Rental prices continued to rise across the Coachella Valley last month, with average rates in August higher in most cities than a year earlier, according to newly released figures.
The data from the Zillow Observed Rent Index for August 2026 shows seven valley cities saw annual increases in their average rents for apartments and single-family homes, with the largest jumps reported in Rancho Mirage (7%), Indio (6.3%) and La Quinta (6.1%).
The Zillow data uses a weighted formula to reflect the broader rental market, rather than just what’s currently listed for rent on its website, while also incorporating a three-month moving average to reflect trends over time. The data includes all types of rental leases, from seasonal ones to standard 12-month
agreements.
Zillow sometimes revises its figures for prior months as more housing data becomes available. The data does not yet include a city-level breakdown for Coachella, likely due to low rental inventories available online, while rental data for Indian Wells added earlier this year was recently removed.
Here are the average rental prices for the seven valley cities for which city-level, snapshot data is available. The Desert Sun will report on these prices monthly.
Rental prices in Cathedral City
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $2,300.61
- Year-over-year change: 2.9% increase
- Month-to-month change: 0.7% increase
Rental prices in Desert Hot Springs
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $1,984.89
- Year-over-year change: 1.5% increase
- Month-to-month change: 0.6% increase
Rental prices in Indio
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $2,349.01
- Year-over-year change: 6.3% increase
- Month-to-month change: 0.8% increase
Rental prices in La Quinta
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $3,567.54
- Year-over-year change: 6.1% increase
- Month-to-month change: 2.5% increase
Rental prices in Palm Desert
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $2,676.60
- Year-over-year change: 4.1% increase
- Month-to-month change: 0.9% increase
Rental prices in Palm Springs
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $2,109.84
- Year-over-year change: 2% increase
- Month-to-month change: 0.7% increase
Rental prices in Rancho Mirage
- Average rental prices in August 2026: $4,222.50
- Year-over-year change: 7% increase
- Month-to-month change: 3.2% increase
How much are average rents in Riverside County, nationwide?
In Riverside County, including the valley, the average rental price for August 2026 was $2,601.95 — up roughly 2.6% from a year ago, according to the ZORI data. That amount also marked a slight 0.2% increase from July.
The Zillow data shows three of the five least affordable metro areas for rentals are in Southern California, including Los Angeles (where the median household is estimated to spend 34% on a rental), Riverside (31.2%) and San Diego (30.5%). They trailed only New York (40.6%) and Miami (36.9%) in that statistic.
At a national level, typical rents were up 2.5% compared to a year ago, standing at $1,497.97. Nationwide, rents have increased by 38.5% since the start of the pandemic, according to an analysis of the latest data by Mischa Fisher, chief economist for Zillow Group.
In his analysis, Fisher noted that a household needs roughly $78,000 in annual income to afford the typical U.S. rental, compared to more than $120,500 to afford a typical mortgage payment with 10% down, a gap of more than $42,000.
“With mortgage costs continuing to outpace rent growth, that divide is widening,” Fisher wrote.
Tom Coulter covers local government and politics for The Desert Sun. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rents in Palm Springs area, nationwide continue to rise. How much?
