akashic
1876–2024
El Centro, CA·California

El Centro, CA moved 25 points toward the Republican candidate between 2020 and 2024.

Imperial Valley's hub sits at one of the nation's busiest land-border crossings

1876 — 2024·38 elections
CA
LatestR+1in 2024
TypologyNew Americancluster typology
Population180,2022024 ACS

El Centro, CA, California: New American metro. In 2024, voted R+1%. Democratic peak: D+42 in 2016.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+1MIT Election Lab
Political typology
New AmericanAkashic typology
Population
180,2022024 5-year
Median household income
$57,6812024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
19.8%2024 5-year
Black
2.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
86.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+42 in 2016MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+39 in 1924MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
El Centro, CA
TrumpR+1
—
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican49.1%26,546
Kamala HarrisDemocratic48.3%26,083
OtherAll other candidates2.6%1,396
D+60
R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −0.9% in 2024.flipped R · 2024−0.9%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892No data
1896No data
1900No data
1904No data
1908−12.3%
1912+38.5%
1916+8.7%
1920−36.8%
1924−39.2%
1928−36.6%
1932+38.3%
1936+22.4%
1940+5.9%
1944−8.0%
1948−7.8%
1952−24.4%
1956−12.4%
1960−7.5%
1964+3.8%
1968−16.3%
1972−27.1%
1976−1.8%
1980−19.0%
1984−25.1%
1988−11.3%
1992+5.3%
1996+18.5%
2000+10.2%
2004+6.1%
2008+26.2%
2012+32.0%
2016+41.5%
2020+24.4%
2024−0.9%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−0.9%
26,08326,54654,025
D
+24.4%
34,67820,84756,743
D
+41.5%
32,66712,70448,091
D
+32.0%
25,13612,77738,565
D
+26.2%
24,16214,00838,820
D
+6.1%
17,96415,89034,274
D
+10.2%
15,48912,52428,937
D
+18.5%
14,5919,70526,400
D
+5.3%
11,1099,75925,318
R
−11.3%
10,24312,88923,365
R
−25.1%
8,23713,82922,301
R
−19.0%
7,96112,06821,579
R
−1.8%
10,24410,61821,262
R
−27.1%
7,98214,17822,849
R
−16.3%
7,48110,81820,446
D
+3.8%
11,14310,33021,492
R
−7.5%
9,11910,60619,806
R
−12.4%
8,19710,52618,781
R
−24.4%
6,33310,46216,903
R
−7.8%
5,3016,21711,810
R
−8.0%
5,0855,97911,112
D
+5.9%
7,7286,85414,712
D
+22.4%
7,5604,77112,444
D
+38.3%
8,7723,78313,039
R
−36.6%
2,4865,4178,012
R
−39.2%
7593,4556,872
R
−36.8%
2,0224,6997,284
D
+8.7%
3,2732,6946,659
O
+38.5%
1,29503,367
R
−12.3%
6759091,908
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
2.1%
German
1.7%
Irish
1.7%
American
1.5%
Italian
0.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 33.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.5%
85+
1.1%
1.9%
75–84
2.2%
3.8%
65–74
4.2%
4.9%
55–64
5.1%
5.6%
45–54
5.3%
6.9%
35–44
5.9%
8.0%
25–34
6.4%
5.4%
18–24
4.5%
10.8%
5–17
10.4%
3.6%
<5
3.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$57,681
El Centro, CA ranks near the middle of US counties.
El Centro, CA$57,681
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
19.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1824.6%
Working age (18–64)17.2%
Seniors (65+)19.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
24.7%
speak English only
Spanish74.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other Indo-European0.2%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
75.4%
Other Christian
6.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.3%
Baptist
1.5%
Mainline Protestant
0.4%
Methodist
0.4%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 13.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

El Centro anchors a heavily Latino, agriculture-driven metro where cross-border economic ties shape local politics and voter priorities more than in almost any other inland California region.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of forty-two points in 2016 and a Republican high of thirty-nine points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved twenty-five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point.

A population of 180,202, a 20% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,681 describe the metro.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
El Centro, CA, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/20940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did El Centro, CA, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, El Centro, CA, California voted Republican by 0.9 points (R+1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 54,025 votes cast, 26,083 went Democratic and 26,546 went Republican.
What is El Centro, CA, California's political typology?
Akashic places El Centro, CA, California in the "New American" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 13 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did El Centro, CA, California last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which El Centro, CA, California voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in El Centro, CA, California?
El Centro, CA, California has a population of 180,202 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in El Centro, CA, California?
Median household income in El Centro, CA, California is $57,681 — below the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of El Centro, CA, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in El Centro, CA, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The metro's typology — "New American" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.