[3] Although planned and developed as a large resort community with an extensive road, water, sewer and power grid capable of supporting 40,000 residents on 12,000 residential lots, demand for property in Salton City fell drastically short of the planners' expectations.

[5] Despite Salton City's higher population compared to nearby Salton Sea communities such as Bombay Beach and Desert Shores, the eerie, mostly-abandoned appearance of the area has led some to call it a modern ghost town.

[9][10][11] It was intended to be a resort community on the Salton Sea, a saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, yet by 1965 limited development was achieved due to its isolation and lack of local employment opportunities and the downfall of the town began.

[12] In the 1970s, most of the buildings constructed along the shoreline, including the city's marina[9] were abandoned[13] due to rising sea elevation.

[15] Most of the original tourist related structures fell during this time, including the Truckhaven Cafe, the Salton Bay Yacht Club hotel and restaurant, and the Holly House motel and restaurant (later renamed Desser House and then the Sundowner).

In the 2000s, development in Salton City began to rise as a result of the escalating California housing market.

Cheap land and housing costs, improvements to Highway 86, and a casino opened by Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians attracted new residents.

[16][17] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 21.1 square miles (55 km2), all land.

The Superstition Faults also pose a major risk to the area, as well as the Brawley Seismic Zone, which produces frequent yet mostly non-damaging earthquake swarms.

The San Andreas Fault begins at Bombay Beach where the southern terminus of the San Andreas transitions into the Brawley Seismic Zone, about ten miles across the Salton Sea from Salton City.

Salton City is approximately 50 miles (80 km) from the Imperial County seat of El Centro and 110 and 115 miles respectively from the coastal San Diego County cities of Oceanside and San Diego.This area has a large amount of sunshine throughout the year, due to the amount of descending high pressure aloft.

[18] However, Salton City experiences its own microclimate due to the proximity of the warm lake waters.

Once winds prevail from the northwest, the climate is similar to other areas in Imperial County that are not along the Salton Sea.

Salton City itself is extraordinarily dry, and did not measure an inch of rain between September 2016 and August 2021.

The SCSD provides sewage treatment, fire protection, emergency medical services, recreational centers, street lighting, and landscaping to Salton City and its neighboring communities.

[27] Federally, Salton City is in California's 25th congressional district, represented by Democrat Raul Ruiz.

[28] The 1996 non-fiction book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer mentions Salton City as a place where Chris McCandless stopped in his travels.

Salton City was a location for a gambling loan in Norm Macdonald's pseudo-biographical book Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir.

Salton City has been featured in various television series due to its "ghost town"-like nature.