Palmdale, CA

Palmdale, California

Introduction to Palmdale, California

Incorporated in 1962, Palmdale is a city of of nearly 130,000 people located in northeast Los Angeles County, in Southern California. Palmdale is a little over an hour north of the City of Los Angeles, over the San Gabriel Mountains. It is near the Angeles National Forest. Palmdale is part of the Palmdale-Lancaster urbanized area, which has a population in excess of 480,000 people.

Palmdale has received "League of California Cities Helen Putnam Awards of Excellence" in nine categories since 1997, including one "Award for Excellence" and one "Grand Prize". Nearby Los Angeles was ranked in the top thirty "Most Fun U.S. Cities" in a study conducted by Cranium, Inc. in 2004.

Similar to most of Southern California, Palmdale experiences dry sunny weather. Average daily temperatures during the summer are in the high nineties (degrees Fahrenheit), and winters are in the upper fifties to low sixties (degrees Fahrenheit).

Palmdale Arts, Culture, and Entertainment

Palmdale residents can take advantage of all of the cultural and entertainment offerings of nearby Los Angeles and the greater LA metropolitan area. Some attractions of note in and around Palmdale include:

• The Big Rock Creek Camp
• The Devil's Punchbowl a natural hiking preserve
• The Mulligan Funcenter
• The Hammack Activity Center and Roller Hockey Rink
• The Joshua Ranch Trail a natural preservation area
• The Littlerock Dam and Recreation Area
• The Los Angeles County Raceway
• The Mountain High ski resort in nearby Wrightwood
• The Palmdale Amphitheater
• The Palmdale Civic Center
• The Palmdale Fall Festival
• The Palmdale Heritage Airpark and Blackbird Airpark
• The Palmdale Playhouse and Art Gallery
• The Rancho Vista Golf Course Palmdale’s only PGA class golf course
• The Tippi Hedren’s Shambala Preserve

For sports minded individuals, this part of Southern California offers extensive offerings of professional sports, including:

• The Arena Football League's (AFL) Los Angeles Avengers.
• Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Major League Soccer's (MLS) Club Deportivo Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
• Minor League Baseball's (MiLB) Lancaster JetHawks and Inland Empire 66ers. The JetHawks are a Class A Advanced affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the 66ers are a Class A Advanced affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
• The National Basketball Association's (NBA) Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
• The National Hockey League's (NHL) Los Angeles Kings.
• The United Soccer League's (USL) Premier Development League Los Angeles Storm, and Southern California Seahorses.
• The WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.

The Los Angeles Area is one of the few parts of the United States where an individual can go to the beach in the morning, and skiing in the afternoon.

High Points

Palmdale strengths, compared to Peers (similar size places nationally) or State (other places in California):

Category	Trophy
Racial Diversity (vs. Peers)	Top 6%

Comparative Profile of Palmdale, CA

Comparing Palmdale to similar size places nationwide (Peers) and to other places in California (State):

Ratings range from (lowest) to (highest).

The People

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Racial Diversity
Children Under 5 Years Old
Male Share of the Population
Female Share of the Population
Well-Paid Single Men
Age of the Population
Senior Citizens

Families

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Average Household Size
Portion of People Married

Wealth

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Median Family Income
People in Middle Class or Better
People Above Poverty
College Educated Adults

Commute & Sprawl

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Public Transportation Use
Working at Home
Walking and Biking to Work
Short Commute Times

Housing

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Housing Recently Built
Affordability of Property Taxes
Affordability of Rents
Seasonal and Vacation Housing
Studio & One-Bedroom Rentals
People Living Alone

Crime

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Low Property Crime
Low Violent Crime

Palmdale Almanac

Palmdale Climate

Nearest Weather Stations

• Temp ranges are avg daily min and max for the month
• Precipitation is rainfall (and rainfall equiv of snowfall)

Palmdale Population (2000)

(From 2000 Census, as reported by individuals)

Political Contributions (2004)

Money donated by Palmdale residents to parties and candidates for the 2004 elections.

by Political Party

by Presidential Candidate

Neighborhood and Nearby Area Names

According to the US Postal Service, Palmdale, its neighborhoods, and/or surrounding areas are also referred to as:

Note that not all alternate names are acceptable for use in US Post Office addresses.

Nearby Cities and Towns

Palmdale Public Libraries

More Information for Librarians

Starbucks in Palmdale

Wal-Mart in Palmdale

Palmdale High Schools (2004)

HIGHLAND HIGH
39055 25TH ST. WEST
661-538-0304
Serves 3,630 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 26.9

PALMDALE HIGH
2137 E. AVENUE R
661-273-3181
A Title I school.
Serves 3,489 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 26.7

WILLIAM J. PETE KNIGHT HIGH
37423 70TH STREET EAST
661-533-9000
Serves 839 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 25.6

PHOENIX HIGH COMMUNITY DAY
421 WEST AVENUE M
661-729-7789
A Non-traditional School
Title I eligible, not participating.
Serves 71 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 9.9

Palmdale Colleges

Click school name for a detailed profile.

DeVry University

Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University

(List of All California Colleges)

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