Calexico, California

Area Profile

38,585 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Calexico, in Imperial County.

35out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 1% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,930th of 4,199 cities measured30
Schools4,091st of 4,162 cities measured8
GrowthTop 44% of 4,224 cities measured53
Housing affordability3,352nd of 4,218 cities measured50
Climate3,830th of 4,225 cities measured57
Physical resilience4,104th of 4,226 cities measured9
Access3,733rd of 4,226 cities measured70
Economic stability3,871st of 4,226 cities measured29
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 30.7% and the Opportunity signal places Calexico in the bottom 6%.

In the public schools here, 23% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.0 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 36% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.0 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
38,585
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$49,783
Bottom 22% nationally
Density
4,558/sq mi
8.5 sq mi of land
Median age
34.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Metro area
Nearest major airport
NYL
52 mi · Yuma MCAS/Yuma Intl
Median home value
$313,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 30.7% — higher than in all but 1% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.5% over the past year, to 12,151 employed residents.

Median household income of $49,783 is lower than in 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsImperial County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$44,7222nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftImperial County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,9094th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,2332024 ACS 5-Year$49,783Bottom 22%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4992024 ACS 5-Year$20,600Bottom 10%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year19.0%Bottom 25%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.7 minTop 50%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.9%Bottom 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year79.1%57th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,151Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.4%Top 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 33%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,52617th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.0%Bottom 36%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageEl Centro, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,630Bottom 21%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageEl Centro, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,140Bottom 7%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 202630.7%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.4%49th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073321
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 30.7% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202452k47k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $49,783 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — El Centro, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides8,020$34,320
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse3,350$35,140
Cashiers1,960$35,090
Retail Salespersons1,900$35,490
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,630$38,840
Stockers and Order Fillers1,360$39,450

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

23% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 23.0 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.0
across 11 of them
Math proficiency
23.2%
Bottom 8% in California
Reading proficiency
38.1%
Bottom 9% in California
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Calexico HighCalexico Unified2,74622.325%56%
Cesar Chavez ElementaryCalexico Unified76525.535%42%
Enrique Camarena Jr. HighCalexico Unified67422.533%39%
Jefferson ElementaryCalexico Unified62526.023%25%
William Moreno Junior HighCalexico Unified61822.112%25%
Rockwood ElementaryCalexico Unified61723.718%18%
Dool ElementaryCalexico Unified56824.717%18%
Kennedy Gardens ElementaryCalexico Unified48424.215%31%
Blanche Charles ElementaryCalexico Unified41924.633%41%
Mains ElementaryCalexico Unified40822.711%16%
Aurora High (Continuation)Calexico Unified9610.75%25%
Pinnacle Hall Community DayCalexico Unified22.0——

88.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 100.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the El Centro, CA Metro Area is up 47% over five years, and up 3.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,672 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.85% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,362, some 25% above the $1,093 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,362 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,500 a year, about 109% of the median household income here of $49,783.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,093 a month.

A median home at $313,600 costs 4.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,789, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
100.2

Prices here run at about the national average. Where places do differ, housing drives most of it — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the El Centro, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
36.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,362
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,093
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$313,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Calexico’s median household income of $49,783, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe El Centro, CA Metro Area’s figure2023100.2Top 44%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the El Centro, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%63rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the El Centro, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+46.9%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the El Centro, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+104.2%69th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year4.0Bottom 17%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year50.2%9th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5252024 ACS 5-Year12,01495th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,038Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,845Top 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,362Top 33%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$582024 ACS 5-Year$1,093Bottom 39%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,9342024 ACS 5-Year$313,60074th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2622024 ACS 5-Year$2,67268th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,4872024 ACS 5-Year$77,789Bottom 49%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year0.85%42nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year36.0%Bottom 18%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1522024 ACS 5-Year34096th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%74th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%75th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2512024 ACS 5-Year1,94598th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

53/ 100
Top 44% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 38,744 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 123 units authorized in 2025, up 73% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 107 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Imperial County, which contains Calexico, lost about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $44,722, below the $47,909 of households that moved out.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
107
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 47% nationally
Year over year
+16%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202439k38k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
35%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$44,722
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$47,909
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Riverside County, CA 971 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. San Diego County, CA 867 people · 19% of arrivals
  3. Yuma County, AZ 466 people · 10% of arrivals
  4. Los Angeles County, CA 298 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 225 people · 5.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. San Diego County, CA 1,037 people · 19% of departures
  2. Riverside County, CA 817 people · 15% of departures
  3. Yuma County, AZ 620 people · 11% of departures
  4. Maricopa County, AZ 419 people · 7.6% of departures
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 318 people · 5.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Imperial County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202514671
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−16%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 108°F and January a low of 42°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 2.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 63, in the Moderate band, and about 50 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station IMPERIAL CO AP, 11.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND0.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1072024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals2.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals108°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year502024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
63
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
107
90th percentile index
Days above 100
50
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

9 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 68% of it.

EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate
Volcanic activityModerate

Low or minimal exposure: wildfire, drought, strong wind, landslide, hurricane, hail, lightning, tornado, winter weather, cold wave, ice storm, tsunami, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
209
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
838
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Calexico's police department reported 209 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 838.

Imperial County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 7.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.9 per 100,000 residents in Imperial County.

Homicide
3.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
17.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Calexico’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Calexico (Imperial County) rather than Calexico itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Yuma MCAS/Yuma Intl at 52 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year90.5%Top 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle52 miBottom 12%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Yuma MCAS/Yuma IntlNYL52 mi13,300 ft
Jacqueline Cochran RgnlTRM76 mi8,500 ft
Palm Springs IntlPSP98 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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35
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Other cities in El Centro, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
El CentroImperial County44,24037El Centro vs Calexico
BrawleyImperial County27,28341Brawley vs Calexico
ImperialImperial County21,43044Imperial vs Calexico

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Calexico side by side with a similar place.

Calexico vs MendotaCalexico vs Farmersville

Moving to Calexico from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Calexico

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Calexico with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Calexico closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9223138,621$49,742$313,400—