La Quinta, California

Area Profile

38,707 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for La Quinta, in Riverside County.

42out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,988th of 4,199 cities measured46
Schools3,181st of 4,162 cities measured29
GrowthTop 29% of 4,224 cities measured60
Housing affordability3,781st of 4,218 cities measured40
Climate3,780th of 4,225 cities measured59
Physical resilience4,196th of 4,226 cities measured4
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stability2,574th of 4,226 cities measured52
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 7.4% and the Opportunity signal places La Quinta in the bottom 29%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.6 students for every teacher.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 34% of renter income and the median home is 5.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
38,707
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$99,250
Top 19% nationally
Density
1,097/sq mi
35.3 sq mi of land
Median age
53.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
TRM
7 mi · Jacqueline Cochran Rgnl
Median home value
$661,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 7.4% — higher than in all but 3% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 16,388 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsRiverside County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$76,49157th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftRiverside County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$71,25448th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,9922024 ACS 5-Year$99,250Top 19%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,5242024 ACS 5-Year$64,505Top 8%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.5%Top 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.1 minBottom 48%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year40.0%Top 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year71.8%33rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,388Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.2%Top 28%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.7%Bottom 30%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,69517th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.6%Bottom 48%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,160Bottom 31%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,400Bottom 25%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20267.4%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/079.63.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 7.4% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202499k83k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $99,250 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides102,760$34,320
Stockers and Order Fillers77,160$43,200
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand69,820$46,060
Fast Food and Counter Workers51,310$42,280
Retail Salespersons41,270$36,720
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers40,230$60,580

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 23.6 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.6
across 6 of them
Math proficiency
31.4%
Bottom 28% in California
Reading proficiency
52.0%
Bottom 45% in California
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
La Quinta HighDesert Sands Unified2,42525.030%57%
La Quinta MiddleDesert Sands Unified70923.628%40%
Harry S. Truman ElementaryDesert Sands Unified63525.449%58%
Benjamin Franklin ElementaryDesert Sands Unified62721.636%45%
Colonel Mitchell Paige MiddleDesert Sands Unified43920.925%49%
Summit High (Continuation)Desert Sands Unified19517.73%42%
John Adams Early Childhood Learning CenterDesert Sands Unified0———

79.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 107.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area is up 36% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,636 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.85% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,201, some 23% above the $1,785 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,201 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $88,000 a year, about 89% of the median household income here of $99,250.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,785 a month.

A median home at $661,600 costs 5.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $119,754, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
107.3

Prices here run about 7% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
33.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,201
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,785
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$661,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against La Quinta’s median household income of $99,250, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2023107.3Bottom 30%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+35.9%31st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+98.4%58th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year5.5Bottom 6%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.7%49th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5722024 ACS 5-Year24,77098th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,777Bottom 30%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,912Bottom 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,201Bottom 25%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1412024 ACS 5-Year$1,785Bottom 12%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$23,9492024 ACS 5-Year$661,60094th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3642024 ACS 5-Year$5,63692nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,6862024 ACS 5-Year$119,754Top 16%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.85%42nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year33.6%Bottom 25%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5332024 ACS 5-Year6,85299th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%95th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%55th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4632024 ACS 5-Year8,80899th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

60/ 100
Top 29% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 39,907 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 96 units authorized in 2025, up 7% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 107 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Riverside County, which contains La Quinta, gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $76,491, above the $71,254 of households that moved out.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
107
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 48% nationally
Year over year
+62%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202440k38k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
23%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$76,491
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$71,254
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. San Bernardino County, CA 20,775 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Los Angeles County, CA 20,742 people · 21% of arrivals
  3. Orange County, CA 16,097 people · 16% of arrivals
  4. San Diego County, CA 12,708 people · 13% of arrivals
  5. Clark County, NV 1,441 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. San Bernardino County, CA 17,635 people · 19% of departures
  2. Los Angeles County, CA 10,934 people · 12% of departures
  3. Orange County, CA 8,941 people · 9.6% of departures
  4. San Diego County, CA 8,425 people · 9.0% of departures
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 2,705 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Riverside County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202550190
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−49%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 107°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 3.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 87, in the Moderate band, and about 147 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DESERT RESORTS RGNL AP, 6.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND0.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1742024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals3.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals107°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year1472024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year872024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
87
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
174
90th percentile index
Days above 100
147
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

4 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 50% of it.

WildfireHigh
Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeHigh
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, hail, volcanic activity, winter weather, drought, strong wind, hurricane, tsunami, ice storm, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
153
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,688
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

La Quinta's police department reported 153 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,688.

Riverside County records 3.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 6.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 21.4 per 100,000 residents in Riverside County.

Homicide
3.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
21.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by La Quinta’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around La Quinta (Riverside County) rather than La Quinta itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Jacqueline Cochran Rgnl at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year94.5%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 15%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Jacqueline Cochran RgnlTRM7 mi8,500 ft
Palm Springs IntlPSP18 mi10,000 ft
March ARBRIV59 mi13,302 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
42
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Other cities in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
RiversideRiverside County319,06946Riverside vs La Quinta
San BernardinoSan Bernardino County222,72439San Bernardino vs La Quinta
FontanaSan Bernardino County214,16947Fontana vs La Quinta
Moreno ValleyRiverside County211,66640
OntarioSan Bernardino County180,54745
Rancho CucamongaSan Bernardino County175,41151
CoronaRiverside County159,67051
VictorvilleSan Bernardino County137,62735
MurrietaRiverside County112,06452
TemeculaRiverside County111,16752
MenifeeRiverside County110,30550
Jurupa ValleyRiverside County107,01144

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put La Quinta side by side with a similar place.

La Quinta vs BeaumontLa Quinta vs Rancho Mirage

Moving to La Quinta from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in La Quinta

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in La Quinta with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track La Quinta closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9225338,666$99,277$661,600—