Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / California

Needles, California

Needles is a small town of about 4,800 people in San Bernardino County, California. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Las Vegas, is about 104 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,821
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$157,200
San Bernardino County prices up 9.4% since 2022
Household income
$38,243
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Riverside area
106.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Colorado River Medical Center
To Las Vegas
104 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.4% above the U.S. average in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood53 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 11 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 16.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byColorado River Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLas Vegas is about 104 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Needles meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$157,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.4%San Bernardino County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$745 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$38,243U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
52%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,261 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
14%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
106.4U.S. average = 100 (the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area, not Needles alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
4,8212020: 4,930
Median age
49.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (17%); schools, health care and social services (14%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (13%)
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
30%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Colorado River Medical Center, Needles, CA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Valley View Medical Center, Fort Mohave, AZ, about 13 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Needles, run by Needles Unified.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
46°F
July average high
110°F
Days 90°F or hotter
177 a year
Nights at or below freezing
2 a year
Rain and melted snow
4.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
774 feet

Weather station: Needles Ap (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lake Havasu City, Las Vegas.

San Bernardino County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mojave National Preserve22 miles
  • Lake Mead National Recreation Area25 miles
  • Castle Mountains National Monument39 miles

Read about Needles's history on Wikipedia.

Know Needles?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Arizona Village, AZ (unincorporated)713 people, 4 miles
  • Willow Valley, AZ (unincorporated)981 people, 8 miles
  • Golden Shores, AZ (unincorporated)1,555 people, 9 miles
  • Mesquite Creek, AZ (unincorporated)548 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.