Palm Desert, California demographics

Palm Desert, CA demographics: median age 57.5; 40.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Palm Desert city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0655184. The survey estimates a population of 51,990 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Palm Desert is 57.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.5 years. There are 24,690 households (±704). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	57.5 ±1.5	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 51,990
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	6,647 ±696	12.8% ±1.3 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	8,801 ±875	16.9% ±1.7 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	16,944 ±1,064	32.6% ±2.0 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	19,598 ±993	37.7% ±1.9 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 51,990
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	24,157 ±804	46.5% ±1.5 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	27,833 ±811	53.5% ±1.6 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 51,990
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	34,401 ±1,543	66.2% ±3.0 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	892 ±324	1.7% ±0.6 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	523 ±377 · low precision	1.0% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	2,467 ±528	4.7% ±1.0 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	131 ±117 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,815 ±619	5.4% ±1.2 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	10,761 ±1,462	20.7% ±2.8 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 51,990
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	38,094 ±1,462	73.3% ±2.8 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	13,896 ±1,466	26.7% ±2.8 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 24,690
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	10,714 ±524	43.4% ±1.7 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	802 ±250	3.2% ±1.0 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,286 ±398	9.3% ±1.6 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	8,828 ±778	35.8% ±3.0 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,060 ±379	8.3% ±1.5 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 24,690
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,948 ±347	16.0% ±1.3 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	20,742 ±817	84.0% ±2.3 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 24,690
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	8,828 ±778	35.8% ±3.0 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	10,581 ±713	42.9% ±2.6 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	2,789 ±355	11.3% ±1.4 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,319 ±329	5.3% ±1.3 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	799 ±209	3.2% ±0.8 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	278 ±242 · low precision	1.1% ±1.0 pp · low precision	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	96 ±72 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 51,990
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	42,882 ±922	82.5% ±1.8 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	9,108 ±927	17.5% ±1.8 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 50,559
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	38,626 ±1,476	76.4% ±2.9 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	8,499 ±1,414	16.8% ±2.8 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	412 ±176	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	174 ±91 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	383 ±207 · low precision	0.8% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	811 ±281	1.6% ±0.6 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	241 ±236 · low precision	0.5% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	326 ±202 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	142 ±139 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	420 ±252 · low precision	0.8% ±0.5 pp · low precision	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	159 ±92 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	254 ±238 · low precision	0.5% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	112 ±77 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 42,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,722 ±471	6.4% ±1.1 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,819 ±656	18.5% ±1.5 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	10,912 ±859	25.8% ±2.0 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	3,591 ±470	8.5% ±1.1 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	10,319 ±832	24.4% ±1.9 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	6,863 ±701	16.3% ±1.6 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 51,694
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	44,610 ±797	86.3% ±1.5 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	3,092 ±558	6.0% ±1.1 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,670 ±400	3.2% ±0.8 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,885 ±501	3.6% ±1.0 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	437 ±173	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

5.5% of Palm Desert residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 91.3% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Palm Desert	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.5% ±1.2 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	91.3% ±1.6 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.7% ±1.0 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Palm Desert . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Palm Desert housing and cost context or return to the city profile.