Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area — Elections 1876–2024

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+28%. Democratic peak: D+52 in 1964.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+28MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 4,953,3542024 5-year
Median household income: $116,7592024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 67.3%2024 5-year
Black: 7.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 12.4%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+52 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+39 in 1896MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

7 counties · 6 D · 1 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+28.1%	1,556,038	858,680	2,482,071
2020	D	+35.9%	1,743,643	803,274	2,619,245
2016	D	+28.9%	1,460,641	761,141	2,419,108
2012	D	+21.9%	1,356,729	861,929	2,257,071
2008	D	+24.7%	1,334,792	796,772	2,174,089
2004	D	+23.5%	1,250,471	769,112	2,045,369
2000	D	+26.3%	1,128,185	630,117	1,896,701
1996	D	+31.7%	1,078,492	517,092	1,769,384
1992	D	+17.0%	912,720	583,443	1,934,373
1988	D	+5.3%	954,254	856,763	1,840,177
1984	R	−3.5%	855,440	916,900	1,778,293
1980	R	−2.0%	709,139	744,658	1,740,401
1976	D	+12.8%	951,261	728,824	1,741,742
1972	D	+9.7%	922,799	758,568	1,691,039
1968	D	+29.9%	1,008,225	528,748	1,601,180
1964	D	+52.2%	1,220,574	381,026	1,607,189
1960	D	+18.9%	1,000,875	682,767	1,687,253
1956	R	−18.8%	644,474	944,118	1,593,271
1952	R	−9.3%	732,130	882,586	1,620,098
1948	D	+10.9%	776,499	620,910	1,432,133
1944	D	+2.4%	690,519	658,612	1,351,725
1940	D	+3.5%	716,877	668,728	1,393,007
1936	D	+7.0%	630,770	541,600	1,267,375
1932	D	+5.1%	561,427	505,423	1,093,234
1928	D	+1.9%	554,617	533,541	1,093,987
1924	R	−34.5%	205,276	476,479	786,035
1920	R	−39.1%	197,091	467,701	692,425
1916	R	−1.4%	176,777	181,905	368,718
1912	D	+8.5%	127,448	98,564	339,577
1908	R	−21.7%	114,554	184,457	321,964
1904	R	−16.4%	125,156	177,225	317,383
1900	R	−15.0%	117,889	161,820	293,820
1896	R	−39.4%	79,997	191,621	283,662
1892	R	−3.3%	129,061	138,176	274,663
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

Irish

19.8%

Italian

11.8%

English

10.1%

German

5.7%

French

3.7%

American

3.2%

Polish

2.6%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 39.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.3%

2.2%

75–84

2.9%

4.7%

65–74

5.3%

6.5%

55–64

6.8%

6.1%

45–54

6.3%

6.7%

35–44

6.7%

7.4%

25–34

7.4%

4.8%

18–24

5.0%

7.3%

5–17

6.9%

2.6%

2.5%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$116,759

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH ranks near the middle of US counties.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$116,759

Massachusetts$103,960

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

9.0%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 189.9%

Working age (18–64)8.3%

Seniors (65+)13.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

73.9%

speak English only

Spanish9.4%

Other Indo-European9.4%

Asian & Pacific Islander5.5%

Other languages1.7%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

37.7%

Non-Christian

4.5%

Other Christian

3.5%

Mainline Protestant

2.2%

Baptist

1.0%

Pentecostal & Holiness

0.8%

Methodist

0.6%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Greater Boston holds one of the highest concentrations of college-educated adults in the country, a demographic reality that has steadily widened Democratic margins in federal races while leaving local contests more competitive than the regional reputation suggests.

The Democratic margin in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH has rarely exceeded fifty-two points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-nine points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by twenty-eight points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 67% non-Hispanic-white share, a 9% poverty rate, and a median household income of $116,759 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/14460/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts vote in 2024?

In 2024, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 28.1 points (D+28), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 2,482,071 votes cast, 1,556,038 went Democratic and 858,680 went Republican.

What is Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 22 times, Republican 12 times, and other 0 times.

When did Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1984.

How many people live in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts?

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts has a population of 4,953,354 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts?

Median household income in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts is $116,759 — above the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.

What is the political history of Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 12 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH delivered D+28 in 2024.

Key facts

Demographics

Frequently asked questions