La Quinta, California
La Quinta is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells and Indio, it is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley. The population was 37,558 at the 2020 census, up from 37,467 at the 2010 census.
Golf courses include La Quinta Resort and Club, a resort dating to 1926, where director Frank Capra wrote the screenplay for Lost Horizon, and SilverRock Golf Resort, a host golf courses for the annual Bob Hope Chrysler Classic PGA golf tournament.
History
The Cahuilla Indians were the first inhabitants of La Quinta.In 1926, Walter Morgan established the La Quinta Resort at the northern section of Marshall Cove as a type of secluded hideaway for Hollywood's celebrities and socialites. The Resort was the site for the Coachella Valley's first golf course, coinciding with the construction and pavement of State Route 111 in the 1930s. Further expansion of Washington Street in the 1950s and 1960s connected La Quinta with US Highways 60 and 99.
As nearby desert cities grew to capacity, La Quinta's growth rose dramatically by the mid-1980s, which led to its incorporation as a city in Riverside County in 1982. In the 1980 census, La Quinta had 4,200 residents, then increased to 11,215 by 1990 in the city's early phases of residential area growth. It was predominantly a part-time community until around that time.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The city's elevation is 56 feet above sea level.La Quinta is located on the floor of the Coachella Valley, and is surrounded on three sides by the Santa Rosa Mountains. As the floor of the valley sank, it was covered by the Pacific Ocean. Silt deposits from the flow of the Colorado River into the Gulf of California caused the basin to be cut off from the ocean. Five hundred years ago, the Colorado River changed its course and the eastern Coachella Valley flooded, leading to the creation of Lake Cahuilla, which was fresh water.
Climate
The climate of the Coachella Valley is influenced by the surrounding geography. High mountain ranges on three sides contribute to its unique and year-round warm climate, with some of the warmest winters west of the Rocky Mountains. La Quinta has a warm winter/hot summer climate: Its average annual high temperature is and average annual low is but summer highs above are common and sometimes exceed, while summer night lows often stay above. Winters are warm with daytime highs often between. Under of annual precipitation are average, with over 348 days of sunshine per year. The hottest temperature ever recorded there was on July 6, 1905. The mean annual temperature is.Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 1980 | Pop 1990 | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 2,705 | 7,817 | 14,893 | 23,648 | 21,040 | 81.28% | 69.70% | 62.86% | 63.12% | 56.02% |
| Black or African American alone | 51 | 188 | 296 | 607 | 636 | 1.53% | 1.68% | 1.25% | 1.62% | 1.69% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 35 | 94 | 95 | 98 | 124 | 1.05% | 0.84% | 0.40% | 0.26% | 0.33% |
| Asian alone | 21 | 147 | 401 | 1,093 | 1,464 | 0.63% | 1.31% | 1.69% | 2.92% | 3.90% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone | 21 | 147 | 19 | 25 | 45 | 0.63% | 1.31% | 0.08% | 0.07% | 0.12% |
| Other race alone | - | 25 | 11 | 62 | 177 | - | 0.22% | 0.05% | 0.17% | 0.47% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | x | x | 395 | 595 | 1,220 | x | x | 1.67% | 1.59% | 3.25% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 516 | 2,944 | 7,584 | 11,339 | 12,852 | 15.50% | 26.25% | 32.01% | 30.26% | 34.22% |
| Total | 3,328 | 11,215 | 23,694 | 37,467 | 37,558 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that La Quinta had a population of 37,558. The population density was. The racial makeup of La Quinta was 62.7% White, 1.9% African American, 0.9% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 16.7% from other races, and 13.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.2% of the population.The census reported that 99.8% of the population lived in households, 0.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.1% were institutionalized.
There were 15,706 households, out of which 22.4% included children under the age of 18, 53.4% were married-couple households, 6.2% were cohabiting couple households, 26.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.8% of households were one person, and 15.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39. There were 10,705 families.
The age distribution was 17.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% aged 18 to 24, 18.6% aged 25 to 44, 27.3% aged 45 to 64, and 30.2% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 51.8years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males.
There were 23,464 housing units at an average density of, of which 15,706 were occupied. Of these, 73.4% were owner-occupied, and 26.6% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $97,628, and the per capita income was $62,742. About 5.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that La Quinta had a population of 37,467. The population density was. The racial makeup of La Quinta was 29,489 White, 713 African American, 230 Native American, 1,176 Asian, 41 Pacific Islander, 4,595 from other races, and 1,223 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,339 persons.The Census reported that 37,410 people lived in households, 50 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 7 were institutionalized.
There were 14,820 households, out of which 4,329 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,672 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,442 had a female householder with no husband present, 595 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 787 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 182 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,164 households were made up of individuals, and 1,522 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 10,709 families ; the average family size was 2.93.
The population was spread out, with 8,208 people under the age of 18, 2,509 people aged 18 to 24, 7,696 people aged 25 to 44, 11,238 people aged 45 to 64, and 7,816 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
There were 23,489 housing units at an average density of, of which 11,152 were owner-occupied, and 3,668 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 6.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 16.5%. 27,386 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,024 people lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States census, La Quinta had a median household income of $72,099, with 8.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
Other demographic data
La Quinta has developed a culturally diverse community, as large ancestry groups include Mexicans and Mexican Americans who frequently came to the Palm Springs area/Coachella Valley to find available employment in the 1990s and 2000s. Others, in alphabetical order, include: Armenians, Bosnians, British, French, Germans, Italians, Poles and Jews of multiple nationalities.Seasonal population known as "snowbirds" from coastal Southern California, Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and Canada increase the local population by 20-50 percent in the cooler months from November to April. A large percentage of seasonal residents are senior citizens. There are also several RV or mobile home parks in La Quinta with many seasonal residents, common throughout the eastern portion of the Coachella Valley.
Like the rest of the "East Valley" including nearby communities of Indio, Coachella, and unincorporated communities of Bermuda Dunes and Vista Santa Rosa, there is a growing Latino as well an enlarged African American and Asian American population belonging to the middle and upper-middle class.
According to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, estimates placed Latinos at half of the local population of the whole Coachella Valley region, Blacks at near or over 10% and Asians at 10–15% of the city population as of the year 2010. Most of the minorities are recently moved-in families sought starter homes and/or relocated from urban centers of Southern California during the 1990s and 2000s, and from families of two or more races.