El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city in and thecounty seat ofImperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the most populous city in theImperial Valley, the east anchor of theSouthern CaliforniaBorder Region, and the core urban area and principal city of theEl Centro metropolitan area which encompasses all of Imperial County. El Centro is also the most populous U.S. city to lie entirely below sea level (−42 feet or −13 meters).[citation needed] The city, located in southeastern California, is 113 miles (182 km) fromSan Diego and less than 20 miles (32 km) from the Mexican city ofMexicali.
The city was founded in 1906 by W. F. Holt and C.A. Barker, who purchased the land on which El Centro was eventually built for about $40 per acre ($100 per hectare) and invested $100,000 ($3,500,000 in 2024 dollars[5]) in improvements. The modern city is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries. There are also two international border crossings nearby for commercial and noncommercial vehicles. El Centro's census population as of 2020 was 44,322, up from 42,598 at the2010 census.
Spanish explorerMelchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around El Centro and Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorerJuan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776[6] (an elementary school in El Centro now bears his name). Years later, after theMexican–American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U.S., while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century (the present-day site ofMexicali), but most permanent settlement (Anglo Americans on the U.S. side, Mexicans on the other side) was after 1900.[7]
Originally part ofSan Diego County, the Imperial Valley was settled by farmers once water from the Colorado River was diverted viacanals to irrigate the desert valley floor.[7][8]
In 1906, the land on which El Centro was later built was purchased by W. F. Holt and C.A. Barker.[9]
In 1907 Imperial County was split off from San Diego County; by then much of the valley was successfully irrigated.[7]
Before the town began, the railroad had established a station and named the place Cabarker.[10] The name honored C.A. Barker, a friend of the landowner.[10] The first post office in El Centro opened in 1905.[10]
The City of El Centro was incorporated on April 16, 1908. Early growth was rapid with the city's population reaching 1,610 by 1910 and more than tripling by 1920 to 5,646 people. One reason for this rapid early growth was El Centro's successful battle with the City of Imperial to become the county seat.[9] In these early days, relationships among the cities of the Imperial Valley were often intensely competitive, reflecting the particular frontier character of the area and the fact that six cities within a twenty-mile radius were all established within one generation. These cities were in a horse race to win the prize of being the Valley's leading city and the intense competition is measured by the fact that it took twenty years to get a county fair started because of strong local loyalties on the County Board of Supervisors.
By the mid-1940s, El Centro had become the second largest city in the Imperial Valley, with a population of about 11,000 people. El Centro had also become the location of theImperial Irrigation District (IID) administrative offices.[9]
Agriculture has been an important industry within El Centro since the early 20th century. Due to its strategic location near rail lines and U.S. Highways 80 and 99, more than 35 growers and shippers still operate in El Centro. However, by the early 1980s the two largest employment sectors in El Centro were government and wholesale/retail trade, reflecting El Centro's emerging role as a regional administrative and commercial center.[9]
El Centro has experienced a range ofnatural disasters, most notably earthquakes, due to its location in the seismically active Imperial Valley near theSan Andreas Fault system. The region is also vulnerable to extremeheat, droughts, and occasional flooding.
One of the most significant events in recent history was the2010 Baja California earthquake, also known as the Easter Sunday earthquake. On April 4, 2010, a magnitude 7.2 quake struck nearGuadalupe Victoria, Mexico, just south of the U.S. border. The tremor lasted nearly 90 seconds and was widely felt across Southern California, including El Centro, where it caused structural damage to homes, mobile parks, public buildings, and water infrastructure.[11] Liquefaction-related failures were reported in several areas, including the Calexico Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sunbeam Lake Dam, and levee systems near El Centro.[12]
The quake also led to the demolition of several iconic structures, including theEl Centro Public Library and theold water tower on Eighth Street and Vine Avenue, which had become unsafe.[11] Emergency shelters were activated, and city officials worked to secure federal assistance, thoughFEMA support was limited. The disaster prompted long-term recovery efforts and the eventual construction of a new library funded by local sales tax measures.
Other notable seismic events include the1940 El Centro earthquake (magnitude 6.9), which was the first major quake recorded by a strong-motion seismograph near a fault rupture, and the1979 Imperial Valley earthquake, which caused widespread damage and fires. The region continues to be monitored closely by geologists due to its complex fault systems and history of seismic activity.
TheImperial Valley, as seen from theSpace Shuttle. North is to the upper right. The Salton Sea is at the center. TheUS-Mexican border is a diagonal in the lower left.Aerial view of Imperial Valley and Salton Sea.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles (29 km2), of which over 99% is land.
El Centro is located in theImperial Valley (considered locally as synonymous withImperial County). The city is 50 feet (15 m) below sea level and the largest city in the United States below sea level. The Imperial Valley is in theColorado Desert, an extension of the largerSonoran Desert.
