Imperial, CA


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Imperial, CA

About Imperial, CA

Imperial, CA is an inviting city southeast of El Centro full of amazing places to explore like Imperial Sand Dunes displaying its distinctive landscape or Imperial Wildlife Area presenting outdoor activities; their annual event Imperial County Fair brings people together with food and games every April. Small agricultural city - Southern California, near the Mexican border.

State: California
County: Imperial County
Metro Area: El Centro Metro Area
City: Imperial
Zip Codes: 92251
Cost of Living:
Time zone: Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Elevation: –45 ft above sea level

El Centro is a dry, dusty, agricultural center in the vast Imperial Valley, which is irrigated by the Colorado River. Although the name in Spanish translates to “the center,” El Centro isn’t in the center of very much except for several hundred square miles of flat irrigated agricultural land and surrounding desert. The city is 115 miles east of San Diego and only 12 miles north of the Mexican border.

Employment is dominated by agriculture, agricultural transportation, and some government jobs; farm workers make up a sizeable portion of the population. Combined educational attainment is among the lowest in the country. There have been mostly unsuccessful attempts to establish retirement communities in the area, but the valley is physically unattractive, has extreme unemployment, and little to do for retirees or those in the workforce.

The southerly latitude and negative elevation give important clues as to the climate of El Centro – hot. In fact, temperatures over 90 degrees are experienced during over half the days each year. Warm air is trapped and compressed in this mountain-surrounded valley, and the results can be made more uncomfortable by irrigation-sourced humidity. Winter weather, on the other hand, is pleasant, with moderately warm 70 and 80 degree days and desert-cool evenings.

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Imperial Cost of Living

Pleasant winters, cultural diversity, and low crime rate make Imperial a great place to live.

$335,600
-0.7% lower than avg
$81,657
+15.5% higher than avg
4.6 / 8.8
Comfort Index
summer/winter
Imperial Crime
11.9 / 100
Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low) to 100 (high). US average: 35.4
Minimum annual income
To live comfortably in Imperial, California
$64,440
for a family
$44,800
for a single person
Pros & Cons of Imperial
   Pleasant winters
Summer heat
   Cultural diversity
Low educational attainment
   Low crime rate
Isolation
Reviews for Imperial
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The Imperial Valley,including cities El Centro, Brawley, Holtville, Calexico, and Imperial, have nothing to offer families. The crime rate is high and temperatures reach  More
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