Palmdale, California demographics

Palmdale, CA demographics: median age 33.0; 17.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Palmdale city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0655156. The survey estimates a population of 164,634 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Palmdale is 33.0 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.8 years. There are 46,373 households (±946). 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	33.0 ±0.8	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 164,634
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	48,640 ±1,966	29.5% ±1.2 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	37,895 ±1,591	23.0% ±1.0 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	59,755 ±1,913	36.3% ±1.2 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	18,344 ±1,169	11.1% ±0.7 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 164,634
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	81,285 ±1,272	49.4% ±0.8 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	83,349 ±1,271	50.6% ±0.8 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: 164,634
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	38,492 ±2,855	23.4% ±1.7 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	21,565 ±2,041	13.1% ±1.2 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2,655 ±795	1.6% ±0.5 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	7,837 ±1,019	4.8% ±0.6 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	145 ±111 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	58,296 ±3,225	35.4% ±2.0 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	35,644 ±3,616	21.7% ±2.2 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 164,634
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	60,041 ±3,092	36.5% ±1.9 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	104,593 ±3,091	63.5% ±1.9 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: 46,373
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	23,980 ±984	51.7% ±1.8 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	3,856 ±571	8.3% ±1.2 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	9,517 ±668	20.5% ±1.4 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	6,981 ±725	15.1% ±1.5 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,039 ±479	4.4% ±1.0 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 46,373
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	21,652 ±633	46.7% ±1.0 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	24,721 ±1,236	53.3% ±2.4 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 46,373
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	6,981 ±725	15.1% ±1.5 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	10,503 ±888	22.6% ±1.9 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	8,792 ±785	19.0% ±1.6 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	8,396 ±688	18.1% ±1.4 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	5,921 ±569	12.8% ±1.2 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	2,945 ±363	6.4% ±0.8 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	2,835 ±384	6.1% ±0.8 pp	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: 164,634
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	122,834 ±1,958	74.6% ±1.2 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	41,800 ±1,955	25.4% ±1.2 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 153,252
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	70,601 ±2,871	46.1% ±1.8 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	74,625 ±2,796	48.7% ±1.8 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	273 ±197 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	99 ±86 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	510 ±330 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,509 ±496	1.0% ±0.3 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	245 ±150 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	252 ±154 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	458 ±329 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	2,426 ±571	1.6% ±0.4 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	846 ±300	0.6% ±0.2 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	696 ±320	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	712 ±403 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 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: 101,058
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	23,037 ±1,347	22.8% ±1.3 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	30,630 ±1,493	30.3% ±1.4 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	22,290 ±1,159	22.1% ±1.1 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	7,831 ±772	7.7% ±0.8 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	11,796 ±941	11.7% ±0.9 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	5,474 ±614	5.4% ±0.6 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: 162,940
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	151,180 ±1,650	92.8% ±1.0 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	10,024 ±1,554	6.2% ±1.0 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	748 ±289	0.5% ±0.2 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	604 ±195	0.4% ±0.1 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	384 ±275 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	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

8.2% of Palmdale residents (±0.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 93.0% 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	Palmdale	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	8.2% ±0.7 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.0% ±0.6 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.2% ±0.5 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Not statistically different

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 Palmdale . 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 Palmdale housing and cost context or return to the city profile.