The agriculture industry's demand for water is supplied by canals diverting water from the nearbyColorado River. TheSalton Sea was created after a 1905 flood from the Colorado River.[13]
TheEl Centro earthquake of 1940 had a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It was the first major earthquake to be recorded by a strong-motion seismograph located next to a fault rupture. It was intensely studied by structural engineers and assumed to be typical until theNorthridge earthquake of 1994. In this region, the geology is dominated by the transition of thetectonic plate boundary fromrift totransverse fault. The southernmost strands of theSan Andreas Fault connect the northernmost extensions of theEast Pacific Rise. Consequently, the region is subject to earthquakes, and the crust is being stretched, resulting in a sinking of the terrain over time.
El Centro has ahot desert climate (Köppen climate classification:BWh) and is the southernmost desert city below sea level in the continental United States. It features long, extremely hot summers, and mild winters. El Centro has over 350 days of sunshine and under 3 inches (76 mm) of rain annually. Winter temperatures are in the mid to high 60s °F (mid to high teens °C) with over-night lows in the low 40s °F (mid +0s °C) . During summer days of June; typically the driest month of the year with no precipitation, the dry, desert heat can push temperatures well above 100 °F (37.8 °C), while the nights stay in the high 70s °F (high 20s °C).
TheNorth American Monsoon typically increases moisture. At times, the climate can resemble that of tropical areas in the Caribbean due toGulf of California moisture surges. Humid air from the gulf surges northward into the Imperial Valley and El Centro area, making the summer heat oppressive at times. This leads to daily thunderstorms that can bring hail, downpours, lightning, and dust storms, more commonly known asHaboob.
During the Eastern Pacific Hurricane season, remnants of hurricanes or tropical storms may track through the desert and can result in heavy thunderstorms. This can lead to significantly higher than normal precipitation, at times bringing heavy rain. A few examples of this areHurricane Hilary (2023) andHurricane Nora (1997)
The precipitation in the winter months is predominantly rain showers from the occasional winter storms. At times these storms bring cold temperatures to El Centro and surrounding cities, and mountain snowfall to the nearby Mountains.El Niño andLa Niña play a large role in how much rain falls in the winter, La Nina typically brings drier and cooler conditions to El Centro and surrounding areas. El Niño tends to being wetter and average temperatures.
Snow is almost totally unknown in the area. However, on December 12, 1934, a very powerful winter storm brought record cold and snowfall to El Centro and surrounding areas of theImperial Valley. Snow began falling at 8:45 p.m. December 11 and by 5 a.m. the next day (December 12) 1 to 4 inches or 0.025 to 0.10 metres of snow had blanketed the desert floor.
Another instance of freezing precipitation was observed in December 1967 as a mix of sleet hail. On average there are about 15 days that dip below 40 °F or 4.4 °C.
Being below sea level, El Centro has warm afternoons and cold mornings in winter. The coldest daily maximum on record is 44 °F (6.7 °C) on December 14, 1967, and the mean for the coldest day is at 56.1 °F (13.4 °C) for the reference period between 1991 and 2020.[14] The warmest low temperature on record is 98 °F (36.7 °C), recorded on August 30, 1976.[14] The mean for the hottest night annually is at 87.2 °F (30.7 °C).[14] The wettest "rain year" was from July 1977 to June 1978 with 7.19 inches or 182.6 millimetres and the driest from July 2001 to June 2002 with 0.02 inches or 0.5 millimetres
Climate data for El Centro, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1932–present
Aerial photo of fields, with Mount Signal in background (2017)
As of 2009 the employment of El Centro residents is dominated by the local government, California state government, and federal government. Two nearby prisons (Centinela andCalipatria) and aU.S. Border Patrol station provide employment;The Economist states that the prisons and border patrol were "relatively untouched" by thelate-2000s recession. The El Centro area has many farming plots, where carrots, lettuce, and other crops are produced, and therefore the El Centro economy is subject to seasonal variations like other farming areas. Between November and March in winter periods, El Centro-area farmers harvest lettuce for $8–10 per hour. During March the harvest moves to the north and is no longer in El Centro; in previous eras farmers migrated, while in the first decade of the 21st century many collect unemployment benefits during the summer.[17]
El Centro is surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland that has transformed the desert into one of the most productive farming regions in California with an annual crop production of over $1 billion. Agriculture is still the largest industry in Imperial County and accounts for 48% of all employment.[18]
Being the commercial center of Imperial County, fifty percent of the jobs in the El Centro come from the service and retail sector.[18]
A recent growth in the interest of Imperial County as a filming location, has spurred growth in servicing this industry.[18] Due to its desert environment and proximity to Los Angeles, California, movies are sometimes filmed in the sand dunes outside the agricultural portions of the Imperial County. These have includedReturn of the Jedi,Stargate,The Scorpion King,Jarhead,Into the Wild, andAmerican Sniper.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of April 30, 2009, the El Centro area had a 25.0% unemployment rate, the highest for a Metropolitan Area in the country.[19] By August of that year, El Centro's unemployment rate was 27.5%, three times the overall United States unemployment rate of 9.7%.The Economist stated that the city is not the "centre of the Great Recession" like the figure would appear to indicate. While El Centro has a seasonal farming economy, there is still a fixed "baseline" unemployment at 12%. Timothy Kelly, the head of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation, estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 residents ofMexicali work in El Centro.The Economist added that there are likely many El Centro residents who work in Mexicali and collect unemployment benefits in El Centro; Ruben Duran, the city manager of El Centro, said that if the Mexicali jobs were factored into the employment rate, El Centro would have a normal employment rate. The manager of a job search agency called One Stop, said that about 3,000 people per month come into her agency; she says that some make a genuine effort to find jobs, while many do not have motivation to actually find a job, but to instead show proof that they tried to find a job. Kelly stated that unemployment fraud does not account for all of the issues with the El Centro area; he said that many residents have a lack of education and a lack of English language proficiency, so some of them cannot find jobs.The Economist added that the collapse of the housing market eliminated some construction jobs; the magazine countered that the scenario is true in many places in the United States.[17] In December 2008 listed as No. 5 on Forbes.com's list of "The Top 10 Places in America Where Homes are Losing their Value Fastest" with 31.4% of homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.[20] A national report on the effects of the "Great recession" of 2008/09 has found El Centro and the Imperial Valley in the top 5 poorest medium-sized cities in the U.S. in poverty and unemployment rates.[21]
El Centro, seen here from theInternational Space Station, lies just north of Calexico and Mexicali and the Mexico-US border.
