La Quinta
The Gem of the Desert — upscale Coachella Valley resort city anchored by PGA West (9 courses, The American Express PGA TOUR host), the 1926 La Quinta Resort & Club, historic Old Town on Avenida Montezuma, and 135-acre Lake Cahuilla at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains
Why People Move Here
La Quinta is the "Gem of the Desert" — an upscale Coachella Valley resort city of roughly 38,300 residents at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains in southeastern Riverside County, incorporated May 1, 1982 and named after the 1926 La Quinta Hotel that still anchors its western edge. PGA West, the 9-course residential golf resort with Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, and Tom Weiskopf designs, hosts The American Express PGA TOUR event each January across the Stadium Course, Nicklaus Tournament, and La Quinta Country Club — the only rotating three-course PGA TOUR stop. La Quinta Resort & Club, designed by Gordon Kaufmann in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and opening December 29, 1926, was Frank Capra's "Shangri-La for scriptwriting" where portions of the 1934 Oscar Best Picture "It Happened One Night" were written; the resort turns 100 in 2026. Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park (135-acre reservoir on 710 acres 6 miles southeast of Old Town) and the 280,000-acre Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument — home to the largest U.S. peninsular bighorn sheep herd — give the city the desert Southwest's most direct mountain-to-resort hiking access. Old Town La Quinta (30+ restaurants and boutiques along Main Street and Avenida Montezuma) is home to the La Quinta Art Celebration, which runs twice yearly at Civic Center Park with 220 juried artists. Housing splits sharply: the non-HOA La Quinta Cove neighborhood (1,200 homes including 60+ original 1930s Spanish casitas) starts in the low $400Ks with a $520,500 median, while gated golf communities — PGA West, Rancho La Quinta, The Hideaway, Tradition Golf Club, The Madison Club, and Andalusia at Coral Mountain — carry $300-$1,200+/month HOAs and run from ~$500K condos to $10M+ custom estates. Zillow reports a typical home value of $731K-$740K (down 6.4% YoY, February 2026); Redfin's luxury-weighted median sale hit $940K (up 29.7% YoY). The trade-offs: no commuter rail anywhere in the Coachella Valley (SunBus + SunRide cover local transit, but the region is car-dependent), two school districts with different Niche grades bisecting the city (DSUSD west, CVUSD east — verify by address), wildfire risk at the Santa Rosa Mountains wildland-urban interface covers ~66% of buildings per First Street, and summer heat from June through September regularly exceeds 105°F.
Key Statistics
Data sourced from census records, school district reports, and local transit authorities.
Commute Times
School Districts
Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD, K-12)
B+- 25,898 students K-12 across 33 schools; 24:1 student-teacher ratio
- Serves western La Quinta including Old Town, La Quinta Cove, PGA West, and most of the incorporated city
- La Quinta High School (2,488 students, grades 9-12) is Niche overall B+ (3.88/5, 744 reviews); ranked #3 Best Public High School in the Palm Springs area per Niche 2026
- La Quinta HS subject marks: Academics B, Teachers A, College Prep B, Sports A-; state test scores show 24% math proficiency, 65% reading proficiency
- Horizon School, Amelia Earhart Elementary, and La Quinta Middle School also serve the area
Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD, K-12)
A-- 18,000+ students across the eastern Coachella Valley (Coachella, Thermal, Mecca, North Shore, and eastern La Quinta parcels)
- Niche 2026 ranks CVUSD #138 Best School Districts in California with an overall district grade in the A- range; individual school grades vary widely
- Serves far-eastern La Quinta tracts including portions near Madison/Monroe and south of Ave 58
FAQ — La Quinta
What is the commute from La Quinta to the rest of the Coachella Valley?
