akashic
1876–2024
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA·California

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA has voted Democratic in nine straight presidential cycles.

A coastal metro where university towns and Latino growth reshape the electorate

1876 — 2024·38 elections
CA
Latest
D+27
in 2024
Archetype
Democratic loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
443,701
2024 ACS

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California: Democratic loyalist metro. In 2024, voted D+27%. Republican peak: R+55 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+27MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
Population
443,7012024 5-year
Median household income
$98,1612024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
48.0%2024 5-year
Black
1.7%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
48.2%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+39 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+55 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
+26.5%
114,14964,870185,689
D
+31.9%
129,96365,736201,432
D
+28.4%
107,14256,365178,878
D
+18.0%
94,12964,606163,885
D
+22.8%
105,61465,585175,407
D
+8.0%
90,31476,806169,861
D
+1.2%
73,41171,493154,974
D
+4.5%
70,65063,915150,745
D
+7.3%
69,21557,375162,756
R
−9.8%
63,58677,524142,940
R
−26.8%
51,24389,314142,320
R
−22.5%
40,65069,629128,995
R
−4.9%
55,01860,922119,844
R
−13.5%
50,60967,075121,541
R
−13.4%
37,56550,06893,420
D
+12.0%
48,38138,02086,486
R
−13.7%
29,40938,80568,402
R
−29.6%
16,92531,29448,484
R
−33.8%
14,79329,98444,943
R
−20.1%
13,08519,99834,400
D
+7.0%
15,72113,64729,457
D
+9.9%
17,23714,10731,678
D
+23.8%
15,9239,72826,045
D
+19.4%
13,3738,86423,291
R
−40.0%
4,95411,66616,799
R
−55.4%
1,2428,61513,318
R
−42.4%
2,5866,97010,329
D
+7.1%
5,1984,45310,469
O
+38.8%
2,81907,258
R
−21.8%
1,6402,7134,916
R
−35.8%
1,1522,6764,258
R
−10.3%
1,5991,9883,781
R
−2.2%
1,9162,0044,050
R
−7.2%
1,2281,4833,521
R
−3.5%
1,5651,6843,423
R
−7.9%
1,0501,2432,441
R
−9.9%
7179071,918
R
−22.5%
7431,1741,919

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
8.7%
English
8.3%
Irish
7.2%
Italian
3.9%
American
2.3%
Scottish
1.7%
French
1.5%
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: 34.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.9%
85+
1.4%
2.3%
75–84
2.8%
4.5%
65–74
4.8%
5.4%
55–64
5.5%
5.3%
45–54
5.1%
6.1%
35–44
5.6%
6.9%
25–34
6.3%
7.4%
18–24
7.5%
8.4%
5–17
8.0%
3.1%
<5
3.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$98,161
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$98,161
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.8%
Working age (18–64)14.2%
Seniors (65+)10.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
59.5%
speak English only
Spanish33.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.6%
Other Indo-European2.4%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
33.0%
Other Christian
5.6%
Non-Christian
2.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.8%
Mainline Protestant
1.6%
Baptist
1.0%
Methodist
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Santa Barbara and Santa Maria sit at opposite demographic poles — an affluent coastal enclave and a majority-Latino agricultural hub — yet together they produced one of California's widest 2024 presidential margins at D+89.3 points.

The Democratic margin in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA reached its widest at thirty-nine points in 1912. The margin in 2024 was twenty-seven points — still decisive.

Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $98,161, a 48% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 443,701 together describe a metro whose political habits are deeply settled.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/42200/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California voted Democratic by 26.5 points (D+27), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 185,689 votes cast, 114,149 went Democratic and 64,870 went Republican.
What is Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California as a "Democratic loyalist" 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 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California voted Republican was 1988.
How many people live in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California?
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California has a population of 443,701 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California?
Median household income in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California is $98,161 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.