Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley, approximately 11 miles east of Palm Springs. The population was 41,155 at the 2000 census.

Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley, approximately 11 miles east of Palm Springs. The population was 41,155 at the 2000 census. Other cites in the Coachella Valley are Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Springs, and Rancho Mirage. The city was one of the state's fastest growing in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning with 11,801 residents in 1980, doubling to 23,650 in 1990, 35,000 in 1995, and nearly double its 1990 population by 2000.

A major center of growth in the Palm Springs area, Palm Desert is a popular retreat for "snowbirds" from colder climates , who swell its population by an estimated 31,000 each winter. In the past couple of years Palm Desert has seen more residents become "full-timers" (mainly from California, who have come for affordable but high-valued home prices). Palm Desert may have 75,000 to 85,000 inhabitants on January 1 as the "season" peaks, which decreases by half as the hot desert summer comes by.

The City of Palm Desert is also a presenting sponsor for the Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert. Now in its second year, this festival attracts some of the most renowned chefs and sommeliers to the town of Palm Desert.

Palm Desert, California. Venue: cvrpd.org | cityofpalmdesert.org. 02/07/2008 Peter Noone/Herman’s Hermits.