El Centro is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 43,772 people and nine associated neighborhoods, El Centro is the 203rd largest community in California.

El Centro is a decent-sized city, yet no one gets to work using public transit, because the city has no real transit system.

The citizens of El Centro are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 15.79% of adults in El Centro have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree

The per capita income in El Centro in 2022 was $23,781, which is low income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $95,124 for a family of four. However, El Centro contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

El Centro is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call El Centro home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in El Centro, accounting for 86.90% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of El Centro residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in El Centro include English, German, Irish, African, and Italian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of El Centro's cultural character, accounting for 29.42% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in El Centro is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and Langs. of India.