Historical population
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|
| 2010 | 6,957 | | — |
|---|
| 2020 | 6,686 | | −3.9% |
|---|
|
Desert Palms first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.[20]
As of the 2020 census, Desert Palms had a population of 6,686. The population density was 2,503.2 inhabitants per square mile (966.5/km2). The median age was 76.6 years. The age distribution was 0.4% under the age of 18, 0.3% aged 18 to 24, 0.9% aged 25 to 44, 11.4% aged 45 to 64, and 87.0% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 74.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 74.2 males age 18 and over.[22][23]
The census reported that 100.0% of the population lived in households, 3 people (0.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.[22][23]
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.[24]
There were 4,090 households, out of which 1.4% included children under the age of 18, 50.0% were married-couple households, 4.1% were cohabiting couple households, 34.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 11.7% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 39.8% of households were one person, and 35.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.63. There were 2,241 families (54.8% of all households).[22][23][24][25]
There were 5,193 housing units at an average density of 1,944.2 units per square mile (750.7 units/km2), of which 4,090 (78.8%) were occupied. Of these, 88.6% were owner-occupied, and 11.4% were occupied by renters. 21.2% of housing units were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%, and the rental vacancy rate was 17.0%.[22][23][26]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 14.2% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 92.6% spoke only English at home, 4.3% spoke Spanish, 2.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 0.3% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 95.5% were high school graduates and 48.9% had a bachelor's degree.[27]
The median household income was $81,954, and the per capita income was $57,637. About 9.4% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line.[28]
At the 2010 census Desert Palms had a population of 6,957. The population density was 2,604.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,005.6/km2). The racial makeup of Desert Palms was 6,728 (96.7%) White, 59 (0.8%) African American, 16 (0.2%) Native American, 95 (1.4%) Asian, 5 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 15 (0.2%) from other races, and 39 (0.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 177 people (2.5%).[29]
The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.
There were 4,104 households, 11 (0.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,424 (59.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 71 (1.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 23 (0.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 120 (2.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 46 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,381 households (33.7%) were one person and 1,208 (29.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 1.70. There were 2,518 families (61.4% of households); the average family size was 2.04.
The age distribution was 17 people (0.2%) under the age of 18, 8 people (0.1%) aged 18 to 24, 67 people (1.0%) aged 25 to 44, 1,081 people (15.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,784 people (83.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 74.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.
There were 5,055 housing units at an average density of 1,892.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 3,747 (91.3%) were owner-occupied and 357 (8.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 17.7%. 6,420 people (92.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 537 people (7.7%) lived in rental housing units.
