Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona. Calexico, along with six other incorporated Imperial County cities, forms part of the larger populated area known as the Imperial Valley. First explored by Europeans in the 18th century, Calexico began as a small tent community which was ultimately incorporated in 1908.

Etymology

The name of the city is a portmanteau of California and Mexico. The originally proposed names were ''Santo Tomas'' or ''Thomasville.'' Mexicali is a similarly named city directly across the international border from Calexico, its name being a portmanteau of the words "Mexico" and "California."

History

The expedition of Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza traveled through the area some time between 1775 and 1776, during Spanish rule. The trail through Calexico was designated as a historical route by the State of California.

Founding

Calexico began as a tent city of the Imperial Land Company; it was founded in 1899, and municipal corporation, incorporated in 1908. The Imperial Land Company converted desert land into a fertile setting for year-round agriculture. The first post office in Calexico opened in 1902.

2010 earthquake

On April 4, 2010, the El Mayor earthquake caused moderate to heavy damage throughout Calexico and across the border in Mexicali. Measuring 7.2 , the quake was centered about south of the U.S.–Mexico border near Mexicali. A state of emergency was declared and officials cordoned off First and Second streets between Paulin and Heber Avenues. Glass and debris littered the streets of downtown Calexico and two buildings partially collapsed. The Calexico water treatment plant sustained severe damage.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, at the 2020 census, the city had a total area of , all land. Calexico is located southeast of Los Angeles, east of San Diego, west of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, and adjacent to Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Calexico's location provides easy overnight trucking access to all those transportation hubs plus the ports of Long Beach, California, and Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Calexico is served by State Routes California State Route 98, 98, California State Route 7, 7 and California State Route 111, 111, with direct connection to Interstate 8 (California), Interstate 8 (5 miles north) and California State Route 86, State Route 86. There are eighteen regular and irregular common carriers for intrastate and interstate truck service to Calexico. Rail service is provided by Union Pacific Railroad, and connects with the main line to Portland, Oregon; Rock Island, Illinois; Tucumcari, New Mexico; St. Louis, Missouri; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Within city limits is Calexico International Airport, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint for private passenger and air-cargo flights entering the U.S. from Mexico. Private charter services are also available there. General aviation facilities and scheduled passenger and air-cargo service to San Diego International Airport, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, and other points are available at Imperial County Airport (Boley Field), located north.

Climate

Calexico has a subtropical climate, subtropical Desert climate#hot-desert climate, hot-desert climate (''BWh''), according to the Köppen climate classification system. In December 1932, the city experienced a rare snowfall. Rainfall usually occurs in the winter months of December, January and February. Although summer is extremely dry in Calexico, there are occasional thunderstorms. In 2008, during the months of July and August there were several heavy thunderstorms that let down large amounts of rain and hail. Summer rainfall in the city is infrequent. During wintertime, Calexico is sometimes affected by winter rain showers. The summer temperatures in Calexico are very hot, with most of those days having temperatures at or above . However, the hot desert climate seen in Calexico is actually not unusual for similar parallel cities such as, for example, Baghdad, Iraq. The area has a large amount of sunshine year-round due to its stable descending air and high pressure.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Calexico had a population of 38,633. The population density was . The racial makeup of Calexico was 19.7% White Americans, White, 0.2% African Americans, African American, 1.3% Native Americans in the United States, Native American, 1.1% Asian Americans, Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander Americans, Pacific Islander, 45.4% from Race (United States Census), other races, and 32.2% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 97.2% of the population. The census reported that 99.7% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 10,468 households, out of which 47.2% included children under the age of 18, 52.9% were married-couple households, 3.7% were cohabitation, cohabiting couple households, 31.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 13.7% of households were one person, and 8.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.68. There were 8,738 family (U.S. Census), families (83.5% of all households). The age distribution was 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.3% aged 18 to 24, 23.3% aged 25 to 44, 24.7% aged 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 36.2years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. There were 10,815 housing units at an average density of , of which 10,468 (96.8%) were occupied. Of these, 50.9% were owner-occupied, and 49.1% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $50,021, and the per capita income was $20,185. About 17.7% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

Government

The City of Calexico operates under a Council-manager government, City Council/City Manager form of government. The City Council consists of five Council Members, elected to overlapping four-year term. The Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem are chosen from among the five council members and rotate on an annual basis. The mayor presides at council meetings, where all official policies and laws of the city are enacted. The members of the Calexico City Council set policy and appoint commissions and committees that study the present and future needs of Calexico. The other two elected officials in the City of Calexico are the City Clerk and City Treasurer. Each of them is elected directly by the voters and serves a 4-year term. The Calexico branch of the Imperial County Superior Court system was officially renamed on Saturday, December 19, 1992, in honor of Legaspi family members Henry, Victor and Luis Legaspi as the Legaspi Municipal Court Complex.

Politics

In the California State Legislature, state legislature, Calexico is in , and . Federally, Calexico is in . The current mayor is Gloria Romo. The mayor pro tem is Gilberto Manzanarez, and the other council members are Javier Moreno, Raul Urena, and Camilo Garcia. In recent years, Calexico has overwhelmingly supported Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party candidates for president. In eight of the last nine presidential elections, the Democratic candidate has received over 70% of the vote.

