Brawley, California

History

The Imperial Land Company laid out the town in 1902 and named it Braly in honor of J.H. Braly, who owned the land. After Braly refused to permit the use of his name, the name was changed to Brawley. The first post office at Brawley opened in 1903.

Incorporated in 1908, it was a "tent city" of only 100 persons involved in railroads and the earliest introduction of agriculture. It had a population of 11,922 in 1950, but population growth was slow from the 1960s to the early 1990s.

Geography

Brawley is located in the Colorado Desert and Lower Colorado River Valley regions. The city's elevation, like other Imperial Valley towns, is below sea level.

It is 13 mi north of El Centro, about 70 miles west of Yuma, Arizona, 95 miles southeast of Palm Springs and 130 miles east of San Diego.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Brawley has a total area of 7.7 sqmi. All is land within the city limits, except for the Alamo River and New River that seasonally flow through the city.

Climate

Average January temperatures in Brawley are a high of 71.7 F and a low of 41.4 F. Average July temperatures are a high of 108.2 F and a low of 76.6 F. On average, 177.0 afternoons during the year have highs of 90 F or higher. The record high temperature was 122 F on July 1, 1950, and the record low temperature was 4 F on January 1, 1919.

Average annual precipitation is 2.38 in with an average of 15 days with measurable precipitation. December is the wettest month of the year, while June is the driest. The wettest year was 1939 with 8.18 in, while the driest year was 1953, in which no measurable precipitation fell in Brawley. The most rainfall in one month was 6.75 in in September 1939. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 3.90 in on October 10, 1932. A rare snowfall in December 1932 brought a total of 3.0 in.

|Jan record high F = 89 |Feb record high F = 97 |Mar record high F = 104 |Apr record high F = 108 |May record high F = 118 |Jun record high F = 121 |Jul record high F = 122 |Aug record high F = 120 |Sep record high F = 121 |Oct record high F = 111 |Nov record high F = 100 |Dec record high F = 98

|Jan record low F = 4 |Feb record low F = 25 |Mar record low F = 28 |Apr record low F = 35 |May record low F = 40 |Jun record low F = 35 |Jul record low F = 55 |Aug record low F = 59 |Sep record low F = 50 |Oct record low F = 30 |Nov record low F = 26 |Dec record low F = 20

|access-date = April 30, 2023 |access-date = April 30, 2023

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Brawley had a population of 26,416. The population density was 3,254.0 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Brawley was 31.5% White, 1.6% African American, 1.4% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 37.1% from other races, and 26.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 86.1% of the population.

The census reported that 99.4% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.

There were 8,233 households, out of which 45.1% included children under the age of 18, 48.1% were married-couple households, 6.6% were cohabiting couple households, 30.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 18.3% of households were one person, and 8.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.19.

The age distribution was 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% aged 18 to 24, 26.0% aged 25 to 44, 21.9% aged 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 32.7years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males.

There were 8,597 housing units at an average density of 1,059.0 /mi2, of which 8,233 (95.8%) were occupied. Of these, 51.8% were owner-occupied, and 48.2% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $60,370, and the per capita income was $25,729. About 18.3% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

At the 2010 census Brawley had a population of 24,953. The population density was 3,248.4 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Brawley was 13,570 (54.4%) White, 510 (2.0%) African American, 241 (1.0%) Native American, 349 (1.4%) Asian, 32 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 9,258 (37.1%) from other races, and 993 (4.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20,344 persons (81.5%).

The census reported that 24,779 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 63 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 111 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 7,623 households, 3,827 (50.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,932 (51.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,560 (20.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 543 (7.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 589 (7.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 23 (0.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,346 households (17.7%) were one person and 550 (7.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.25. There were 6,035 families (79.2% of households); the average family size was 3.67.

The age distribution was 8,138 people (32.6%) under the age of 18, 2,670 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 6,065 people (24.3%) aged 25 to 44, 5,572 people (22.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,508 people (10.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

There were 8,231 housing units at an average density of 1,071.5 /sqmi, of which 7,623 were occupied, 3,970 (52.1%) by the owners and 3,653 (47.9%) by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%. 12,950 people (51.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 11,829 people (47.4%) lived in rental housing units.

82.9% Brawley's residents today are of Mexican and Latino origins; the town contained White, East Indian, Chinese, Filipino and African American sections in the 20th century.

Economy

Major employers in Brawley include Pioneers Memorial Hospital, and Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo. Spreckels Sugar Company is located outside of Brawley.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Brawley is in , and .

In the United States House of Representatives, Brawley is in .

Brawley is in the 4th Imperial County Board of Supervisors District and is represented by Ryan Kelley.

Education

• High-school age students in both Brawley and neighboring Westmorland use the Brawley Union High School District, of which there is one high school, Brawley Union High School.
• Brawley also offers Desert Valley High School (10th, 11th and 12th grades), Renaissance (9th and 10th grade), and Del Rio (10th, 11th and 12th grade) all three high schools.
• Brawley is also home to Brawley Christian Academy, a private institution.
• Children from kindergarten through eighth grade use the Brawley Elementary School District. There are five schools in the Brawley Elementary School District: Barbara Worth Junior High School (serving 7th and 8th grades), Phil D. Swing Elementary School (serving kindergarten-6th grades), Miguel Hidalgo Elementary School (serving kindergarten-6th grades), J.W. Oakley Elementary School (serving kindergarten-6th grades), and Myron D. Witter Elementary School (serving kindergarten-6th grades).
• Brawley is located in the Imperial Community College District of which there is one junior college, Imperial Valley College.
• San Diego State University operates a satellite campus in Brawley.

Infrastructure

Brawley maintains its own police{{cite web |access-date= January 2, 2018 |access-date= January 2, 2018

Notable people

• The Bella Twins, professional wrestlers
• Fernando Eros Caro, pedophile and serial killer
• Helen Fabela Chávez, Labor Leader
• Alan Fowlkes, former pitcher for San Francisco Giants
• Joe Hoover, Major League Baseball shortstop, Detroit Tigers
• Al McCandless, United States Representative
• Mike Mohamed, NFL linebacker, Houston Texans
• Sid Monge, MLB pitcher
• Barbara O'Brien, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
• Sergio Romo, MLB relief pitcher
• Don Rowe, MLB pitcher and coach, New York Mets
• Howard Rumsey, musician
• Rudy Seánez, MLB relief pitcher
• Jim Skipper, NFL running backs coach, Carolina Panthers
• Steve Taylor, contemporary Christian singer
• Eddie Zuko, musical artist

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{Cite GNIS. 1656443. Brawley
3. {{California's Geographic Names. 1398
4. [http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca1048 "BRAWLEY 2 SW, CALIFORNIA (041048) : Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary : Period of Record : 5/6/1910 to 9/30/2007"], Western Regional Climate Center, [[NOAA]], [[National Climatic Data Center]], [[National Weather Service]]
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
6. "Brawley city, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
7. "Brawley city, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
8. "Brawley city, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles".
9. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA – Brawley city". U.S. Census Bureau.
10. [https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Brawley/Race-and-Ethnicity Race and Ethnicity in Brawley, California (City)] Statistical Atlas
11. "Major Employers in California".
12. Suzuki, Kori. (2025-08-14). "California’s last beet sugar plant is closing. Can Imperial County keep the industry alive?". KPBS Public Media.
13. "Senators". State of California.
14. "Members Assembly". State of California.
15. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 25