Imperial Beach is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 25,791 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Imperial Beach is the 279th largest community in California.

Housing costs in Imperial Beach are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in California.

There are many members of the armed forces living in Imperial Beach. You will notice when you visit or live here that some of the people you meet or see around town are employed by the armed services - even if they are not always in uniform.

Also of interest is that Imperial Beach has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 7.77% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Imperial Beach is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in Imperial Beach use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Imperial Beach‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the bus. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

The population of Imperial Beach overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Imperial Beach, 22.53% have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Imperial Beach in 2022 was $33,164, which is lower middle income relative to California, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $132,656 for a family of four. However, Imperial Beach contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Imperial Beach is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Imperial Beach home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Imperial Beach, accounting for 52.82% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Imperial Beach residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Imperial Beach include Irish, German, English, Italian, and French.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Imperial Beach's cultural character, accounting for 17.29% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Imperial Beach is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.