Best PlacesTwentynine Palms, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Twentynine Palms, 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.
Twentynine Palms ranks 1,831st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Twentynine Palms
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.
Twentynine Palms' strengths and weaknesses
Where Twentynine Palms ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of cities
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 98% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 180 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 86% of cities
Where Twentynine Palms ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 5% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Twentynine Palms
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Twentynine Palms home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $65,587; 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 Twentynine Palms' effective rate of 0.46%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Twentynine Palms
Twentynine Palms runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Twentynine Palms.
Who works in Twentynine Palms, and how
Work in Twentynine Palms centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Twentynine Palms
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Twentynine Palms.
What the weather is like in Twentynine Palms, month by month
Twentynine Palms sees roughly 180 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 Twentynine Palms
The nearest airport, Palm Springs International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Twentynine Palms
Schools across Twentynine Palms average a C−, better than 22% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Condor ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Palm Vista ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Valle Del Sol ElementaryD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Twentynine Palms Junior HighD+ · 27% proficient
- La Contenta MiddleD · 19% proficient
- Bobby Duke MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Baker HighB · 50% proficient
- Twentynine Palms HighB− · 45% proficient
- Desert Hot Springs HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Twentynine Palms school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Twentynine Palms 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 Twentynine Palms against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Twentynine Palms suits
Common questions about living in Twentynine Palms
Is Twentynine Palms a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Twentynine Palms ranks 1,831st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, short commutes, and low property taxes, and lowest on civic engagement and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Twentynine Palms expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $272,742. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $65,587 median income, cost of living beats 5% of cities.
Is Twentynine Palms safe?
Twentynine Palms is safer than 10% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $524 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Twentynine Palms?
July highs average about 107 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 38. That works out to about 180 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of cities.
Is Twentynine Palms good for families?
Schools beat 22% of cities, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $1,252 a month.
Compare Twentynine Palms with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Twentynine Palms. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Twentynine Palms 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.
Twentynine Palms detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Twentynine Palms: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Twentynine Palms: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Twentynine Palms: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Twentynine Palms: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Twentynine Palms 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.