Thermal, California
Thermal is an unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California, United States, located approximately southeast of Palm Springs and about north of the Salton Sea. The community's elevation is below mean sea level. It is served by area codes 760 and 442 and is in ZIP Code 92274. The population was 2,676 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Thermal a census-designated place, which does not precisely correspond to the historical community.
History
On December 30, 1823, Brevet Captain Jose Romero led an expeditionary military expedition finding a route to Tucson from San Gabriel passes in the foothills west of Thermal and Martinez Indian Village.Thermal began as a railroad camp in 1910 for employees of the Southern Pacific Railroad, followed by Mecca in 1915 and Arabia in between, each with about 1,000 residents. Permanent dwellings were soon established on Avenue 56, former U.S. Route 99 and State Route 111 by the 1930s.
Agricultural development from canal irrigation made the area thrive in greenery by the 1950s, followed by the former Camp Young U.S. Naval Air station converted into Thermal Airport by 1965. In the early 1990s, a four-lane highway was constructed over an earlier transportation route. There is a proposal for a major commercial aviation Airport known as the Jackie Cochran-Desert Cities Regional Airport on the same site.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 9.5 square miles, all of its land.Climate
Thermal has a desert climate. 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. Its average annual high temperature is and its average annual low is. Summer highs above occur on average 28 days per year and exceed every other year. Summer nights often stay above. Winters are warm with daytime highs rarely below, although light freezes happen every year. The average annual precipitation is under, with over 348 days of sunshine per year. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the area was on July 28, 1995, and the coldest is on December 23, 1990.Demographics
Thermal first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.The 2020 United States census reported that Thermal had a population of 2,676. The population density was. The racial makeup of Thermal was 15.1% White, 0.6% African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 56.4% from other races, and 25.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 94.5% of the population.
The census reported that 99.6% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 664 households, out of which 56.0% included children under the age of 18, 54.8% were married-couple households, 7.2% were cohabiting couple households, 21.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 13.6% of households were one person, and 6.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.01. There were 554 families.
The age distribution was 32.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% aged 18 to 24, 27.1% aged 25 to 44, 21.1% aged 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 29.6years. For every 100 females, there were 108.6 males.
There were 719 housing units at an average density of, of which 664 were occupied. Of these, 48.8% were owner-occupied, and 51.2% were occupied by renters.
Education
There are several schools in the Coachella Valley Unified School District that are in and near the community. These include schools in Salton City, 20 miles south of Coachella, in Imperial County, California. In Thermal, they are Westside Elementary, Oasis Elementary, Mountain Vista Elementary, Saul Martinez Elementary, Mecca Elementary, Edward Park Elementary, Toro Canyon Middle, Bobby Duke Middle, John Kelley Elementary, Coachella Valley High (9–12), Cesar Chavez Elementary, Cahuilla Desert Academy, Desert Mirage High School, West Shores High School and La Familia Continuation High.College of the Desert, a community college based in Palm Desert has opened a new satellite campus, the East Valley Educational Center, on the corner of 62nd Avenue and Buchanan Street.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is located about 1.6 miles southwest of the community. The Union Pacific Railroad owns and operates the former Southern Pacific Railroad mainline through Thermal.The region is served by a two-lane expressway. California State Route 86 and California State Route 111 are modern transportation corridors that serve as a fruit shipping and international trucking route to connect with Interstate 10 in Indio.
Cemeteries
The Toro Cemetery is located on Monroe Street.The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians maintain a small cemetery on Martinez Road.
Sports
Thermal Club
The Thermal Club is a private motorsports facility situated on south of Thermal. This private country club for automotive enthusiasts plans to build a with 300 lots for member-owned garages and villas. the first was in use by early members and for media and promotional events with two more courses planned. In 2017, BMW completed construction of their BMW Performance Driving Center West, which is home to the BMW Performance Driving School.In March 2024 the club hosted the $1 Million Challenge, a special non-championship all-star race for the 2024 IndyCar Series. For the 2025 season, this race became a points-paying race.