While the majority of the residents in this community are Hispanic, there is a diverse population with a wide array of interests. In the winter, residents race on nearby sand dunes using four-wheel-drive buggies. During the summer, residents spend time indoors instead of outside. Spanish is a dominant language among residents and over the radio. Many area residents live in both the United States and Mexico and go across the border frequently.[17]
The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.[25]
There were 14,137 households, out of which 42.0% included children under the age of 18, 47.3% were married-couple households, 5.7% werecohabiting couple households, 31.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 20.0% of households were one person, and 9.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.1.[25] There were 10,786families (76.3% of all households).[26]
The age distribution was 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% aged 18 to 24, 25.3% aged 25 to 44, 23.5% aged 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 35.0years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males.[25]
There were 15,041 housing units at an average density of 1,270.1 units per square mile (490.4 units/km2), of which 14,137 (94.0%) were occupied. Of these, 47.2% were owner-occupied, and 52.8% were occupied by renters.[25]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $56,093, and theper capita income was $23,781. About 17.2% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line.[27]
The Census reported that 41,782 people (98.1% of the population) lived in households, 296 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 520 (1.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 13,108 households, out of which 6,257 (47.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,550 (50.0%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 2,845 (21.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 815 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 804 (6.1%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 58 (0.4%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households, 2,458 (18.8%) were made up of individuals, and 1,004 (7.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.19. There were 10,210families (77.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.64.
The population was spread out, with 12,671 people (29.7%) under the age of 18, 4,803 people (11.3%) aged 18 to 24, 10,661 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 9,907 people (23.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,556 people (10.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
There were 14,476 housing units at an average density of 1,304.3 units per square mile (503.6 units/km2), of which 13,108 were occupied, of which 6,488 (49.5%) were owner-occupied, and 6,620 (50.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.2%. 21,429 people (50.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,353 people (47.8%) lived in rental housing units.
In 2009 the Latinos in El Centro mainly consisted of dual citizens andpermanent resident card (green card) holders.Illegal immigrants tended to go through Imperial County instead of staying in Imperial County.[17]
Hedrick Elementary School[30] (named after Margaret Hedrick, a woman who had been teaching and working in schools for 55 years, 35 of them in the El Centro School District).[31]
TheCentral Union High School District includes two four-year comprehensive high schools (Central Union and Southwest) and one alternative education school (Desert Oasis). The school district's 3,450 students are supported by more than 350 certified and classified staff. The District is governed by a five-member Board of Trustees.[18]
Central Union High School[33] (Central Union was established near the time when the city was established and celebrated its centennial in 2008.)
Southwest High School,[33] whose performing arts theater is named after local musician Jimmie Cannon, director of CUHS's Great Spartan Band from 1966 to 1996
Opportunities to attend college are available throughImperial Valley College, a local 2-year college, and an extension ofSan Diego State University located in the nearby city ofCalexico. San Diego State University's Calexico Campus offers a variety of bachelor's and master's degrees.
Imperial Valley Transit is the primary provider of mass transportation in the Imperial Valley. Formed in 1989 with just 3 buses and serving just 3,000 people per month, the agency now currently serves more than 73,000 riders within the area per month.
Through a partnership between the Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC), the Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA), and theQuechan Indian Tribe,Yuma County Area Transit Turquoise Route 10 buses stop at El Centro locations and connects the city toWinterhaven, California andYuma, Arizona.
El Centro operates under acouncil–manager form of government. The members of the City Council also sit as the Community Development Commission (Commission) and Redevelopment Agency (Agency) governing boards. The City Manager is empowered as the executive director of the Commission and Agency.[18]
^abcDurham, David L. (1998).California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 1416.ISBN1-884995-14-4.
