Onions, cotton, grapes, citrus and dates thrived in the arid climate due to the ingenuity of farmers finding various means of attaining water, first through artesian wells and later through the valley's branch of the All-American Canal.

Dr. Harry Smiley and his wife Nell were early residents and stayed in Indio after their car broke down on the way to Los Angeles and became people of influence and helped shape the area.

A. G. Tingman was an early store owner and first Postmaster of Indio, but also well known for taking advantage of miners as they headed to the mountains, selling at rather high prices.

She was responsible along with the Indio Woman's Club for pressuring California into adopting the placing of white lines down the streets after she was nearly hit one too many times by passing vehicles.

By 1920, about one to two thousand year-round residents lived in Indio, while it ballooned from 2,500 to 5,000 during the winter months and was advertised as a health resort for senior citizens and those with respiratory diseases and ailments in the rest of the 20th century.

[17] During the Second World War, Indio was also aided by the visiting soldiers from Patton's training grounds in Chiriaco Summit located 30 miles to the east.

[18] From the middle to second half of the 20th century, much of the Coachella valley's population began to move west towards newer cities such as Palm Desert and La Quinta.

It is adjacent to the geologic Salton Sink and within the site of historic Lake Cahuilla of the Lower Colorado River Valley.

[31] According to the Demographic Research Unit (DRU) of the California Department of Finance, the provisional population estimate for the City of Indio as of January 1, 2019, was 89,406.

There are citrus groves and vegetable fields surrounding the city limits, but rapid development of new housing tracts and golf courses in the "East Valley" in the 1990s and 2000s has displaced most of the agricultural space.

Locally based United States Filter Corporation, Guy Evans Inc., Dimare Fruit Co., West Coast Turf and Japanese-owned Sun World Inc.; and move-in companies such as Borden, Coca-Cola, Ernie Ball, Ernst and Young, Ferguson, Fulton Distributors, Guthy-Renker, Pulte Homes, Sunrise Company, SunScape Tech and Tala Industries choose Indio for the location of transport routes, low economic costs, and growth potential.

Indio is home to Buzz Box Premium Cocktails, Ring Power Corporation, Triangle Distributing Company (formerly Heimark), The Forager Project, and Purus International.

[45] In 1993, Paul Tollett, president of Goldenvoice, booked a Pearl Jam concert at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, and six years later, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was born.

[46] Since 2001, Coachella has been an annual event that has brought notable music acts to the desert, including: AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, Prince, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Radiohead, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Pixies, The Cure, The White Stripes, Jay-Z, Tool, Beastie Boys, Jane's Addiction, Roger Waters and several others.

The festival continues to draw large numbers of concertgoers to Indio and the Empire Polo Club, a venue that Rolling Stone said possessed a "lush beauty... that made the desert seem very far away.

Performers have included George Strait, Kenny Chesney, the Eagles, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, and Kid Rock.

"[48] In 2016, Goldenvoice brought together The Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, and Neil Young for a 3-day mega concert known as Desert Trip.

Tailgating, food vendors, picnics, and great polo games are a common sight at these family-friendly Sunday events.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino is owned by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, whose tribal headquarters are also located in Indio.

[59] The Fantasy Springs special events center has hosted musicians as big as The Beach Boys, John Legend, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Nicks, and Kelly Clarkson.

[60] In the fall of 1996, the Indio Chamber of Commerce formed a committee to develop a Historic Mural Project to help revitalize the local economy at the time of the statewide economic recession.

Each year the Council selects the Mayor on a rotational basis and determines assignments for the external commissions and committees at its first meeting of December.

Riverside County has a Regional Occupational Program facility in Indio that provides vocational educational courses in the Coachella Valley's job market.

El Informador del Valle is printed in Spanish then distributed to homes and a range of meat markets, gas stations, Hispanic restaurants, and more locally owned businesses throughout Indio.

[81] During Coachella Fest, Indio Police is able to handle a large number of 911 and non-emergency calls due to its six-position public safety answering point (PSAP).

[85] The City of Indio also has a Fire Services Prevention Office, and, through the Riverside County, participates in the Volunteer Reserve Firefighter Program.

The Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal just a few minutes from Indio, is named for the famous 1920s pilot and Indio resident and used for cargo planes to ship agricultural products, also on the four-lane California State Route 86 expressway or the "NAFTA highway" (in reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement) for international traffic.

The city is served by the local bus line SunLine Transit Agency ("SunBus"), which services much of the Coachella Valley.

As of 2020[update] the city and the Riverside County Transportation Commission are planning a passenger rail service that will run to Los Angeles from Indio.

In its seventh annual free clinic in 2019, California Care Force served 1,818 Coachella Valley uninsured and underinsured residents.