Desert Hot Springs High

Located at 65850 Pierson Blvd., in Desert Hot Springs, California, Desert Hot Springs High is a roomy four-year high school that educates 1,687 students (grades 9 through 12), one of the schools within Palm Springs Unified. Compared to the state average of about 838 students per school, that is 101% above typical.

Palm Springs Unified runs 27 schools in total, collectively educating 20,007 students. Desert Hot Springs High is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Desert Hot Springs High lists that 81% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority; the rest breaks down as 9% White, 6% Black, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Riverside County as a whole is about 51% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Desert Hot Springs High has 82 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 20.5:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 18.2:1 average. Around 96% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is higher than Riverside County's rate of about 74%.

After controlling for student poverty, Desert Hot Springs High sits in the top 10% of California schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 22.3%; actual is 36.8%, +14.5 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Riverside County put the typical household earns roughly $93,074 per year, about 26% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Riverside County runs 543 public schools (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students), of which Desert Hot Springs High is one.

Nearest neighbor: Painted Hills Middle, around 1.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 7 other public schools cluster around Desert Hot Springs High. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Desert Hot Springs High ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 20.6%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 6%: 1,800 students in 2018 compared to 1,687 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 22.3:1 in 2018 to 20.5:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for Desert Hot Springs High typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.