Congressional District 38 Congressional District (CA) — Elections 1876–2024

California 38th Congressional District, California: Democratic loyalist district. In 2024, voted D+30%. Republican peak: R+58 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+30MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
Population: 373,0802024 5-year
Median household income: $92,2182024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 31.8%2024 5-year
Black: 7.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 47.3%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+46 in 2016MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+58 in 1924MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

2 counties · 2 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).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+30.1%	91,098	47,824	143,618
2020	D	+40.9%	113,655	46,479	164,265
2016	D	+45.8%	91,976	31,730	131,471
2012	D	+37.7%	82,396	36,486	121,904
2008	D	+36.7%	85,510	38,942	126,996
2004	D	+23.3%	70,699	43,727	115,937
2000	D	+27.0%	63,541	35,628	103,470
1996	D	+24.6%	53,142	30,346	92,524
1992	D	+20.4%	53,503	32,011	105,523
1988	D	+1.6%	50,550	48,918	100,703
1984	R	−13.4%	42,490	55,830	99,448
1980	R	−12.8%	35,946	47,852	92,744
1976	R	−0.0%	44,939	44,968	92,241
1972	R	−14.4%	43,297	58,453	105,220
1968	R	−3.2%	44,196	47,282	97,693
1964	D	+13.9%	56,526	42,735	99,319
1960	D	+0.2%	47,364	47,220	94,871
1956	R	−11.6%	35,772	45,153	81,196
1952	R	−13.0%	33,539	43,650	78,041
1948	D	+0.2%	28,700	28,589	61,233
1944	D	+13.7%	31,269	23,673	55,257
1940	D	+17.2%	29,043	20,427	50,117
1936	D	+35.1%	26,772	12,723	40,052
1932	D	+18.4%	19,619	13,286	34,380
1928	R	−41.8%	7,415	18,251	25,943
1924	R	−58.2%	1,198	10,670	16,280
1920	R	−47.6%	1,980	6,351	9,185
1916	R	−8.3%	4,051	4,842	9,548
1912	O	+33.4%	1,969	0	5,890
1908	R	−26.5%	790	1,482	2,613
1904	R	−45.7%	361	1,162	1,752
1900	R	−17.1%	477	692	1,259
1896	R	−2.6%	577	609	1,227
1892	R	−9.2%	293	369	824
1888	R	−14.6%	354	483	884
1884	R	−8.4%	164	196	379
1880	R	−0.9%	100	102	213
1876	D	+8.6%	126	106	233

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

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

German

4.6%

English

4.1%

Irish

4.0%

American

3.2%

Italian

2.6%

Polish

1.1%

French

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: 38.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.2%

1.9%

75–84

2.5%

4.1%

65–74

4.8%

6.1%

55–64

6.3%

6.5%

45–54

6.6%

7.2%

35–44

6.9%

7.9%

25–34

7.7%

4.5%

18–24

4.4%

7.9%

5–17

7.5%

2.6%

2.5%

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

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$92,218

Congressional District 38 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 38$92,218

California$99,122

United States$80,734

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

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

13.4%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1817.0%

Working age (18–64)12.2%

Seniors (65+)15.6%

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

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

45.6%

speak English only

Spanish36.5%

Asian & Pacific Islander11.1%

Other Indo-European5.5%

Other languages1.2%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

31.8%

Other Christian

8.1%

Non-Christian

3.7%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.9%

Baptist

2.3%

Mainline Protestant

1.2%

Methodist

0.9%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

California 38th Congressional District sits in the Pacific Coast. Its political identity has been Democratic for as long as anyone now living can remember. 5 consecutive presidential elections in modern records have gone for the Democratic candidate, often by margins that would be considered landslide territory anywhere else.

The Democratic margin in California 38th Congressional District reached its widest at forty-six points in 2016. The margin in 2024 was thirty points — still decisive.

Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $92,218, a 32% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 373,080 together describe a district whose political habits are deeply settled.

Cite this page

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

Congressional District 38, California — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cd/0638/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 38, California vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 38, California voted Democratic by 30.1 points (D+30), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 143,618 votes cast, 91,098 went Democratic and 47,824 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 38, California's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 38, California as a "Democratic loyalist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 19 times, and other 1 times.

When did Congressional District 38, California last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 38, California voted Republican was 1984.

How many people live in Congressional District 38, California?

Congressional District 38, California has a population of 373,080 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 38, California?

Median household income in Congressional District 38, California is $92,218 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.

What is the political history of Congressional District 38, California?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 38, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

California 38th Congressional District has voted Democratic in ten straight presidential cycles.

Key facts

Demographics

Frequently asked questions