IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in El Centro, CA
El Centro is a small city of 44,240 people in Imperial County, California. It's part of the El Centro, CA area. Summer highs average 107°F and winter highs 71°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $323k and rent runs about $1k a month.
44,240people
$323kTypical home
$1,052/moRent
107° / 71°Summer / winter
0"Snow
338Sunny days
13Rain/snow days
Is El Centro right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small city of 44,240
- Part of a metro area
- About 3,651 people per sq mi
- 92 mi to San Diego, CA
- In the El Centro, CA area
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $323k (≈$2,037/mo)
- Median rent $1,052/mo
- Median household income $53k
- Property tax about 0.8% of value
- 10.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 107°F
- Winter highs around 71°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 50°F)
- 338 sunny days a year (236 totally clear)
- 27 cloudy days a year
- 14 of 90 winter days are gray
- 13 days a year with rain or snow
- Basically no snow
- Snow days are rare
- 118 days a year over 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (248 per 100k)
- Low property crime (900 per 100k)
People
- Median age 31
- 42% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 15% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 6% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 23 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 3 mi to IPL airport
- 90 mi to PSP (major hub)
- 55 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 56% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1982
- 94% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation -39 ft
- 64 mi to the ocean
- 24 mi to a big lake
- 38 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 124 mi to the nearest ski area
- 27 mi to the nearest campground
- 4 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 64 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 3 bars within 25 mi
- 37 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 2 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 40 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 46% of California districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 84 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 3 congregations per 10k people
- 4 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Imperial County: Purple — split almost evenly
- California: D+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Moderate drought risk
- Very low winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk