Hot desert
Needles, California
San Bernardino County, California · Population 4.9k · 495 ft elevation
Living in Needles
Needles has a hot desert climate: scorching summers (July highs around 112°F) and very mild winters (January lows around 47°F).
Precipitation is very dry at about 4″ a year, and it essentially never sees snow.
Skies are exceptionally sunny (86% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is poor: a median AQI of 77, with about 110 unhealthy-air days in the latest year.
Needles is an outdoor hub: about 83% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 2,600 ft around town.
Needles at a glance
- Population
- 4.9k
- Elevation
- 495 ft
- Average daily high
- 89°F100th percentile
- Average daily low
- 66°F97th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 4″0th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 0″0th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,849 hrs99th percentile
- Median AQI
- 7799th percentile
- Median home value
- $134k15th percentile
- Median rent
- $742/mo8th percentile
- Median household income
- $40k5th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.94%48th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 13.3%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 8.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 12.8%
- Homes with broadband
- 90%43th percentile
- Walkability index
- 7.532th percentile
- Average commute
- 19 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 17%7th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 22%
- Violent crime rate
- 1,100 per 100k98th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 1,703 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 10093th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 9796th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 74%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 83%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 2,625 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68°F | 47°F | 0.7″ | — | 249 hrs |
| Feb | 72°F | 50°F | 0.8″ | — | 241 hrs |
| Mar | 80°F | 55°F | 0.5″ | — | 309 hrs |
| Apr | 88°F | 62°F | 0.2″ | — | 342 hrs |
| May | 98°F | 71°F | 0.1″ | — | 395 hrs |
| Jun | 108°F | 81°F | 0.0″ | — | 412 hrs |
| Jul | 112°F | 88°F | 0.3″ | — | 384 hrs |
| Aug | 111°F | 87°F | 0.4″ | — | 372 hrs |
| Sep | 104°F | 79°F | 0.3″ | — | 341 hrs |
| Oct | 91°F | 66°F | 0.2″ | — | 308 hrs |
| Nov | 76°F | 54°F | 0.3″ | — | 264 hrs |
| Dec | 66°F | 46°F | 0.4″ | — | 233 hrs |
Near Needles
- Blythe, CA · 18k
- Twentynine Palms, CA · 29k
- Joshua Tree, CA · 6.8k
- Homestead Valley, CA · 2.8k
- Yucca Valley, CA · 22k
- North Shore, CA · 3.4k
- Coachella, CA · 43k
- Indio, CA · 91k
Largest places in California
- Los Angeles, CA · 3.9M
- San Diego, CA · 1.4M
- San Jose, CA · 990k
- San Francisco, CA · 836k
- Fresno, CA · 544k
- Sacramento, CA · 525k
- Long Beach, CA · 458k
- Oakland, CA · 438k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology