San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California: Urban anchor metro. In 2024, voted D+39%. Democratic peak: D+51 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+39MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Urban anchorAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,969,3372024 5-year
- Median household income
- $162,5762024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 30.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 26.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+51 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+50 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, CAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 525,923 | 222,626 | 778,258 | ||
| D | 635,595 | 225,202 | 879,571 | ||
| D | 524,205 | 152,667 | 725,831 | ||
| D | 462,094 | 182,186 | 663,358 | ||
| D | 474,158 | 197,464 | 685,377 | ||
| D | 395,951 | 217,792 | 622,541 | ||
| D | 341,621 | 195,765 | 564,960 | ||
| D | 304,669 | 173,675 | 537,197 | ||
| D | 301,619 | 174,982 | 614,794 | ||
| D | 282,369 | 260,020 | 551,836 | ||
| R | 233,419 | 294,333 | 536,019 | ||
| R | 169,744 | 233,102 | 484,605 | ||
| R | 211,145 | 222,586 | 449,818 | ||
| R | 211,088 | 241,295 | 464,174 | ||
| D | 176,320 | 166,407 | 364,596 | ||
| D | 206,028 | 119,864 | 326,764 | ||
| R | 120,543 | 134,791 | 256,037 | ||
| R | 74,729 | 108,909 | 184,281 | ||
| R | 61,241 | 91,057 | 153,222 | ||
| R | 44,001 | 55,757 | 104,489 | ||
| D | 45,867 | 41,662 | 88,044 | ||
| D | 42,890 | 42,507 | 86,379 | ||
| D | 40,911 | 28,013 | 69,718 | ||
| D | 30,555 | 28,622 | 61,275 | ||
| R | 18,955 | 33,681 | 53,042 | ||
| R | 2,921 | 21,499 | 37,263 | ||
| R | 7,385 | 21,530 | 31,755 | ||
| R | 15,873 | 18,032 | 35,940 | ||
| O | 10,426 | 0 | 25,712 | ||
| R | 4,520 | 8,887 | 15,251 | ||
| R | 3,745 | 9,162 | 14,146 | ||
| R | 5,393 | 7,831 | 13,750 | ||
| R | 6,147 | 7,044 | 13,517 | ||
| R | 4,926 | 5,236 | 12,053 | ||
| R | 4,769 | 5,121 | 10,477 | ||
| R | 3,837 | 4,414 | 8,537 | ||
| R | 3,467 | 3,542 | 7,125 | ||
| R | 3,729 | 3,769 | 7,502 |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
5.5%
English
5.1%
Irish
4.6%
Italian
3.4%
American
1.7%
French
1.2%
Polish
1.0%
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: 38.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$162,576
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ranks near the middle of US counties.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$162,576
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
7.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 187.0%
Working age (18–64)6.8%
Seniors (65+)11.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
45.2%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander25.7%
Spanish17.9%
Other Indo-European9.8%
Other languages1.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to roughly 2 million residents, this metro posts among the nation's highest concentrations of science and engineering workers, a demographic that has shifted the area's margins leftward by double digits over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has been steady. It reached its modern peak at fifty-one points in 2016; the 2024 margin was thirty-nine points, still in line with the metro's long pattern.
Its political identity is inseparable from its demographic profile: a 30% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $162,576, and the full diversity of a major metropolitan center.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/41940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California voted Democratic by 39.0 points (D+39), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 778,258 votes cast, 525,923 went Democratic and 222,626 went Republican.
What is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California's political archetype?
Akashic classifies San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California as a "Urban anchor" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California?
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California has a population of 1,969,337 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California?
Median household income in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California is $162,576 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Urban anchor" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.