Joshua Tree, CA


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Joshua Tree, CA

About Joshua Tree, CA

Living in Joshua Tree, CA is an experience like no other. The desert landscape provides an idyllic setting of open skies, rocky terrain, and endless sunsets that create a feeling of serenity and beauty. With plenty of outdoor activities such as rock climbing, camping, hiking, biking, and even stargazing available all year round, Joshua Tree is truly a great place to explore the outdoors. The town itself is also full of eclectic shops and restaurants that add to the unique charm of the area. Despite being located in the middle of the desert, Joshua Tree enjoys relatively mild weather year-round making it a great place for those who want to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. Suburban complex - Southern California, 50 to 80 miles east of Los Angeles and Orange County.

Zip Codes: 92252
Cost of Living:
Time zone: Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Elevation: 850 ft above sea level

Riverside County and San Bernardino County to the north form this metro area. Like many such metro areas in the Southwest, it extends far into uninhabited desert areas, in this case east through the Mojave Desert to the Nevada/Arizona border. Larger than nine U.S. states, it is often referred to as the Inland Empire. Cities in the western portion, including Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario, and a patchwork of other communities, are developed suburbs of the Los Angeles area with a rapidly growing and increasingly self-sufficient economy.

Suburbs along the I-10 corridor, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Colton tend to be more commercial, while others off the main roads and against the area’s many mountain ranges, like Loma Linda, Chino Hills and many parts of Riverside are more residential. Ontario is also the site of one of the LA area’s best airports with considerable discount air service. Old mansions, public buildings, and packing sheds serve as evidence of the orange-growing industry that once dominated the area, but these have been long since surrounded by housing developments, industrial parks, and commercial/retail centers. Farther east through a mountain gap lie the resort communities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert.

Today the main economic activities include a host of diversified light manufacturing, international trade and offices of overseas companies. Although rising rapidly, costs of living and housing remain relatively affordable for comparable areas in Los Angeles and Southern California. The area is now facing many of the same issues confronting Los Angeles as a whole- overcrowding, sprawl, poor air quality, and long freeway commutes. Bottom line: this area offers many Southern California advantages while bringing the negatives in somewhat smaller doses.

The area is semiarid to arid with dry valleys surrounded by desert mountain ranges. Most of the valley floor to the west is developed. Moving east, coastal grasses and brush give way to desert foliage, including brush, creosote bush, and cactus. The climate varies by altitude and distance from the Pacific Ocean. Summers are warm in the western portion of the counties to extremely hot and dry eastward. Evenings, consistent with the desert climate and with some marine cooling, are comfortable. Winters are mild and mostly dry, but most annual precipitation, including rainy spells, occurs during this season. There are a few days each winter with below-freezing temperatures, but many winters are frost-free. Snow is rare but can occur.

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Joshua Tree Cost of Living

Year-round climate, recreation, and diverse economy make Joshua Tree a great place to live.

$424,600
+20.4% higher than avg
$47,944
-44.0% lower than avg
6.3 / 7.9
Comfort Index
summer/winter
Joshua Tree Crime
41.8 / 100
Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low) to 100 (high). US average: 35.4
Minimum annual income
To live comfortably in Joshua Tree, California
$81,360
for a family
$42,800
for a single person
Pros & Cons of Joshua Tree
   Year-round climate
Growth and sprawl
   Recreation
Traffic and crowding
   Diverse economy
Air quality
Reviews for Joshua Tree
    See all (3)

1973 - 1987 Like any small town certain families have more pull. This was the case for what seem to even narrow more down to schools like Salazar & Dubose. It seemed  More
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went to crossroads, a local restaurant in town, and ran across some folks who are relocating to joshua tree from south carolina. they were in town to go to the art  More
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Just 45 minutes from Palm Springs, Joshua Tree is 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the low desert, and is the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park. The city itself it tiny,  More
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