Education

Colleges and universities

Post-secondary education is available at the San Diego State University Imperial Valley Campus, Imperial Valley Campus of San Diego State University, and at Imperial Valley College ( to the north). In addition, there are more than 20 local agencies and programs providing vocational training which can be tailored to the specific needs of potential employers.

Public schools

The Calexico Unified School District serves city residents. Calexico has 7 Elementary school#United States, elementary schools, 2 junior high school#United States, junior high schools and 2 High school (North America), high schools:

Elementary

; Grades K–6 * Kennedy Gardens Elementary – Home of the Eagles * Allen and Helen Mains Elementary – Home of the Trojans * Rockwood Elementary – Home of the Rockets * Blanche Charles Elementary – Home of the Dolphins * Jefferson Elementary – Home of the Tigers * Dool Elementary – Home of the Cougars * Cesar Chavez Elementary – Home of the Lobos

Junior high schools

=Grades 7–8

= * Willam Moreno Jr. High – Home of the Aztecs * Enrique Camarena Junior High School – Home of the Firebirds

High schools

;Grades 9–12 * Calexico High School 9th Campus - Home of the Bulldogs * Calexico High School – Home of the Bulldogs (10th-12th) * Aurora High School – Home of the Eagles

Public charter school (Independent Study)

RAI Online Charter School—raicharter.net (K–12, tuition-free)

Adult education schools

* Robert F. Morales Adult Education Center * Independent Studies Office

Private schools

Calexico Mission School, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist Academy operated by the Southeastern California Conference in Riverside, CA provides private religious education in Calexico from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy (Home to the Bees), and Vincent Memorial Catholic High School (Home to the Scots), Roman Catholic schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, are also in Calexico.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Calexico is served by the privately owned Calexico Transit, LA Shuttle and Numero Uno Shuttle and the publicly owned Imperial Valley Transit for local transit. Calexico is also served by Greyhound Lines. Freight rail service is provided by Union Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad's Calexico Subdivision.

Utilities

Calexico's public works departments operates water and sewer service for the city.

Community

Calexico generally identifies as part of the larger Imperial Valley region, which includes the El Centro metropolitan area, as do the rest of the cities in the county. Notable sites *Hotel De Anza (Hotel establishment notable for its history and having served celebrities and public figures) *Calexico Carnegie Library (Carnegie library built in 1918 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005) *US Inspection Station – Calexico (Historically used as the original port of entry during the early 20th century – was closed and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992) *Camp Salvation (Calexico), Camp Salvation (Refugee camp established in 1849 by Lieut. Cave for emigrants coming from the Southern Emigrant Trail during the California Gold Rush – was registered as a California Historical Landmarks site in 1965.) *Camp John H. Beacom – a semipermanent camp named after Colonel John H. Beacom (6th infantry) garrisoned in Calexico during World War I for patrolling duties. The site was abandoned in 1920 according to cavalry journals. *Camp Calexico was another post used for patrolling duties by Colonel W. G. Schreibe and his infantry in 1914 *Mount Signal Solar (One of the largest PV solar farms in the world) Red Ribbon Week Red Ribbon Week, a national observance dedicated to spreading awareness about the prevention of drugs and violence (especially in schools) originated within the city of Calexico during the mid to late 1980s as a tribute to DEA officer Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. Red Ribbon Week campaigns were pushed forward by Nancy Reagan.

Sister city

* Mexicali, Mexico (since April 28, 2017)

Media

The city media includes national public television stations, county-wide radio stations (some of which feature nation-wide or California state-wide programing), county-wide print publications such as Imperial Valley Press as well as a few locally managed general interest publications.

Notable people

* Isaac Acuña (b. 1989) – soccer player *Bill Binder (1915–2010) – restaurateur, businessman, and owner of Philippe's * Kiki Camarena (1947–1985) – Drug Enforcement Administration agent * Enrique Castillo (b. 1949) – actor, writer, director, and producer * Jeff Cravath (1903–1953) – college football player and coach * Mariano-Florentino Cuellar (b. 1972) – Supreme Court of California justice and president of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace * Emilio Delgado (1940–2022) – actor * Bob Huff (b. 1953) – California State Senate member * William Kesling (1899–1983) – architect * Takashi Kijima (1920–2011) – photographer * Henry Lozano (b. 1948) – Executive Office of the President of the United States#Organization, Deputy Assistant to George W. Bush and director of the USA Freedom Corps * Dan Navarro (b. 1952) – singer, guitarist, and voice actor * Ruben Niebla (b. 1971) – Major League Baseball (MLB) player and coach * Allen Strange (1943–2008) – composer and writer * Danny Villanueva (1937–2015) – National Football League (NFL) player, co-founder of Univision, and general manager of Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy * Primo Villanueva (b. 1931) – Canadian Football League player * Eugenio Elorduy Walther, Eugenio E. Walther (1940–2023) – Governor of Baja California, governor of Baja California * Bob Wilson (politician), Bob Wilson (1916–1999) – United States House of Representatives member for California

References

External links

*
Calexico Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Calexico, California, Incorporated cities and towns in California Cities in Imperial County, California Mexico–United States border crossings El Centro metropolitan area, * Communities in the Lower Colorado River Valley Imperial Valley Populated places in the Colorado Desert Populated places established in 1908 1908 establishments in California