Population
Boulder
106,274
Palm Desert
51,551
Median Income
Boulder
$85,364
Palm Desert
$79,508
Home Value
Boulder
$982,600
Palm Desert
$491,600
Rent
Boulder
$1,924
Palm Desert
$1,717
Crime Rate
Boulder
3.22
Palm Desert
3.24
Cost of Living
Boulder
191.3
Palm Desert
148.4
Avg Temp
Boulder
N/A
Palm Desert
N/A
Unemployment
Boulder
6.1%
Palm Desert
6.1%
How Similar Are Boulder & Palm Desert?
Palm Desert is Boulder's #21 most similar city
4 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Boulder
106,274
Palm Desert
51,551
Boulder (106,274) is about 2.1x larger than Palm Desert (51,551).
Violent Crime
Boulder
3.22
Palm Desert
3.24
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 0% difference.
Property Crime
Boulder
27.33
Palm Desert
28.27
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 3% difference.
Political Leaning
Boulder
20.8%
Palm Desert
49.3%
Both cities lean Democratic, but Palm Desert has a stronger Democratic lean (58% difference).
Unemployment
Boulder
6.1%
Palm Desert
6.1%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 1% difference.
Median Income
Boulder
$85,364
Palm Desert
$79,508
Both cities have similar median income — just a 7% difference.
Home Values
Boulder
$982,600
Palm Desert
$491,600
Boulder has a 50% higher home values than Palm Desert.
Education
Boulder
44.0%
Palm Desert
32.1%
Boulder has a 27% higher education than Palm Desert.
Demographics
Boulder
81.8%
Palm Desert
68.3%
Boulder has a 16% higher demographics than Palm Desert.
Cost of Living
Boulder
191.3
Palm Desert
148.4
Boulder has a 22% higher cost of living than Palm Desert.
4 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Boulder and Palm Desert share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Boulder
0
Palm Desert
Boulder leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Palm Desert leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDPalm Desert scores 213.3 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 310.2 in Boulder. Palm Desert scores 100.8 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 130.5 in Boulder. Palm Desert has a living wage (family of 4) of $154,324 vs $198,985 in Boulder (29% lower).
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Palm Desert leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBoulder has a median home value of $982,600 vs $491,600 in Palm Desert (100% higher). Boulder has a vacancy rate of 6.3% compared to 34.0% in Palm Desert. Palm Desert has a single-family homes of 67.9% compared to 47.0% in Boulder.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Boulder leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBoulder: 61,216 vs Palm Desert: 22,326 for labor force. Boulder has a work from home of 31.6% compared to 14.1% in Palm Desert. Palm Desert has a poverty rate of 11.3% compared to 21.8% in Boulder.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Boulder leads
Source: FBI UCRBoulder has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.45 compared to 0.79 in Palm Desert. Boulder has a violent crime clearance of 58.7% compared to 45.6% in Palm Desert. Boulder has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 3.83 compared to 4.46 in Palm Desert.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Boulder leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauBoulder has a bachelor's degree or higher of 44.0% compared to 32.1% in Palm Desert. Boulder has a high school diploma or higher of 47.6% compared to 46.3% in Palm Desert.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBoulder has a population of 106,274, about 2.1x the size of Palm Desert (51,551). Boulder skews younger with a median age of 28.8 vs 56.7.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Boulder
Palm Desert
Healthcare
Source: CMS Hospital CompareBoulder: 4.3 vs Palm Desert: 3.5 for avg cms rating (out of 5). Palm Desert: 5 vs Boulder: 4 for with emergency services.
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Boulder leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBoulder has a bicycle of 7.6% compared to 0.2% in Palm Desert. Boulder has a public transit of 5.9% compared to 0.7% in Palm Desert. Boulder has a work from home of 31.6% compared to 14.1% in Palm Desert.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Boulder, CO
Compare Boulder against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.