Which CSS property is used to change the background color of an element?

The property used to change the background color of an element in CSS is background-color. This property allows you to specify the color that will fill the space behind the content of an element, enhancing the visual style of a webpage.

By using the background-color property, you can apply a solid color, and in combination with other properties, such as background-image or background-repeat, you can create more complex background styles.

Other options do not serve the same purpose: the color property is used for setting the text color, bgcolor is an outdated attribute primarily associated with HTML tables rather than CSS, and background-image is specifically for applying an image as a background, rather than a solid color. Thus, background-color is the correct choice for changing an element's background to a specific color.