El Centro is the county seat of Imperial County, California, United States and one of the largest cities in the Imperial Valley, the region east of San Diego. It is the core urban area and principal city of the 'El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Imperial County. It is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries. El Centro is Spanish, and means the center. The city's population was 37,835 at the 2000 census. The city is also the birthplace of Ken Howard and Cher.
GeographyEl Centro is located at (32.788139, -115.557966)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.9 km˛ (9.6 mi˛). 24.8 km˛ (9.6 mi˛) of it is land and 0.1 km˛ (0.04 mi˛) of it is water.
It is a desert.
DemographicsAs of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 37,835 people, 11,439 households, and 8,910 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,524.9/km˛ (3,950.2/mi˛). There were 12,263 housing units at an average density of 494.2/km˛ (1,280.3/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 46.86% White, 3.16% Black or African American, 0.98% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 41.68% from other races, and 3.73% from two or more races. 74.58% 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. 18.8% of all households 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 3.23 and the average family size was 3.71.
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.
TriviaEl Centro, California is the birthplace of entertainer Cher.