La Quinta sits in the southeastern Coachella Valley. Indio is ~7 miles east (~12 min) via Jefferson St + CA-111; Palm Desert is ~10 miles west (~15 min) via Washington St + CA-111 or Fred Waring Dr; Rancho Mirage (Eisenhower Health main campus) is ~15 miles NW (~20 min); Palm Springs is ~24 miles NW (~35 min off-peak via CA-111, longer during in-valley rush); Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) is 21 miles NW (~29-37 min). Regionally, downtown Los Angeles is ~125 miles W (~2 hr off-peak via I-10, 3-4 hr during Friday PM westbound or Sunday PM eastbound Banning Pass traffic); downtown San Diego is ~135 miles SW (~2 hr 20 min via I-10 + I-215 + I-15); Ontario International Airport is ~95 miles W (~1 hr 40 min). The Coachella Valley has no commuter rail — SunLine Transit (SunBus + SunRide microtransit) is the only public transit option.
What schools serve La Quinta, CA?
La Quinta is split between two districts. Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) serves western La Quinta, including Old Town, La Quinta Cove, and PGA West; DSUSD has 25,898 students across 33 schools with a 24:1 student-teacher ratio. La Quinta High School (DSUSD, grades 9-12; 2,488 students) carries a Niche overall B+ grade (3.88/5, 744 reviews) and is ranked #3 Best Public High School in the Palm Springs area per Niche 2026, with state test scores of 24% math proficiency and 65% reading proficiency. Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) serves far-eastern La Quinta parcels and ranks #138 Best School Districts in California per Niche 2026. The district boundary runs roughly north-south through the city and does not follow a single street — always verify enrollment eligibility by address with the district office before committing.
What is the housing market like in La Quinta?
Zillow reports a 2026 typical home value of $731,230-$740,084 (down 6.4% year-over-year; ~52 days to pending). Redfin reports a February 2026 median sale price of $940,000 (up 29.7% YoY; 79.5 days on market; 94.9% sale-to-list ratio) — the gap vs. Zillow reflects a high share of luxury golf-community trades pulling the median up. Realtor.com shows a $879K median list; Movoto $895K; Homes.com $817.5K trailing-12-month median sale. The range is extreme: La Quinta Cove (~1,200 non-HOA homes) starts near $400K with a $520,500 median, while estates in The Hideaway, Tradition Golf Club, and The Madison Club routinely trade $2M-$10M. Most homes inside gated golf communities carry HOA dues of $300-$1,200+/month plus optional private-club golf memberships. Always verify HOA and any Mello-Roos / CFD assessments with a title report before purchase.
What is PGA West and The American Express tournament?
PGA West is a master-planned residential golf resort in south La Quinta with nine courses: five open to resort play and four private. The designers include Pete Dye (Stadium Course, Dunes), Jack Nicklaus (Tournament, Private), Arnold Palmer (Private), Greg Norman (Shark Course), and Tom Weiskopf. The Pete Dye Stadium Course and Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course share hosting duties with La Quinta Country Club for The American Express — the only PGA TOUR event that uses three courses across tournament rounds. The event runs each January as part of the TOUR's West Coast Swing; the tournament's history traces back to the Bob Hope Classic, which was founded in 1960 and rotated across multiple Coachella Valley host courses before settling on the current three-course format.
What is the La Quinta Resort & Club?
La Quinta Resort & Club is a Hilton Waldorf Astoria-managed historic resort that opened December 29, 1926 as the La Quinta Hotel, a Walter H. Morgan project designed by architect Gordon Kaufmann in the Spanish Colonial Revival style (white stucco, red-tile roofs, shaded courtyards). The resort turns 100 in 2026. Frank Capra and co-writer Robert Riskin wrote portions of "It Happened One Night" (the 1934 Best Picture / Best Director / Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar winner) on the property, which still operates the Frank Capra Ballroom. Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Katherine Hepburn were regulars during Hollywood's Golden Age. The property's Dunes and Mountain golf courses were designed by Pete Dye. The city of La Quinta is named after the resort.
What are the crime statistics in La Quinta, CA?
