About El Centro

The City of El Centro is the largest city in Imperial County, the County Seat, and is also the most populous U.S. city to lie entirely below sea level. Agriculture has been an important industry within El Centro since the early 20th century. Due to its strategic location near rail lines and U.S. Highways 80 and 99, more than 35 growers and shippers still operate in El Centro. As of 2009 the employment of El Centro residents is dominated by the local government, California state government, and federal government. Two nearby prisons (Centinela and Calipatria) and a U.S. Border Patrol station provide employment.

Demographic Stats

(Unless otherwise stated, data is from the most recent Census Bureau ACS 5-year Estimate.)

• Location: Imperial County
• Population: 44,186
• Hispanic or Latino of any race: 87.0% of the population
• Area: 11.86 square miles
• Households: 12,800
• Median household income: $56,093
• Poverty rate: 20.1%

BOOST Activities

• Provide training to the council to enhance skills in meeting facilitation, parliamentary procedure, the Brown Act, exceptional councils, public engagement, leadership, and other areas to help build governance capacity.
• Provide training to staff to enhance skills in meeting facilitation, public engagement, leadership, grant writing, grant management, and other areas to help build capacity.
• Support City’s workforce and recruitment efforts by exploring fellowship opportunities and trainings to help educate and engage the college-level public in City’s workforce opportunities (Academy Model).
• Identify funding opportunities and provide grant writing support with a specific focus on active transportation, infrastructure, planning, and economic development.
• Work with fire and police departments to identify funding and partner on grant writing efforts for infrastructure, equipment, and program support.
• Provide community engagement and partnerships support to foster collaboration and bring in new voices to help inform city projects and planning efforts.