County profile
Imperial County, CA
United States · GDP 2024
#360 of 3,127 US counties by GDPbottom-quartile growthmore diversified than 68% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$12.9B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
-0.2%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
34,323
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
2,677
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$53.0k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
181,411
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
17.6%
Median HH income
$57.7k±$2.6k
Bachelor's degree+
16.1%±1.1%
Poverty rate
19.5%±1.4%
Business applications
1,300 · 2025
Retail establishments
437
23.9/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Retail trade32%
Health care26%
Food & accommodation17%
Manufacturing9%
Wholesale trade9%
Transportation8%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
181,411
residents · 2025 · +1.0% since 2020
Income per capita $52.1k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−6,872
International migration+4,127
Natural change+4,612
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$8.6B2019
$9.2B2020
$9.9B2021
$11.8B2022
$12.9B2023
$12.9B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$309.6k±$8.4k
Median gross rent
$1.1k/mo±$30/mo
Vacancy rate
14.5%±1.1%
Affordability
5.8× wages
Residential permits
$38.9M
242 units · 1.3/1k pop
FEMA risk score
96.5
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.4k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Earthquake 99Heat wave 94Volcanic 86
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
3522016
3732017
3942018
4072019
4262020
4832021
5512022
5822023
6342024
6802025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -56% since 20215552021
5512022
2632023
2532024
2422025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
29.7 km
I-8
Nearest freight rail
13.2 km
UP
Nearest port
165.1 km
San Diego Unified Port, CA
Nearest commercial airport
30.3 km
IMPERIAL COUNTY
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$53.0k
avg. annual pay · +27% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Imperial?
Imperial's economy produced $12.9B in 2024, contracting 0.2% year over year — slower than 80% of US counties. Its largest employment sector is retail trade.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.