Per NeighborhoodScout and Areavibes aggregates of FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, La Quinta's total crime rate in 2024 was an index of 151 (1.6x lower than the U.S. average), down 9% year-over-year from 2023. Violent crime was ~181 per 100,000 residents (70 incidents; 51.1% below the national average), with 1 homicide in 2024. Property crime was ~2,593 per 100,000 (1,004 incidents; 32.7% above the U.S. average) — a pattern common to seasonal-residency desert cities where homes sit vacant for months at a time. Riverside County as a whole saw violent crime decline 10.0% and property crime decline 16.9% in 2024. La Quinta contracts policing with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department out of the La Quinta Station at 79440 Corporate Centre Dr; fire service is Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire. Verify current statistics directly with FBI UCR and the Sheriff's Department.
What healthcare options are in La Quinta?
JFK Memorial Hospital at 47111 Monroe St in neighboring Indio (~7 minutes NE) is the nearest acute-care hospital — 145 beds, Tenet Healthcare California / Desert Care Network, with a 24/7 Emergency Department, cardiac services, surgery, maternity, and rehab. Eisenhower George and Julia Argyros Health Center (45280 Seeley Dr) is a 92,000 sq ft outpatient campus inside La Quinta with urgent care, imaging, and specialty clinics. Eisenhower Health's main 463-bed campus in Rancho Mirage (~15 min NW) offers a cardiovascular institute, neuroscience institute, and cancer center. Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs (~30 min NW) is the only Level II trauma center east of Loma Linda in the Inland Empire. For tertiary pediatric care, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego or Loma Linda University Children's Hospital are the regional referral centers.
What outdoor recreation is available in La Quinta?
Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park is a 710-acre Riverside County Regional Park at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains, 6 miles southeast of Old Town, anchored by a 135-acre reservoir; it offers 91 campsites (46 RV hookups), rainbow-trout and catfish fishing, a swimming pool, horseback riding, and equestrian trails (the reservoir itself is closed to swimming and boating because it supplies agricultural water). The 280,000-acre Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (BLM + USFS co-managed) contains 280+ miles of trails and the largest peninsular bighorn sheep herd in the United States — note that dogs are prohibited on most lower-elevation trails year-round to protect the sheep. Notable routes include Bear Creek Trail (4.75 mi multiuse paved path along the La Quinta Cove edge), Bear Creek Oasis Trail (8.3 mi to a palm oasis), Boo Hoff Trail (Salton Sea and San Jacinto vistas), and La Quinta Cove to Lake Cahuilla (2.9 mi). Fritz Burns Park offers 8 pickleball courts and 6 tennis courts (free, dawn to 10 PM), plus a fenced off-leash dog park with separate small- and large-dog zones.
Who are the largest employers in La Quinta?
La Quinta's economy is anchored by hospitality, healthcare, and education. Major employers include La Quinta Resort & Club (the 1926 Hilton Waldorf Astoria-managed hotel and the city's largest hospitality employer), PGA West (KSL Resorts / Troon — 9 courses and the private + resort golf operations), Desert Sands Unified School District (western-La Quinta schools), Eisenhower Health Argyros Health Center (the 92,000 sq ft outpatient campus on Seeley Dr), Coachella Valley Unified School District (eastern parcels), the private country clubs (The Hideaway, Tradition Golf Club, The Madison Club, Rancho La Quinta), the City of La Quinta, and SilverRock Resort (Landmark Golf Management). Regionally, many La Quinta commuters work at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio, or the Desert Regional / Palm Springs International Airport cluster. City EDD reports average (not median) household income of $152,232 — above the Coachella Valley average of $128,536.
What is the sales tax and property tax in La Quinta?
La Quinta's sales tax rate is 8.75% (2026) per the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration — comprising the 6% California state base, 0.25% Riverside County, 1% La Quinta city, and 1.5% special district measures. Property tax effective rates run approximately 1.33% (the 1% California ad valorem base plus voter-approved district debt), which is the Riverside County median per Ownwell. Many newer tracts and master-planned communities in La Quinta carry additional Mello-Roos / Community Facilities District assessments on top of the base rate — verify with a title report for any specific address before purchase. Electric service is Imperial Irrigation District (NOT Southern California Edison) with historically lower rates; water is Coachella Valley Water District. California state income tax is progressive up to a 13.3% top marginal rate and applies to retirement-income distributions.
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