Best Places92252, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92252, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
92252 ranks 28,595th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 92252
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
92252's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92252 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 187 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 78% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 92252 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92252
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92252 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,862; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 92252's effective rate of 0.59%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 92252
92252 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 92252.
Who works in 92252, and how
Work in 92252 centers on hospitality & food and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 92252
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 92252.
What the weather is like in 92252, month by month
92252 sees roughly 187 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 84° | 69° | 53° |
| July | 107° | 93° | 78° |
| October | 87° | 70° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 92252
The nearest airport, Palm Springs International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around 92252
Schools across 92252 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Yucca Mesa ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Twentynine Palms ElementaryD · 18% proficient
- Joshua Tree ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Twentynine Palms Junior HighD+ · 27% proficient
- La Contenta MiddleD · 19% proficient
- Desert Springs MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Twentynine Palms HighB− · 45% proficient
- Desert Hot Springs HighC · 33% proficient
- Yucca Valley HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92252 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92252 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 92252 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 92252
Is 92252 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92252 ranks 28,595th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and fast internet, and lowest on air quality and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92252 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $325,729. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $75,862 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 92252 safe?
92252 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $530 per resident a year.
Compare 92252 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92252. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92252 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
92252 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92252: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92252: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92252: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92252: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92252 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.