It is located 35 miles (56 km) north of downtown San Bernardino in Victor Valley and surrounded by the Mojave Desert.

An acorn-gathering festival was held at Wá’peat that involved villagers from across the Mojave River area.

[9][10] Hesperia began as a Spanish land grant: Rancho San Felipe, Las Flores y el Paso del Cajon, founded in 1781.

In 1869, Max Stobel purchased 35,000 acres (14,000 ha) from the United States Government Land Office for $40,000.

While several attempts were made to subdivide and encourage colonization, the land was primarily used for agricultural purposes, with raisin grapes the primary product.

The railroad land developers published pamphlets distributed across the country with boosterism of Hesperia, California, as a potential metropolis, to become "the Omaha of the West" or projections to have over 100,000 people by 1900, but only 1,000 moved in.

[14] Much of the native flora of Hesperia is classified as California desert vegetation, dominated by junipers, joshua trees, and sagebrush.

Hesperia is located at 3,186 feet (971 m) above sea level and is a neighbor of Victorville, Oak Hills, and Apple Valley.

On the southern edge of Hesperia, where the city meets the desert by the airport to the east, is a somewhat pronounced mesa.

In the later part of the season, sporadic summer thunderstorms associated with the North American monsoon can bring power outages and local flash floods.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Hesperia had a median household income of $46,027, with 23.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

To the east of Hesperia, the Mojave River runs from south to north, mainly under ground, and it surfaces in Victorville.

Although the river bed is usually dry, it fills up if Hesperia experiences a rare heavy rain.

Hesperia is bordered to the north by the city of Victorville, and to the east by the town of Apple Valley.

The Southern California Hardball Association is a 28 and over, adult baseball league that serves Hesperia residents.

[45] A portion of the city limits extends into the Snowline Joint Unified School District.

Several of the major streets feature bike lanes and there are also several recreational trails within city limits.

BNSF Railway[47] provides rail service through the city on a line which connects Los Angeles to Barstow and points east.

Union Pacific freight trains and Amtrak’s Southwest Chief[48] also pass through Hesperia on the BNSF line.

Brightline West includes the option for a high speed rail station in Hesperia.

[51] The city of Hesperia contracts with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for law-enforcement services.

The old 7,600 sq ft (710 m2) substation, which served for many years, was on Santa Fe Avenue next to the BNSF tracks.

The station provides full-service law enforcement for the city and the southern suburbs of Oak Hills and Marianas Ranchos.

Shortly after Hesperia incorporated as a city in 1988, it created its own fire protection district, which lasted through 2004.