±845	20.1% ±1.6	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	12,167 ±881	23.4% ±1.7	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	19,598 ±993	37.7% ±1.9	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $77,513 ±$7,228, and income per person $57,858 ±$3,262, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Palm Desert city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	3,844 ±522	15.6% ±2.1	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	4,609 ±563	18.7% ±2.2	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	3,616 ±470	14.6% ±1.9	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	2,601 ±413	10.5% ±1.6	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	3,608 ±522	14.6% ±2.1	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	2,550 ±396	10.3% ±1.6	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	3,862 ±453	15.6% ±1.8	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Palm Desert city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	5,672 ±911	11.0% ±1.8	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	1,029 ±348	15.5% ±5.0	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	2,437 ±520	11.7% ±2.4	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	2,206 ±393	9.2% ±1.6	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Palm Desert city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Palm Desert city	California	United States
Housing units	37,028 ±666	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	66.7% ±1.5	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	33.3% ±1.2	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	65.0% ±2.4	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	35.0% ±2.2	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$542,000 ±$25,109	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,778 ±$53	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1985 ±1	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Palm Desert city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	13,896 ±1,466	26.7% ±2.8	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	33,040 ±1,505	63.6% ±2.9	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	818 ±301	1.6% ±0.6	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	2,450 ±528	4.7% ±1.0	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	21 to 107	< 0.1% to 0.2%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	4 to 126	< 0.1% to 0.2%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	11 to 181	< 0.1% to 0.3%	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,561 ±455	3.0% ±0.9	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Palm Desert city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	23,658 ±951	45.5% ±1.8	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	18,071 ±1,077	34.8% ±2.1	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	1,153 ±389	2.2% ±0.7	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	9,108 ±927	17.5% ±1.8	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	5,608 ±775	10.8% ±1.5	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	3,500 ±571	6.7% ±1.1	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Palm Desert city among the places of California

180th of 661 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the California page.

Places of California near Palm Desert city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Lincoln city	52,956 ±89
Placentia city	52,826 ±59
Novato city	52,546 ±71
Cathedral City city	52,267 ±75
Paramount city	52,050 ±59
Palm Desert city	51,990 ±43
Watsonville city	51,712 ±34
Delano city	51,679 ±39
Aliso Viejo city	51,113 ±58
El Dorado Hills CDP	51,026 ±1,880
Glendora city	50,926 ±56

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Palm Desert city, California

Rankings this appears in

No. 6 Places in California by median age
No. 82 Places by median age
No. 123 Places in California by poverty rate
No. 135 Places in California by per capita income
No. 187 Places in California by homeownership rate
No. 286 Places in California by median rent

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026