Palmdale Real Estate: Homes, Prices & What to Know

Palmdale was the Antelope Valley’s first city, incorporated on August 24, 1962, and the median home there sold for $511,257 over the three months ending September 2026.

We have a second office in Palmdale, on Rancho Vista Boulevard. This guide to Palmdale real estate covers the city’s location and history, housing, school districts, parks, the commute and current prices, with sources at the bottom.

Palmdale sits at the south edge of the Antelope Valley, in the high desert just north of the San Gabriel Mountains, where State Route 14 comes up from Santa Clarita. The city covers 106 square miles of land. The Census Bureau counted 169,450 residents in 2020 and estimates 161,845 for 2025.

The city’s history explains a lot about its neighborhoods. Settlers of Swiss and German descent arrived in 1886 and named their town Palmenthal, mistaking Joshua trees for palms. In 1951 the Air Force bought 5,800 acres for what became Air Force Plant 42 in 1953, and aerospace jobs drove decades of growth. The Antelope Valley Freeway (SR-14) was finished in 1974.

Most buyers in Palmdale are looking at single-family homes, and two out of three homes are owner-occupied. Redfin’s medians for the three months ending September 2026, by type:

Plan for the desert climate. Redfin, citing First Street data, rates 58% of Palmdale properties at major heat risk and 94% at some wildfire risk over the next 30 years. Look closely at the HVAC, insulation, windows and roof, and get an insurance quote early.

The city lists two elementary districts, Palmdale School District and Westside Union School District, plus the Antelope Valley Union High School District for high school. Which district serves a home depends on the address, so check the district boundary maps linked from the city’s schools page.

Charter options listed by the city include Palmdale Aerospace Academy, a STEM school. For college, the city lists Antelope Valley College, CSU Bakersfield and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

SR-14 runs south from Palmdale through Santa Clarita to I-5 at the Newhall Pass. The Census Bureau’s average commute for Palmdale workers is 39.9 minutes (ACS 2020–2024), longer than in Santa Clarita (34.1) or Lancaster (30.8).

Metrolink’s Antelope Valley Line stops at the Palmdale Transportation Center, 39000 Clock Tower Plaza Drive, with trains south through Santa Clarita, Sylmar/San Fernando and Burbank to LA Union Station. Check Metrolink for current schedules.

Redfin’s numbers for the three months ending September 2026: a median sale price of $511,257, down 1.7% from a year earlier, while the median price per square foot rose 1.8% to $278. Homes took a median of 50 days to sell, up from 46 last year, and 314 homes sold in September compared with 311 a year earlier.

Redfin rates the market 60 out of 100 (somewhat competitive). The average home sold around list price and went pending in about 50 days; the most popular homes sold for about 2% above list and went pending in about 23 days. The Census Bureau’s median value of owner-occupied homes is $471,000 (ACS 2020–2024).