Best PlacesDesert Edge, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Desert Edge, 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.
Desert Edge ranks 47,203rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Desert Edge
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.
Desert Edge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Desert Edge ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 213 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 95% of towns
- BikingBetter than 91% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of towns
Where Desert Edge ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$37,522 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Desert Edge
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Desert Edge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $37,522, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Desert Edge's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Desert Edge
Desert Edge 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 Desert Edge.
Who works in Desert Edge, and how
Work in Desert Edge centers on health care & social and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Desert Edge
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Desert Edge.
What the weather is like in Desert Edge, month by month
Desert Edge sees roughly 213 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 Desert Edge
The nearest airport, Palm Springs International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around Desert Edge
Schools across Desert Edge average a D, better than 10% of towns.
Top middle schools
- Desert Springs MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Desert Hot Springs HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Desert Edge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Desert Edge 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 Desert Edge against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Desert Edge
Is Desert Edge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Desert Edge ranks 47,203rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Desert Edge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $99,555. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $37,522 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Desert Edge safe?
Desert Edge is safer than 7% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $652 per resident a year.
Compare Desert Edge with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Desert Edge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Desert Edge 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.
Desert Edge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Desert Edge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Desert Edge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Desert Edge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Desert Edge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Desert Edge 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.