Imperial is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 21,591 people and three associated neighborhoods, Imperial is the 317th largest community in California. Imperial has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Imperial, where the median household income is $83,214.00.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 9.46% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

In terms of college education, Imperial is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 20.30% of adults 25 and older in Imperial have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Imperial in 2022 was $28,599, which is lower middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $114,396 for a family of four. However, Imperial contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Imperial is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Imperial 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, accounting for 84.32% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Imperial residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Imperial include German, Irish, Italian, Scottish, and English.

Imperial also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 25.86%.

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