El Centro
What’s happening
Upcoming events
Put the next local happening — a market, a meeting, a concert — on the map.
Local news
Headlines via Google News · Articles belong to their publishers.
The El Centro album
Outdoors in El Centro
Parks & trails →Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1935
Drinking water for field worker's family. Imperial Valley, California, near El Centro, 1935
Photo · Library of Congress
About El Centro
City in California, United StatesEl Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city in and the county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the most populous city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban area and principal city of the El 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). The city, located in southeastern California, is 113 miles (182 km) from San Diego and less than 20 miles (32 km) from the Mexican city of Mexicali. The city was founded in 1906 by W. F. Holt and C.A. Barker, who purchased the land on which…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
How El Centro ranks
All →Town numbers
Housing in El Centro
The typical El Centro home is worth about $395,000, up 6.2% in a year, 48% below the California typical home.
A balanced market
Safety in El Centro
Safety Grade C+
El Centro reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 62% report less. Within California, it does better than 63% of towns.
Schools in El Centro
All El Centro schools →School Grade B
The public schools El Centro’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 61% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within CA. Ratings are from neighbors.
Where El Centro is
Explore map →
Location map