Coachella (/ˌkoʊəˈtʃɛlə/ KOH-ə-CHEL-ə, commonly /koʊˈtʃɛlə/ koh-CHEL-ə[a][5]) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States.

Originally a railroad town, Coachella is a prominent hub for agriculture and shipping across Southern California and the Western United States.

Some locals believe it was a misspelling of conchilla, a Spanish word for the small white snail shells found in the valley's sandy soil, vestiges of a lake that dried up over 3,000 years ago.

In the 1950s Coachella begin to expand into its range, about 32 square miles (83 km2), an area which contained large year-round agricultural corporate farms and fruit groves, particularly of citrus (lemons, oranges, grapefruit) and date palms.

Due to a high percentage of Hispanics in the city, Coachella was a scene of Chicano political activism.

The agricultural area surrounding Coachella was where the United Farm Workers union staged strikes and protests, including visits by UFW leader César Chávez in the 1960s and 1970s.

[11] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.95 square miles (75.0 km2), all of it land.

[14] Much of the population consists of younger Latino families (an estimated 90 percent of Hispanic origin) and, in the outlying areas, migrant farm workers.

Historically, apart from the Hispanic/Latino and/or Native Americans, other ethnic groups in Coachella included Arabs, Armenians, Filipinos, Italians, Japanese, and recent immigrants from Southeast Asia and the former Yugoslavia.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Coachella had a median household income of $41,611, with 27.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Coachella is also home to a significant Southwest Indian (Apache, Hopi, Navajo and Zuni) population, though not indigenous to the California desert region.

Since 2000, thousands of single-family homes and multi-unit apartment complexes have been built at a fast pace, as the city's population soared, having more than doubled in just a decade.

Some have dirt roads and frequent power outages, or drinking water supplies contaminated with arsenic or hexavalent chromium.

A court case which alleged that the county had made an intentional effort to close trailer parks with Latino populations was settled in 2000.

[25] Coachella expanded recreational and social activities for which residents once had to drive 10 or 20 miles (16 or 32 km) west.

Founded in January 2024, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement for the city from the nearby Thermal Regional Station.

[31] Near Coachella, a new four-lane expressway, State Route 86, was built for international trucking from Mexicali, Mexico to Los Angeles or Arizona.

A plan is being developed for new passenger rail service that would span approximately 144 miles from Los Angeles Union Station (LAUS) to Coachella.

[32] In 2001 Huell Howser Productions, in association with KCET/Los Angeles, featured Coachella in California's Gold; the program is available as a VHS videorecording.