HomeCaliforniaRiverside CountyPalm Desert
Palm Desert, California: commercial real estate data.
Palm Desert is a Census city of 51,990 people across 26.78 square miles of land, in Riverside County. Median household income is $77,513, 65.0 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 130 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $73.5 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Palm Desert
What Palm Desert is
- Census place typecity
- Land area26.78 sq mi
- Water area0.2 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land1,942
- County holding the largest share of its areaRiverside County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palm Desert
How many people live in Palm Desert
- Population51,990
- Median age57.5
- Population under 186,647
- Share under 1812.8 percent
- Population 65 and over19,598
- Share 65 and over37.7 percent
- Households24,690
- Family households13,802
- Share of households that are families55.9 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palm Desert
Income and work in Palm Desert
- Median household income$77,513
- Per capita income$57,858
- Civilian labor force22,679
- Employed21,236
- Unemployed1,443
- Unemployment rate6.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over42,226
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher93.6 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher40.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree16.3 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palm Desert
Housing in Palm Desert
- Housing units37,028
- Occupied units24,690
- Vacant units12,338
- Vacancy rate33.3 percent
- Owner occupied16,039
- Renter occupied8,651
- Ownership rate65.0 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$542,000
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,778
- Annual rent as a share of median income27.5 percent
- Single family units25,329
- Share single family68.4 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more8,134
- Share in buildings of two or more22.0 percent
- Mobile homes3,552
- Median year structure built1985
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palm Desert
How Palm Desert gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute17,507
- Commuting under 15 minutes6,138
- Share commuting under 15 minutes35.1 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more3,233 plus or minus 651
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more18.5 percent
- Drove alone69.0 percent
- Carpooled13.3 percent plus or minus 6.1
- Public transport0.7 percent plus or minus 0.6
- Walked1.1 percent plus or minus 0.6
- Worked from home14.9 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palm Desert
SBA loans in Palm Desert (7(a))
- Approvals130
- Gross approval$73,507,100
- Average approval$565,439
- Median approval$286,250
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,579,100
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported1,271
- Jobs per approval9.8
- Loans with a final outcome23
- Paid in full20
- Charged off3
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more26.2 percent
- Share to franchises15.4 percent
- Distinct lenders43
- Distinct industries by NAICS70
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Palm Desert, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 23 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Palm Desert
SBA loans in Palm Desert (504)
- Approvals99
- Gross approval$62,046,000
- Average approval$626,727
- Median approval$488,000
- Largest approval$3,967,000
- Jobs supported1,024
- Loans with a final outcome39
- Charged off0
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans0.0 percent
- Median term300 months
- Distinct CDCs11
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Palm Desert, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Palm Desert
Flood risk in Palm Desert
- NFIP communityCity of Palm Desert
- NFIP community number060629
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date04/19/17
The City of Palm Desert participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 060629 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Riverside County, not Palm Desert
Riverside County context, not Palm Desert figures
- Establishments in Riverside County46,244
- Covered employment, Riverside County840,433
- Average annual pay, Riverside County$59,734
- Housing units permitted, Riverside County9,598
Every figure in this section is published for Riverside County as a whole and is not a measurement of Palm Desert.
All Riverside County figures →
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Palm Desert questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Palm Desert, California?
51,990, in 24,690 households. Palm Desert city covers 26.78 square miles of land, which is 1,942 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Palm Desert in?
Riverside County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Palm Desert?
$77,513. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $542,000. Median gross rent is $1,778 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Palm Desert businesses?
130 7(a) approvals totaling $73.5 m since FY2020, across 43 lenders, median approval $286,250, plus 99 504 approvals worth $62.0 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Palm Desert, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Palm Desert borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Palm Desert. Only 23 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Palm Desert in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Palm Desert appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Palm Desert, city of, community 060629, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Palm Desert figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Riverside County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Palm Desert.
Is zoning published for Palm Desert?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.
Nearby