El Centro, California
City in California, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about El Centro, California?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest 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 largest U.S. city to lie entirely below sea level (−42 feet or −13 meters).[citation needed] 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.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
El Centro, California | |
|---|---|
| City of El Centro | |
  Top: U.S. Post Office; Bottom: Imperial County Superior Courthouse | |
 Seal | |
 Location of El Centro in Imperial County, California | |
  El Centro Location in the United States Show map of southern California El Centro El Centro (California) Show map of California El Centro El Centro (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates: 32°48′N 115°34′W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County |  Imperial |
| Incorporated | April 16, 1908[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sylvia Marroquin[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.86 sq mi (30.72 km2) |
| • Land | 11.84 sq mi (30.67 km2) |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) 0.16% |
| Elevation | −42 ft (−12 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 44,322 |
| • Density | 3,722.26/sq mi (1,437.12/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 92243-92244 |
| Area codes | 442/760 |
| FIPS code | 06-21782 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1656501, 2410409 |
| Website | www |
The city was founded in 1906 by W. F. Holt and C.A. Barker, who purchased the land on which El Centro was eventually built for about $40 per acre ($100 per hectare) and invested $100,000 ($3,400,000 in 2023 dollars[5]) in improvements. The modern city is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries. There are also two international border crossings nearby for commercial and noncommercial vehicles. El Centro's census population as of 2020 was 44,322, up from 42,598 at the 2010 Census.