What is the median rent in Palm Desert, CA?

Name: Median rent in Palm Desert, CA, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Palm Desert, CA is $1,778 (±$53) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 8,284 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Palm Desert, the median gross rent went from $1,319 in 2015–2019 to $1,778 in 2020–2024 (+34.8%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $1,778 (±$53)
Rented homes: 8,284 (±580)
$2,000 or more: 36.0%
Since 2015–2019: +34.8%

How much rent costs in Palm Desert

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Palm Desert	Riverside County	California	United States
Less than $500	3.8% (±1.6 points)	2.9%	3.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	9.1% (±2.8 points)	8.8%	7.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	19.5% (±4.2 points)	20.0%	16.2%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	31.7% (±4.3 points)	22.9%	21.5%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	20.3% (±3.9 points)	21.4%	19.8%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	8.5% (±2.6 points)	12.6%	12.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	7.2% (±2.3 points)	11.5%	19.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,500 to $1,999, paid by 31.7% of renting households.

36.0% of rented homes in Palm Desert cost $2,000 or more a month.

Palm Desert against Riverside County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Palm Desert	Riverside County	California	United States
Median gross rent	$1,778 (±$53)	$1,901 (±$17)	$2,036 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	8,284 (±580)	230,441 (±3,401)	5,783,331 (±22,650)	42,849,984

In Palm Desert, median gross rent is lower than in Riverside County ($1,901).

It is also lower than in California ($2,036).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

In Riverside County, Palm Desert ranks 29 of 69 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 561 of 1,010.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Palm Desert has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$1,319 (±$40)	$1,778 (±$53)	+34.8%	Up after inflation
Households that rent	37.2% (±2.1 points)	35.0% (±2.2 points)	−2.2 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	7.8% (±2.4 points)	8.8% (±2.7 points)	+1.0 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Palm Desert

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Palm Desert
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Palm Desert	—	$1,778 (±$53)	—
Indian Wells	3.3 mi	$1,088 (±$118)	Lower
Rancho Mirage	4.2 mi	$1,510 (±$322)	Not measurably different
Bermuda Dunes	4.4 mi	$1,693 (±$163)	Not measurably different
Desert Palms	4.8 mi	$1,957 (±$698)	Not measurably different
Thousand Palms	5.4 mi	$1,495 (±$448)	Not measurably different
Indio	7.4 mi	$1,437 (±$53)	Lower
La Quinta	8.1 mi	$1,785 (±$141)	Not measurably different
Cathedral City	8.8 mi	$1,601 (±$90)	Lower

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Indian Wells, CA ($1,088), Indio, CA ($1,437), Cathedral City, CA ($1,601).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Riverside County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
23	Perris	$1,876 (±$126)
24	Lake Mathews	$1,866 (±$1,055)
25	Lakeland Village	$1,858 (±$135)
26	El Cerrito (community)	$1,787 (±$690)
27	La Quinta	$1,785 (±$141)
28	Calimesa	$1,783 (±$156)
29	Palm Desert	$1,778 (±$53)
30	Jurupa Valley	$1,741 (±$58)
31	Valle Vista	$1,738 (±$187)
32	Green Acres	$1,696 (±$809)
33	Bermuda Dunes	$1,693 (±$163)
34	Beaumont	$1,681 (±$252)
35	Winchester	$1,658 (±$629)

Showing 13 of 69 places in Riverside County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Palm Desert

What is the average rent in Palm Desert, CA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Palm Desert is $1,778 (±$53) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Palm Desert?

In Palm Desert, the median gross rent went from $1,319 in 2015–2019 to $1,778 in 2020–2024 (+34.8%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

How many rentals in Palm Desert cost more than $2,000 a month?

36.0% of rented homes in Palm Desert have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 3.8% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Palm Desert higher than in Riverside County?

In Palm Desert, median gross rent is lower than in Riverside County ($1,901).

It is also lower than in California ($2,036).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Palm Desert city, California (place:55184, in state:06).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.