Salton City's housing market is unusual: the community was platted for thousands of lots, but development never fully occurred, so the built environment is a grid of paved streets with many vacant parcels interspersed among occupied homes. Buyers find modest single-family houses, manufactured homes, and desert properties, often at very low price points relative to the rest of California, along with abundant vacant land. The market appeals to buyers seeking affordability, space, and a remote desert setting, and to those willing to trade proximity to services for lower costs. New construction is scattered, and the overall character is sparse and low-density rather than conventionally suburban.

Salton City does not function like a conventional town with distinct neighborhoods. Its defining feature is the vast street grid laid out in the late 1950s, with hundreds of miles of paved roads serving far more platted lots than were ever built upon. Homes are scattered across this grid, often separated by vacant parcels and open desert, so "neighborhoods" are loose clusters of residences rather than continuous blocks. The community's civic anchors—the schools, the Salton Community Services District parks, and the shoreline—provide gathering points, but the overall impression is of a partially realized resort plan spread across a wide, quiet desert landscape.

Life in Salton City is quiet, remote, and defined by the desert and the Salton Sea. It is a spread-out community with a semi-rural feel, where homes sit among large numbers of undeveloped lots and the surrounding landscape of open desert, mountains, and the vast inland sea dominates the horizon. Residents value the space, privacy, and affordability the community offers, and outdoor recreation on the Salton Sea and in the nearby desert parks is a defining pastime. Services are limited locally, so residents travel to the Coachella Valley or the Imperial Valley for shopping and healthcare. It appeals to those seeking an off-the-beaten-path, low-cost desert lifestyle.

Salton City is served by the Coachella Valley Unified School District, a Riverside County–based district that extends across the Salton Sea into this Imperial County community. Within Salton City, the district operates West Shores High School and Sea View Elementary School, giving local families schools close to home. Because the community is remote and its population spread out, the schools function as important community anchors. For higher education, Imperial Valley College in Imperial and College of the Desert in Palm Desert are the nearest community college options, each about an hour's drive in opposite directions.

Salton City is oriented around State Route 86, which runs along the Salton Sea's western shore and connects the community north to the Coachella Valley and Interstate 10, and south to Brawley, El Centro, and the Interstate 8 corridor. The community's extensive internal street grid, built for a much larger resort population, gives it an unusual abundance of paved roads relative to its density. There is no public transit, and residents rely entirely on private vehicles. The nearest major airports are Palm Springs International to the north and San Diego International to the west, each roughly an hour to ninety minutes away by car.

Recreation around Salton City is tied to the Salton Sea and the surrounding desert. The Salton Sea itself supports shoreline activities, birdwatching, and fishing, and the Salton Sea State Recreation Area, to the north near Mecca, offers beaches, camping, and visitor facilities. The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge provides wildlife viewing and trails for migratory birds. To the west, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California's largest state park, offers extensive hiking, off-roading, and desert wildflower viewing. The Salton Community Services District also maintains local parks, and the open desert surrounding the community provides space for off-road recreation and stargazing.