Demographics of Imperial County, California

Imperial County, California had 181,411 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +1,879 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Imperial County, in four figures

181,411
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; +1.0%
Change since July 2020: +1,879 people.; 33.2 ±0.2
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $57,681 ±$2,564
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year's change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from elsewhere in the country, with the Bureau's small residual. The 2020 row's components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.

Imperial County, California's population grew 1.0% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Imperial County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

U.S. Census Bureau — Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change

About this chart

The figures

Imperial County, California's population grew 1.0% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Imperial County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	179,532	100.0	100.0
2021	178,809	99.6	100.2
2022	179,421	99.9	100.7
2023	180,683	100.6	101.6
2024	182,771	101.8	102.5
2025	181,411	101.0	103.1

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Population of Imperial County, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change	Births less deaths	From abroad	From elsewhere in the country
2020	179,532	−173	+29	+6	−231
2021	178,809	−723	+325	+54	−1,159
2022	179,421	+612	+1,079	+974	−1,427
2023	180,683	+1,262	+1,106	+1,461	−1,297
2024	182,771	+2,088	+1,048	+1,811	−761
2025	181,411	−1,360	+1,054	−173	−2,228

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 33.2 ±0.2: for men 32.2 ±0.3 and for women 34.2 ±0.2. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Imperial County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	12,744 ±137	7.1% ±0.1	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	38,310 ±1,422	21.3% ±0.8	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	17,729 ±1,011	9.8% ±0.6	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	49,149 ±1,116	27.3% ±0.6	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	37,569 ±1,035	20.8% ±0.6	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	24,701 ±1,115	13.7% ±0.6	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $57,681 ±$2,564, and income per person $23,552 ±$784, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Imperial County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	11,152 ±966	22.5% ±1.9	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	10,614 ±942	21.4% ±1.9	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	8,434 ±828	17.0% ±1.7	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	5,585 ±609	11.3% ±1.2	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	7,741 ±741	15.6% ±1.5	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	3,316 ±504	6.7% ±1.0	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	2,802 ±429	5.6% ±0.9	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Imperial County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	33,819 ±2,443	19.5% ±1.4	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	12,456 ±1,181	24.6% ±2.1	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	15,419 ±1,187	17.3% ±1.3	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	5,944 ±591	17.7% ±1.7	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Imperial County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Imperial County	California	United States
Housing units	58,044 ±117	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	85.5% ±1.1	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	14.5% ±1.1	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	56.8% ±2.1	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	43.2% ±2.0	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$309,600 ±$8,398	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,056 ±$30	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1988 ±2	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Imperial County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	154,886 ±0	86.0% ±<0.1	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	16,413 ±129	9.1% ±0.1	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	3,523 ±330	2.0% ±0.2	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	2,260 ±122	1.3% ±0.1	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	1,169 ±145	0.6% ±0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	176 ±51	0.1% ±<0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	10 to 272	< 0.1% to 0.2%	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,634 ±326	0.9% ±0.2	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Imperial County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	107,598 ±2,134	59.7% ±1.2	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	11,779 ±1,079	6.5% ±0.6	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	3,830 ±582	2.1% ±0.3	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	56,995 ±1,881	31.6% ±1.0	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	30,152 ±1,489	16.7% ±0.8	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	26,843 ±1,911	14.9% ±1.1	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Imperial County among the counties of California

31st of 58 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the California page.

Counties of California near Imperial County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Marin County	253,694	−2.9%
Yolo County	224,410	+3.1%
Butte County	209,211	−0.5%
El Dorado County	192,323	+0.6%
Shasta County	181,648	−0.3%
Imperial County	181,411	+1.0%
Madera County	167,927	+7.4%
Kings County	154,327	+1.0%
Napa County	132,949	−3.3%
Humboldt County	131,647	−3.4%
Nevada County	101,911	−0.4%

Elsewhere on the site

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Data retrieved September 25, 2026