akashic
1876–2024
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA·California

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA delivered D+11 in 2024 — close enough to flip again next time.

A coastal college metro that has shifted steadily toward Democrats since 2000

1876 — 2024·38 elections
CA
Latest
D+11
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
281,555
2024 ACS

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California: Tossup metro. In 2024, voted D+11%. Democratic peak: D+40 in 1912.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+11MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
TossupAkashic typology
Population
281,5552024 5-year
Median household income
$97,4462024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
69.3%2024 5-year
Black
1.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
25.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+40 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+40 in 1924MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
1 counties · 1 D · 0 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
D
+10.9%
81,31464,932150,812
D
+13.1%
88,31067,436159,714
D
+8.0%
67,10756,164137,202
D
+1.0%
61,25859,967125,966
D
+5.3%
68,17661,055133,155
R
−7.2%
58,74267,995129,050
R
−11.3%
44,52656,859108,886
R
−6.3%
40,39546,733100,500
D
+3.6%
40,13636,384104,619
R
−13.1%
35,66746,61383,467
R
−28.7%
26,94649,03576,950
R
−26.1%
20,50838,63169,527
R
−5.3%
24,92627,78554,298
R
−15.3%
20,77928,56651,033
R
−9.5%
15,82819,42037,881
D
+19.8%
22,25214,90637,186
R
−8.7%
14,97517,86233,055
R
−17.4%
11,40716,22327,748
R
−31.0%
8,76116,73325,691
R
−11.3%
8,13510,32519,304
D
+1.7%
8,0687,79315,936
D
+8.1%
8,4997,20415,920
D
+23.8%
7,8894,81212,906
D
+37.2%
7,9333,44912,062
R
−23.4%
3,3365,4258,920
R
−39.6%
7313,8047,761
R
−37.4%
1,6064,1236,725
D
+9.6%
3,5392,8547,099
O
+40.5%
2,24805,553
R
−15.8%
1,3812,0083,956
R
−23.1%
1,1672,0153,667
D
+4.4%
1,7131,5643,414
D
+10.1%
2,0561,6713,820
R
−6.2%
1,1991,4333,761
R
−3.1%
1,5851,6893,400
R
−6.8%
1,0691,2332,397
R
−5.8%
7298301,736
D
+10.0%
9447721,716

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
14.9%
English
14.4%
Irish
12.7%
Italian
6.3%
Scottish
2.8%
French
2.5%
American
2.2%
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: 40.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
1.1%
85+
1.3%
3.0%
75–84
3.7%
6.2%
65–74
6.9%
6.0%
55–64
6.4%
5.4%
45–54
5.0%
6.1%
35–44
5.6%
5.8%
25–34
5.2%
8.0%
18–24
6.9%
6.7%
5–17
6.4%
2.2%
<5
2.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$97,446
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA ranks near the middle of US counties.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA$97,446
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.6%
Working age (18–64)13.5%
Seniors (65+)8.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
82.5%
speak English only
Spanish13.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.0%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Other languages0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
20.3%
Other Christian
11.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.9%
Mainline Protestant
1.8%
Non-Christian
1.4%
Baptist
0.5%
Methodist
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Home to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the metro's electorate skews younger and college-educated relative to rural Central Coast neighbors, producing a 17-point Democratic presidential margin in 2024 despite a historically competitive past.

The metro's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached forty points in 1912; the Republican margin reached forty points in 1924. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Its demographics — a population of 281,555, a 69% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $97,446 — situate the metro close to national averages on several dimensions.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/42020/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California voted Democratic by 10.9 points (D+11), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 150,812 votes cast, 81,314 went Democratic and 64,932 went Republican.
What is San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California's political archetype?
Akashic classifies San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California as a "Tossup" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.
When did San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California?
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California has a population of 281,555 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California?
Median household income in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California is $97,446 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.