Explore Calipatria voter guides, local civic context and official resources for Imperial County campaigns, with dated population and registration facts.
At a glance: Calipatria is an incorporated city in Imperial County. Population: 6,002 (California Department of Finance estimate as of January 1, 2026). Registered voters: 1,513 (California Secretary of State, as of September 4, 2026).
Calipatria is an incorporated city in northern Imperial Valley. Its January 2018 service area plan records incorporation on February 28, 1918, as a general-law city. The plan places it in an arid Southeast Desert Air Basin setting, where a compact town and irrigated agricultural land sit within a much broader desert landscape. The municipal geography is not just the central street grid. The 2018 plan describes separated city tracts associated with Calipatria State Prison to the northeast and the wastewater treatment plant to the northwest. These disconnected lands explain why a visual impression of the town is not a reliable jurisdiction map. Total population and registered voters are different measures and should never be substituted for one another. The service plan brings water, wastewater, streets, drainage, public safety, library facilities and recreation into the same planning discussion. A development proposal can affect several systems at once. Reading the applicable service chapter alongside the proposed land use helps distinguish an existing facility from an improvement proposed to support future development. Calipatria’s flagpole and its sea-level symbolism also appear in the historical plan, connecting a familiar local landmark to the valley’s unusual elevation. The report’s capacity, budget and staffing numbers describe its 2018 planning period. Current operational or property-specific questions require later city and agency records, rather than treating a past plan as a promise of available service.
The January 2018 service area plan records February 28, 1918.
No. The 2018 plan also describes disconnected municipal tracts associated with the prison and wastewater treatment plant.
Water, wastewater, circulation, drainage, fire protection, law enforcement, library facilities and recreation are among its subjects.
The historical plan connects the city’s flagpole to the valley’s unusual below-sea-level elevation, making it a familiar local landmark.
1,513 (California Secretary of State, as of September 4, 2026).
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