Palmdale, California

**Palmdale** is the largest city in the desert area of California. It is a suburb of Los Angeles. It has a population of 169,450 and is the 6th largest city in Los Angeles County.

Even though Palmdale is in Los Angeles County, it is not connected to the larger Los Angeles population area. It is separated from it by a mountain range called the San Gabriel Mountains that are over 40 miles wide and almost 2 miles high overall. It is in Antelope Valley.

Palmdale is the home of several airplanes used by NASA and the Air Force, giving it the nickname of _"the aerospace capital of America."_

Palmdale Airport does not have any passenger air service.

The city's demographics is primarily Mexican and white. The most common ancestries are German, English, Irish, Italian and French. Spanish and Tagalog are the most common spoken foreign languages.

## History

The indigenous Kitanemuk were the first to settle in the area.

In 1886, when land in the Antelope Valley sold for 50 cents an acre, a group of 50 Swiss and German families migrated from the Midwest and settled in what is now known as Palmdale. They named their new community “Palmenthal” because they had mistaken the native Joshua trees for palm trees.

The high desert community of Palmdale has rich agricultural roots and a unique aviation history.

The City of Palmdale celebrated its 50th anniversary of incorporation on Aug. 24, 2012. It has consistently been one of the fastest-growing cities in California and in the country. Since 1980, Palmdale’s population has soared from 12,277 to 158,605. Despite its growth, Palmdale continues to cherish the small-town values of a family-oriented community while enjoying all of the conveniences of its booming retail and commercial sectors.

In 1772 Captain Pedro Fages, a Spanish soldier in pursuit of deserting sailors, crossed the southern part of the Antelope Valley into Leona Valley.

After the Shoshone Indians left the valley, immigrants from Spain and Mexico established large cattle ranches there.

## Sister cities

- Poncitlán, Jalisco, Mexico

## Other websites

- Palmdale City Website
- Palmdale Airport Website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Palmdale, California
- **settlement type**: List of municipalities in California, City
- **image skyline**: Palmdale and Mountains.jpg
- **image caption**: Palmdale, looking southeast toward the Antelope Valley Freeway and the San Gabriel Mountains
- **image flag**: Flag of Palmdale, California.gif
- **image seal**: Seal of Palmdale, California.png
- **motto**: "A Place to Call Home"
- **image map**: LA County Incorporated Areas Palmdale highlighted.svg
- **mapsize**: 250x200px
- **map caption**: Location of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, California
- **pushpin map**: Los Angeles#USA California#USA
- **pushpin map caption**: Location within the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area##Location within the State of California##Location within the contiguous United States
- **pushpin label position**: right
- **pushpin relief**: 1
- **pushpin label**: Palmdale
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: California
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in California, County
- **subdivision name2**: Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles
- **established title**: Established
- **established date**: 1886
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: August 24, 1962
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **area total sq mi**: 106.32
- **area total km2**: 275.37
- **area land sq mi**: 106.08
- **area land km2**: 274.74
- **area water sq mi**: 0.24
- **area water km2**: 0.63
- **area water percent**: 0.24
- **elevation ft**: 2657
- **elevation m**: 810
- **total type**: City (California), City
- **population as of**: 2020 United States Census, 2020
- **population total**: 169450
- **population rank**: List of cities in Los Angeles County, California, 6th in Los Angeles County
List of largest California cities by population, 32nd in California
- **population density sq mi**: auto
- **population urban**: 359,559 (List of United States urban areas, US: 115th)
- **population density urban km2**: 1,637.4
- **population density urban sq mi**: 4,240.9
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Palmdalite
- **timezone**: Pacific Time Zone
- **utc offset**: −8
- **timezone dst**: Pacific Daylight Time, PDT
- **utc offset dst**: −7
- **postal code type**: ZIP Codes
- **postal code**: 93550–93552, 93590–93591, 93599
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 661, 661
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature IDs
- **blank1 info**: ,