Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · California

Clothing and shoe stores in the El Centro, CA metro area

The clothing and shoe stores in the El Centro, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 8 out of 100: Very low

Ranked #386 of 387 scored metro areas
#25 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
141
89 chain locations (63%)
Official establishments
76
−22.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$77.6M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,563 a household
Spending per listing
$550K
57% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
28.4
75% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
181,411
+1.1% since 2020

See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the El Centro metro area

The site report maps the clothing and shoe stores on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For clothing and shoe stores, the El Centro metro area has a Groundwork market score of 8 (very low): #386 of 387 scored metro areas and #25 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the El Centro metro area comes to about $77.6M a year: $1,563 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. That works out to $550K per store, 57% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only clothing and shoe stores.

The El Centro metro area has 141 clothing and shoe stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 63% of them, against 44% across the U.S. That comes to 28.4 for every 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 16.2.

In 2023, official counts showed 76 businesses with payroll in the El Centro metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores, down 22.4% from 2019. That is one for every 653 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Population estimates show the El Centro metro area grew 1.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the El Centro metro area compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the clothing and shoe stores counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Clothing and shoe stores in El Centro, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureEl Centro metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households28.418.616.2
Spending per listing$550K$1.1M$1.3M
Households per official establishment6531,1211,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−22.4%−11.1%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.1%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,563$2,085$2,055
Median household income$57,681$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score829

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
76−22.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,586
Annual payroll, 2023
$30.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
152Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
14189 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
61The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the El Centro metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the El Centro metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
181,411+1.1% since 2020
Households
49,644
Median age
33.6
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
4,176 sq. mi.
People per square mile
43
Median household income
$57,681+21.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,363
Median home value
$309,600
Jobs located here
63,081
Daytime population
165,766Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the El Centro metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the clothing and shoe stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Clothing and shoe stores across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for clothing and shoe stores, numbered among those based in California, with the El Centro metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA7727211.1$1.8M+5.5%#27 of 387
2Yuba City, CA75487.8$2.3M+3.3%#35 of 387
3Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA731,03111.7$1.7M+3.2%#46 of 387
4Merced, CA70778.9$1.8M+5.1%#59 of 387
5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA601,02215.0$1.8M−0.6%#125 of 387
6Hanford-Corcoran, CA564710.7$1.6M+1.0%#162 of 387
7Fresno, CA5448013.0$1.4M+3.2%#180 of 387
8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA533,00017.2$1.4M−2.4%#185 of 387
9Bakersfield-Delano, CA5234512.1$1.4M+2.3%#191 of 387
10Vallejo, CA5122414.2$1.4M+0.6%#199 of 387
25El Centro, CA814128.4$550K+1.1%#386 of 387

Other business types in the El Centro metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many clothing and shoe stores are in the El Centro, CA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 141 clothing and shoe stores in the El Centro metro area. 89 of them (63%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 76 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 22.4% from 2019. Official counts list 152 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the El Centro, CA metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $77.6M a year, or $1,563 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 141 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $550K per store. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which clothing and shoe stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,644 households in the El Centro metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the El Centro, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores?

The El Centro metro area has 28.4 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $550K, 57% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the El Centro metro area would have about 61, against 141 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 653 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 22.4% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the El Centro, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the El Centro metro area at 181,411 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,644 households. Median household income in the El Centro metro area is $57,681, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.1%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The El Centro metro area scores 8 for clothing and shoe stores (very low), #386 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the El Centro metro area. It maps the clothing and shoe stores on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for clothing and shoe stores · All 56 business types in the El Centro metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Centro metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.