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Twentynine Palms, California

Twentynine Palms is a small city of about 26,000 people in San Bernardino County, California. It has lost about 8% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.3 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, Riverside, is about 77 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
25,939
down 7.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$268,200
San Bernardino County prices up 9.4% since 2022
Household income
$62,554
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Riverside area
106.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Joshua Tree, CA
To Riverside
77 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 4.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood108 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byHi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRiverside is about 77 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 Twentynine Palms 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.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Twentynine Palms has lost about 8% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$268,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.4%San Bernardino County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,352 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,554U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
38%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,824 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
5%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 Twentynine Palms 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
25,9392020: 28,075
Median age
24.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
22%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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
Schools, health care and social services (21%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (21%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hi-Desert Medical Center, Joshua Tree, CA, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

7 public schools in Twentynine Palms, run by Morongo 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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
42°F
July average high
104°F
Days 90°F or hotter
154 a year
Nights at or below freezing
17 a year
Rain and melted snow
4.4 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
2,120 feet

Weather stations: Twentynine Palms (2 miles away) and Joshua Tree (12 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Hi-Desert Medical Center, Indio, Riverside.

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

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Cow Camp, Desert Queen Mine, the Keys Desert Queen Ranch and Ryan House and Lost Horse Well.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Joshua Tree National Park2 miles
  • Mojave National Preserve43 miles

Read about Twentynine Palms's history on Wikipedia.

Know Twentynine Palms?

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

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.