akashic
1876–2024
Chico, CA·California

Chico, CA votes the way the country votes.

Butte County hub that shifted sharply right after the 2018 Camp Fire

1876 — 2024·38 elections
CA
Latest
R+3
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
207,929
2024 ACS

Chico, CA, California: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+3%. Democratic peak: D+46 in 1912.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+3MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
207,9292024 5-year
Median household income
$67,9282024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
69.5%2024 5-year
Black
1.8%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
20.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+46 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+38 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
1 counties · 0 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).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−3.1%
44,22847,17994,523
D
+1.9%
50,81548,819102,565
R
−3.7%
41,56745,14497,002
R
−2.0%
42,66944,47991,021
D
+2.3%
49,01346,70698,707
R
−9.6%
42,44851,66296,157
R
−17.0%
31,33845,58483,721
R
−10.4%
30,65138,96179,550
D
+1.0%
32,48931,60885,014
R
−13.6%
30,40640,14371,631
R
−27.7%
25,42145,38171,964
R
−28.3%
19,52038,18866,012
R
−7.7%
24,20328,40054,854
R
−20.8%
18,40128,81950,028
R
−23.8%
12,88722,22539,211
D
+3.1%
20,83119,57440,419
R
−15.7%
15,16320,83836,175
R
−17.3%
12,93318,38231,462
R
−27.1%
10,49118,39029,133
R
−3.7%
10,13310,94822,181
D
+5.7%
8,8117,85216,768
D
+17.7%
10,6847,43318,372
D
+33.8%
10,4905,10315,928
D
+35.9%
9,6454,32214,832
R
−22.6%
3,9466,30610,432
O
−29.7%
1,2994,38210,372
R
−38.2%
2,2625,4098,234
D
+9.6%
4,8883,9569,669
O
+45.7%
4,02808,822
R
−16.2%
2,1463,0945,866
R
−25.8%
1,5742,7994,757
R
−7.0%
2,0112,3224,419
D
+1.0%
2,1202,0754,295
R
−0.8%
2,1412,1804,665
D
+0.5%
2,2152,1914,541
R
−1.2%
2,1182,1724,427
D
+0.5%
1,8321,8143,646
R
−0.9%
1,6341,6653,299

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
13.8%
English
12.3%
Irish
11.4%
Italian
5.4%
American
5.0%
Scottish
2.7%
French
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: 36.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.0%
2.5%
75–84
3.2%
5.2%
65–74
5.8%
5.4%
55–64
5.9%
5.2%
45–54
5.0%
6.1%
35–44
5.8%
6.8%
25–34
6.3%
7.3%
18–24
7.3%
7.9%
5–17
7.4%
2.7%
<5
2.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$67,928
Chico, CA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Chico, CA$67,928
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
19.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.1%
Working age (18–64)19.4%
Seniors (65+)12.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
83.4%
speak English only
Spanish10.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.7%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
11.6%
Catholic & Orthodox
10.7%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.3%
Mainline Protestant
1.9%
Baptist
1.3%
Methodist
0.7%
Non-Christian
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 71.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Chico's metro, anchored in Butte County, recorded an R+9.1 margin in 2024—a striking lean for a Northern California college town that once split closer to evenly before the Camp Fire reshaped its population and politics.

The Democratic margin in Chico, CA has rarely exceeded forty-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-eight points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by three points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 70% non-Hispanic-white share, a 19% poverty rate, and a median household income of $67,928 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Chico, CA, California — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/17020/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Chico, CA, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, Chico, CA, California voted Republican by 3.1 points (R+3), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 94,523 votes cast, 44,228 went Democratic and 47,179 went Republican.
What is Chico, CA, California's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Chico, CA, California as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 24 times, and other 2 times.
When did Chico, CA, California last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Chico, CA, California voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Chico, CA, California?
Chico, CA, California has a population of 207,929 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Chico, CA, California?
Median household income in Chico, CA, California is $67,928 — below the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Chico, CA, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Chico, CA, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.