When to paint a house exterior in Palm Desert, CA
When to paint in Palm Desert, CA
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is February to March, with 3 good months a year. The best month is November, at about 17 painting days. Book a painter by December.
If you want the house done in February to March, call for quotes in December or earlier; a job pushed past March is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 7Jan
- 13Feb
- 15Mar
- 12Apr
- 8May
- 1Jun
- under 1Jul
- under 1Aug
- 1Sep
- 9Oct
- 17Nov
- 7Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7 | 5 | 27 | 46° / 72°F |
| February | 13 | 11 | 25 | 49° / 76°F |
| March | 15 | 13 | 22 | 53° / 82°F |
| April | 12 | 11 | 13 | 59° / 91°F |
| May | 8 | 5 | 8 | 64° / 96°F |
| June | 1 | 1 | 1 | 74° / 107°F |
| July | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 81° / 112°F |
| August | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 81° / 111°F |
| September | 1 | under 1 | 1 | 74° / 104°F |
| October | 9 | 9 | 9 | 64° / 94°F |
| November | 17 | 16 | 25 | 53° / 81°F |
| December | 7 | 7 | 28 | 47° / 73°F |
Deck stain does best in November. Low-temperature paint adds about 70 days a year here.
Towns near Palm Desert compared
3 get fewer, down to 41 a year. A gap like that between towns is usually elevation, a coast or a lake, which is why a painter from a few towns over can be on a different schedule. Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, Palm Springs are read from the same station as Palm Desert, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Palm Desert | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Mirage, CA | 4 mi northwest | 88 | February to March | same station |
| Indio, CA | 7 mi east | 41 | March to April | Desert Resorts Rgnl Airport |
| La Quinta, CA | 8 mi southeast | 41 | March to April | Desert Resorts Rgnl Airport |
| Cathedral City, CA | 9 mi northwest | 88 | February to March | same station |
| Palm Springs, CA | 11 mi northwest | 88 | February to March | same station |
| Coachella, CA | 13 mi east | 41 | March to April | Desert Resorts Rgnl Airport |
How Palm Desert ranks in CA
Of 376 CA places with 10,000 people or more, Palm Desert (population 53,147, 170th largest) ranks 249th for painting days, 40 days below the state median of 128. The longest season in the state is Santa Clarita, 269 days, 131 miles west. The shortest is Susanville at 4. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 70 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Palm Springs International Airport (9.9 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.