Safest Neighborhoods in Palmdale, CA

Joshua Ranch sits on the ridgeline at the far western edge of Palmdale, and the view is the whole point. It's a gated enclave of newer homes where the Antelope Valley spreads out below the back patios and the foothills climb right behind them. ... See Full Page

Anaverde is the planned community on Palmdale's southwest side where the houses run right up into the desert hills, and those hills come laced with trails. Out here the land still reads as open country, with quail and lizards along the paths and the occasional deer at dusk. ... See Full Page

Ritter Ranch spreads across the western foothills of Palmdale, where the city's grid gives way to canyon land and the Sierra Pelona. Its specific plan went through environmental review around 1990 and was drawn big, with room for several thousand homes, trails, parks and an equestrian trailhead, and building has come in waves ever since. ... See Full Page

Rancho Vista holds the two biggest open spaces on Palmdale's west side, a public golf course and a 57-acre city park, with homes filling the streets in between. Summer concerts at the Palmdale Amphitheater and softball tournaments at the Best of the West complex both happen here, so the neighborhood sees the city's weekend plans up close. ... See Full Page

East Palmdale is the city's largest stretch of everyday life, running from the Palmdale Boulevard strip out past 47th Street East toward the open desert, and it holds the city's water park and some of its biggest neighborhood parks. ... See Full Page

West Palmdale is where the city's craft beer scene lives, with two breweries a short drive apart on the streets around the Antelope Valley Freeway. ... See Full Page

Quail Valley wraps around Pelona Vista Park on Palmdale's south side, and that 73-acre park is the center of gravity for the whole area. Its many soccer fields carry most of the weekend action, and the outdoor National Fitness Court gives anyone a free full-body circuit. ... See Full Page

North Palmdale sits right up against Air Force Plant 42, the sprawling complex where Lockheed's Skunk Works, Northrop Grumman and Boeing have built and flown aircraft like the B-2 and the SR-71. That history is on display a few blocks from home, which makes this corner different from anywhere else in the city. ... See Full Page

Downtown Palmdale is the city's original core along Palmdale Boulevard and Sierra Highway, the roads that first gave this desert town a spine in the 1920s. It's also where the train comes in, since the Palmdale Transportation Center brings Metrolink, Amtrak, Greyhound and Antelope Valley Transit together at the edge of downtown. ... See Full Page

Marie Kerr is Palmdale's big shopping district with homes tucked behind it, the stretch around the Antelope Valley Mall and the 10th Street West corridor where much of the valley comes to run errands. Living here means the grocery store, the movie theater and a long list of restaurants are closer than anywhere else in the city. ... See Full Page