Living in El Centro, CA
Small city in California
El Centro is a small city in California, home to about 44,000 people, with 154,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, most trips are by car. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is El Centro a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Sunny: more sunshine and clearer skies than most places
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $377k and rents for $1,850 a month
- Safe: violent crime is 0.9× the US rate (FBI 2019)
- Great outdoors: hills or mountains nearby
👎 Cons
- Smaller job market: about 154,000 people live within 31 mi
- Hot summers: highs around 106°F
- Fewer graduates: 16% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Few top-rated hospitals: no 4–5★ hospital within 31 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how El Centro ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in El Centro: common questions
What is the cost of living in El Centro?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $377k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,850 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 95, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in El Centro?
California collects about $3,279 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.86% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is El Centro safe?
Violent crime is close to the national rate (0.9× in FBI 2019 data).
What is the weather like in El Centro?
El Centro is warm all year: winter days average around 72°F and summer days around 106°F.
Does El Centro get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from earthquakes and flooding: 5 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.42 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to El Centro?
The nearest major airport is PSP, about 91 mi away.
How El Centro scores
Each bar compares El Centro with the other 1143 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
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Is El Centro right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.