El Centro, CA Metro Area
The El Centro, CA metro area is one county in California: Imperial County. About 181,411 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 0.9% more than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 181,411 0.9% more than in April 2020
- Type
- Metropolitan statistical area
- County
- Imperial County
- Land area
- 4,175 sq mi (10,814 km²)
- Time zone
- Pacific TimeUTC-08:00 in January; UTC-07:00 in July
- State
- California
- CBSA code
- 20940
The county in the El Centro, CA metro area
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Imperial County | Central | 181,411 |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. This area has no outlying counties: no neighboring county sends enough commuters to join it. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal city
- El Centro44,240 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Yuma, AZ Metro Area63 mi east
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area91 mi west
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area132 mi northwest
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
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