Best PlacesNorth Palm Springs, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Palm Springs, 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.
North Palm Springs ranks 47,998th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Palm Springs
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.
North Palm Springs' strengths and weaknesses
Where North Palm Springs ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 215 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of towns
- TransitBetter than 94% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of towns
Where North Palm Springs ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Palm Springs
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Palm Springs home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $66,537; 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 North Palm Springs' effective rate of 1.03%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Palm Springs
North Palm Springs's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Palm Springs.
Who works in North Palm Springs, and how
Work in North Palm Springs centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in North Palm Springs
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Palm Springs.
What the weather is like in North Palm Springs, month by month
North Palm Springs sees roughly 215 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 North Palm Springs
The nearest airport, Palm Springs International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Palm Springs
Schools across North Palm Springs average a D+, better than 13% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Vista Del Monte ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Raymond Cree MiddleD · 20% proficient
- Painted Hills MiddleD− · 13% proficient
- Desert Springs MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Cathedral City HighB− · 43% proficient
- Palm Springs HighC · 34% proficient
- Desert Hot Springs HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Palm Springs school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Palm Springs 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 North Palm Springs against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Palm Springs
Is North Palm Springs a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Palm Springs ranks 47,998th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and cell coverage, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Palm Springs expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,690. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $66,537 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is North Palm Springs safe?
North Palm Springs is safer than 6% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $691 per resident a year.
Compare North Palm Springs with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Palm Springs. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Palm Springs 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.
North Palm Springs detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Palm Springs: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Palm Springs: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Palm Springs: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Palm Springs: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Palm Springs 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.