Work & commute · El Centro

Work & commute in El Centro, CA

About one in 3 of El Centro’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Calexico (7%), Imperial (5%) and Brawley (5%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

6,070 of 17,864 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,794 El Centro residents head out of town to work, 6,070 work right here, and 12,666 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in El Centro.

11,794live here, work elsewhere

6,070live and work here

12,666work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where El Centro goes to work

El Centro (in town)right here

34%6,070

Calexico8 mi away

7%1,298

Imperial3.7 mi away

5%954

Brawley13.4 mi away

5%911

San Diego90.7 mi away

4%769

Los Angeles185.2 mi away

2%435

Heber4.1 mi away

2%367

Calipatria26.8 mi away

2%284

Yuma, AZ63 mi away

2%275

Holtville10.7 mi away

1%163

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%6,338

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far El Centro commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

54%

11%

33%

54%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

El Centro is balanced between jobs and homes

1.05jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in El Centro are

18,736 jobs are based in El Centro. Here is what they are, next to the jobs El Centro’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in El Centro

18,736 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs El Centro residents hold

17,864 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month49%

+11%

Jobs based in El Centro, 2013 → 2023: 16,804 → 18,736. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.