Best Places92561, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92561, 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.
92561 ranks 30,406th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 92561
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.
92561's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92561 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 193 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Household income$97,372 median, better than 78% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 69% of zip codes
Where 92561 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute44.2 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92561
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92561 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,372, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 92561's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 92561
92561 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 92561.
Who works in 92561, and how
Work in 92561 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 92561
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 92561.
What the weather is like in 92561, month by month
92561 sees roughly 193 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 112 degrees. January highs sit near 72, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72° | 59° | 46° |
| April | 91° | 76° | 59° |
| July | 112° | 97° | 81° |
| October | 94° | 79° | 64° |
Flying in and out of 92561
The nearest airport, Palm Springs International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around 92561
Schools across 92561 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gerald R. Ford ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Quinta MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Nellie N. Coffman MiddleF · 2% proficient
Top high schools
- Palm Desert HighB · 48% proficient
- Cathedral City HighB− · 43% proficient
- HamiltonC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92561 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92561 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 92561 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 92561
Is 92561 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92561 ranks 30,406th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and big-city access, and lowest on disaster risk and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92561 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $563,264. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $97,372 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 92561 safe?
92561 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $631 per resident a year.
Compare 92561 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92561. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92561 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.
92561 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92561: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92561: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92561: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92561: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92561 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.