Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, set in the Coachella Valley of the Colorado Desert, about nine miles southeast of Palm Springs. With a population of roughly 17,000, it is a small, low-density resort city whose identity has been shaped by presidents, celebrities, and the region's winter-sun lifestyle. The city incorporated in 1973, though its roots as a desert retreat reach back to the mid-20th century. Rancho Mirage is widely known as the Playground of Presidents. Sunnylands, the former Annenberg estate, became a retreat for world leaders and later a venue for presidential summits, hosting President Barack Obama and others. President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford made the city their home in retirement, and the Betty Ford Center, a renowned addiction-treatment facility, operates at Eisenhower Medical Center. That medical center — now Eisenhower Health — began with 80 acres donated by entertainers Bob and Dolores Hope in the mid-1960s and has grown into the Coachella Valley's major nonprofit teaching hospital and one of the area's largest employers. The city's residential character is defined by golf. Rancho Mirage is built around a collection of gated country-club communities, including The Springs, Tamarisk, and Rancho Mirage Country Club, along with newer enclaves such as Mira Vista. Streets named for Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and Gerald Ford mark the city's mid-century glamour, and the housing stock runs from desert-modern classics to contemporary custom homes on generous lots. Rancho Mirage appeals to retirees, seasonal residents, and professionals tied to the healthcare sector. Its public schools are part of Desert Sands Unified School District, and Palm Valley School, a long-established private academy, serves families from across the valley. The city combines security, sunshine, and club amenities with convenient access to Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and the larger Coachella Valley.