Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in La Quinta, CA

In the late-19th century and early-20th century (1880–1920), agriculture developed in present-day La Quinta and “East Valley” by pre-modern (mountain water runoff or open water springs) and modern irrigation techniques. At the time, California and federal land surveyors declared the sand dunes uninhabitable, only the hard rock ground of the “Marshall Cove” held potential farming and residential development.
In 1926, Walter Morgan established the La Quinta Resort at the northern section of Marshall Cove as a type of secluded hideaway for nearby 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 (became Interstate 10 in the 1970s).
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. Once predominantly a part-time community until the early-1990s, more full-time residents live in La Quinta to make it possibly more populous than Palm Springs by 2006, according to some demographers.

La Quinta is located at 33°40′31″N 116°17′51″W (33.675373, −116.297391).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.6 square miles (92 km2), of which, 35.1 square miles (91 km2) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2) of it (1.22%) is water. The city’s elevation is 56 feet (20 m) above sea level.
The landscape was formerly a lake shore of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla which evaporated about 5,000 years ago.

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 the some of warmest winters west of the Rocky Mountains. La Quinta has a warm winter/hot summer climate: Its average annual high temperature is 89.5 °F (31.9 °C) and average annual low is 62.1 °F (16.7 °C) but summer highs above 108 °F (42 °C) are common and sometimes exceed 120 °F (49 °C), while summer night lows often stay above 82 °F (28 °C). Winters are warm with daytime highs often between 68–86 °F (20–30 °C). Under 4 inches (100 mm) of annual precipitation are average, with over 348 days of sunshine per year. The hottest temperature ever recorded there was 125 °F (52 °C) on July 6, 1905.[12] The mean annual temperature is 75.8 °F (24.3 °C).

The 2010 United States Census reported that La Quinta had a population of 37,467. The population density was 1,053.9 people per square mile (406.9/km²). The racial makeup of La Quinta was 29,489 (78.7%) White (63.1% Non-Hispanic White), 713 (1.9%) African American, 230 (0.6%) Native American, 1,176 (3.1%) Asian, 41 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 4,595 (12.3%) from other races, and 1,223 (3.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,339 persons (30.3%).

The Census reported that 37,410 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 50 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 7 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 14,820 households, out of which 4,329 (29.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,672 (58.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,442 (9.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 595 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 787 (5.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 182 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,164 households (21.3%) were made up of individuals and 1,522 (10.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 10,709 families (72.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.93.

The population was spread out with 8,208 people (21.9%) under the age of 18, 2,509 people (6.7%) aged 18 to 24, 7,696 people (20.5%) aged 25 to 44, 11,238 people (30.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,816 people (20.9%) 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 660.7 per square mile (255.1/km²), of which 11,152 (75.2%) were owner-occupied, and 3,668 (24.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 6.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 16.5%. 27,386 people (73.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,024 people (26.8%) 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.

Tourism
The city enjoys a healthy tourism industry, especially during the cooler winter months in which “snowbird” tourists arrive. The most prominent industry is golfing with more than twenty golf courses, including the world-famous PGA West, which has hosted prestigious tournaments such as The Skins Game, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, The Grand Slam of Golf, The Legends of Golf, as well as the PGA Tour Qualifying School. La Quinta has increased the number of retail shopping centers, both discount (Target and Home Depot), and high-end retailers (Kohl’s and Stein Mart) brought millions of revenue dollars to the city, and the city council hopes for La Quinta to share a reputation for shoppers like Palm Desert (El Paseo) and Palm Springs (the Village and Palm Canyon) by the end of the decade.

Service industries
In addition to standard service industries, La Quinta is the site of the first Wal-Mart Supercenter in California. Moreover, many residents work for the tourist industries in hotels, resorts, golf courses, and nearby Vegas-style casinos, such as: Spa Resort Casino, Agua Caliente Casino, Spotlight 29, Fantasy Springs and Augustine Casino. There are many service industry jobs related to the construction, hotel, landscaping, and retail industries. La Quinta has sought to bring in high-paying professional businesses to the city and has benefited from neighboring cities’ growth (Indio, Palm Desert and Palm Springs). The city’s downtown commercial district is officially known as “The Village.” The Village District includes private commercial developments such as “Old Town” and “Plaza Calle Tampico,” and contains many professional offices, the City museum, small tourist-oriented shops and boutiques, and several restaurants.