El Centro, California

El Centro has a desert climate 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 with over-night lows in the low 40s. During summer days of June; typically the driest month of the year with no precipitation, the dry, desert heat can push temperatures well into the 100s, while the nights stay in the high 70s. The North American Monsoon typically increases moisture. At times, the climate can resemble that of tropical areas in the Caribbean. This leads to daily thunderstorms that can bring hail, downpours, lightning, and dust storms, more commonly known as Haboob. 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.

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 and La 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 the Imperial Valley. Snow began falling at 8:45 p.m. December 11 and by 5 a.m. the next day (December 12)1-4 inches 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 into the mid to lower 30s.

Being below sea level, El Centro has warm days and cool nights in winter. The coldest daily maximum on record is 44 °F (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 (37 °C), recorded on August 30, 1976.[14] The mean for the hottest night annually is at 87.2 °F (30.7 °C).[14]

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.[18] 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 of Mexicali 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.[16] 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.[19] 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.[20]

The 2010 United States Census[24] reported that El Centro had a population of 42,598. The population density was 3,838.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,481.9/km²). The racial makeup of El Centro was 25,376 (59.6%) White, 1,081 (2.5%) African American, 554 (1.3%) Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34,751 persons (81.6%), 965 (2.3%) Asian, 34 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 12,356 (29.0%) from other races, and 2,232 (5.2%) from two or more races.

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%) were opposite-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 10,210 families (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 per square mile (503.6/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.

As of the census[25] of 2000, there were 37,835 people, 11,439 households, and 8,910 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,950.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,525.2/km²). There were 12,263 housing units at an average density of 1,280.3 per square mile (494.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.9% White, 3.2% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 41.7% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. 74.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,439 households, out of which 47.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 18.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. Of all households, 18.8% were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.2 and the average family size was 3.7.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.6% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,161, and the median income for a family was $36,910. Males had a median income of $36,753 versus $24,514 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,874. About 20.6% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

In 2009 the Latinos in El Centro mainly consisted of dual citizens and permanent resident card (green card) holders. Illegal immigrants tended to go through Imperial County instead of staying in Imperial County.[16]

• De Anza Magnet School[27]
• Desert Gardens Elementary School[27]
• Harding Elementary School[27]
• Hedrick Elementary School[27] (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).[28]
• King Elementary School[27]
• Lincoln Elementary School[27]
• McCabe Elementary School[29]
• McKinley Elementary School[27]
• Meadows Elementary School[26]
• Sunflower Elementary[27]
• Washington Elementary School[27]
• St. Mary's Catholic School

• Corfman Middle School (Grades 4–8)[29]
• Kennedy Middle School[27]
• Wilson Junior High[27]
• St. Mary's Catholic School

The Central 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.[17]

• Central Union High School[30] (Central Union was established near the time when the city was established and celebrated its centennial in 2008.)
• Desert Oasis High School[30]
• Southwest High School,[30] 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 through Imperial Valley College, a local 2-year college, and an extension of San Diego State University located in the nearby city of Calexico. San Diego State University's Calexico Campus offers a variety of bachelor's and master's degrees.

Dogwood Bridge over Interstate 8 in El Centro

There are three major highways that serve El Centro. Interstate 8 connects San Diego to the west and Yuma, Arizona to the east. State Route 86 and State Route 111 parallel each other as they go north to Brawley before running along the west and east shores of the Salton Sea, respectively, on their way to the Coachella Valley. Going south from El Centro, State Route 86 terminates at State Route 111, which runs to Calexico and Mexicali, Mexico.

Imperial Valley Transit bus

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 the Quechan Indian Tribe, Yuma County Area Transit Turquoise Route 10 buses stop at El Centro locations and connects the city to Winterhaven, California and Yuma, Arizona.

Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to El Centro.

• Imperial County Airport is located in nearby Imperial. Service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.[31] The nearest large international airports are San Diego International Airport and Mexicali International Airport.
• Naval Air Facility El Centro is a U.S. Navy airfield
• Douthitt Strip Airport is a former military airfield, now a private use airport.