Chinese Population in Imperial County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Chinese population in Imperial County, CA is reported at 860 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Imperial County - including Calexico, El Centro, Brawley, and others - contribute to the Chinese population, but the total county figure of 860 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Chinese residents are distributed in California and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Chinese population in Imperial County

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  • 1
    Calexico
    Chinese population in Calexico is 484
    1.26% of Calexico population is Chinese
  • 2
    El Centro
    Chinese population in El Centro is 158
    0.36% of El Centro population is Chinese
  • 3
    Brawley
    Chinese population in Brawley is 85
    0.32% of Brawley population is Chinese
  • 4
    Imperial
    Chinese population in Imperial is 64
    0.31% of Imperial population is Chinese
  • 5
    Holtville
    Chinese population in Holtville is 21
    0.37% of Holtville population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in Imperial County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Imperial County with 860 Chinese residents (0.48% of 179,319 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 88th percentile nationally among counties and 30th percentile within California for Chinese population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Imperial County's Chinese population of 0.48% remains below California's state average of 4.8% and the national average of 1.6%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Imperial County contains 860 Chinese residents, representing less than 1% of California's total Chinese population of 1.9 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey show Imperial County maintains fewer than 0.21 Chinese Americans per square mile, compared to California's average of 12 per square mile, placing the county among jurisdictions with minimal demographic representation within the state.
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7 Cities in Imperial County Ranked by Chinese Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Chinese populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Calexico, El Centro, Brawley, and Imperial. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 7 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Imperial County, CA ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
City
Chinese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Imperial County Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Calexico 484 1.26% 56.28%
2 El Centro 158 0.36% 18.37%
3 Brawley 85 0.32% 9.88%
4 Imperial 64 0.31% 7.44%
5 Holtville 21 0.37% 2.44%
6 Calipatria 0 - -
6 Westmorland 0 - -
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Imperial County, CA by their Chinese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Chinese population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Chinese ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Chinese alone, while others identify as Chinese along with another race (such as Chinese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Chinese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Chinese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Chinese alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Chinese .
  2. % of Total Imperial County Chinese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Chinese population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Chinese populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Chinese population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Chinese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.