IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Needles, CA
Needles is a small town of 4,872 people in San Bernardino County, California. It's about 28 miles from Lake Havasu City, AZ and 104 miles from Las Vegas, NV, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 111°F and winter highs 66°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $157k and rent runs about $745 a month.
4,872people
$157kTypical home
$745/moRent
111° / 66°Summer / winter
0"Snow
330Sunny days
23Rain/snow days
Is Needles right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 4,872
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 159 people per sq mi
- 104 mi to Las Vegas, NV
- 28 mi to Lake Havasu City, AZ
- 13 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $157k (≈$991/mo)
- Median rent $745/mo
- Median household income $38k
- Property tax about 0.8% of value
- 12.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 111°F
- Winter highs around 66°F
- Dry summers (dew point 42°F)
- 330 sunny days a year (217 totally clear)
- 35 cloudy days a year
- 16 of 90 winter days are gray
- 23 days a year with rain or snow
- Basically no snow
- Snow days are rare
- 123 days a year over 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- High violent crime (909 per 100k)
- About average property crime (1,634 per 100k)
People
- Median age 50
- 23% of households have kids
- 22% are 65 or older
- 11% have a college degree
- Very diverse community
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 20 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 23 mi to HII airport
- 93 mi to LAS (major hub)
- 42 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 60% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1979
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 807 ft
- 194 mi to the ocean
- 24 mi to a big lake
- 25 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 119 mi to the nearest ski area
- 21 mi to the nearest campground
- 16 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 55 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 12 bars within 25 mi
- 16 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 3 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 5 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 3 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 18% of California districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 8 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 93 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 4 mi to the nearest vet
- 2 mi to the nearest dog park
- 3 congregations per 10k people
- 29 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- San Bernardino County: Purple — split almost evenly
- California: D+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- High drought risk
- Very low winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk