† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
1 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupSanta Maria-Santa Barbara, CACaliforniaUnited States
Mexican43.1%32.3%11.3%
Salvadoran0.9%2.0%0.7%
Guatemalan0.6%1.3%0.5%
Spanish0.6%0.3%—
Puerto Rican0.4%0.6%1.8%
Spaniard0.4%0.3%—
Colombian0.3%0.3%0.4%
Honduran0.2%—0.3%
German8.7%6.8%12.5%
English8.3%6.3%9.5%
Irish7.2%5.9%9.4%
Italian3.9%3.4%4.8%
American2.3%2.8%5.3%
Scottish1.7%0.9%1.3%
French1.5%1.3%1.6%
Polish1.3%0.9%2.2%
Filipino1.4%3.3%0.9%
Chinese1.3%3.9%1.3%
Vietnamese0.5%1.7%0.6%
Korean0.5%1.2%0.4%
Asian Indian0.4%2.3%1.4%
Japanese0.4%0.6%0.2%
African American†1.4%4.4%9.9%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
California
United States
Median age
34.6
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
14.9%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.7%
15.6%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
California
United States
Median household income
$98,161
$99,122
$84,427
Poverty rate
14.7%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
36.8%
36.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
California
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
40.5%
44.4%
22.3%
Spanish
33.4%
28.4%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
1.1%
3.4%
2.0%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)
1.3%
3.5%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
California
United States
Catholic
32.8%
26.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
4.7%
9.0%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
53.7%
55.2%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−7.2%
1896
−2.2%
1900
−10.3%
1904
−35.8%
1908
−21.8%
1912
+38.8%
1916
+7.1%
1920
−42.4%
1924
−55.4%
1928
−40.0%
1932
+19.4%
1936
+23.8%
1940
+9.9%
1944
+7.0%
1948
−20.1%
1952
−33.8%
1956
−29.6%
1960
−13.7%
1964
+12.0%
1968
−13.4%
1972
−13.5%
1976
−4.9%
1980
−22.5%
1984
−26.8%
1988
−9.8%
1992
+7.3%
1996
+4.5%
2000
+1.2%
2004
+8.0%
2008
+22.8%
2012
+18.0%
2016
+28.4%
2020
+31.9%
2024
+26.7%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
61.8%Harris114,149
35.1%Trump64,870
1.4%Kennedy2,564 +4
D+26.7
R+5.2
D+28.1
184,715
All 7 candidates in 2024 · 5 minor / independent
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic61.8%114,149
Donald J TrumpRepublican35.1%64,870
Robert F Kennedy Jr.Independent1.4%2,564
Jill SteinIndependent0.8%1,424
Chase OliverLibertarian0.5%899
Claudia De La CruzIndependent0.4%797
OtherAll other candidates0.0%12
D
64.5%Biden129,963
32.6%Trump65,736
2.8%
D+31.9
D+3.5
D+27.4
201,432
D
59.9%Clinton107,142
31.5%Trump56,365
8.6%
D+28.4
D+10.4
D+26.3
178,878
D
57.4%Obama94,129
39.4%Romney64,606
3.1%
D+18.0
R+4.8
D+14.2
163,885
D
60.2%Obama105,614
37.4%McCain65,585
2.4%
D+22.8
D+14.9
D+15.5
175,407
D
53.2%Kerry90,314
45.2%Bush76,806
1.6%
D+8.0
D+6.7
D+10.4
169,861
D
47.4%Gore73,411
46.1%Bush71,493
6.5%
D+1.2
R+3.2
D+0.7
154,974
D
46.9%Clinton70,650
42.4%Dole63,915
10.7%
D+4.5
R+2.8
R+4.1
150,745
D
42.5%Clinton69,215
35.3%Bush57,375
22.2%
D+7.3
D+17.0
D+1.7
162,756
R
44.5%Dukakis63,586
54.2%Bush77,524
1.3%
R+9.8
D+17.0
R+2.0
142,940
R
36.0%Mondale51,243
62.8%Reagan89,314
1.2%
R+26.8
R+4.3
R+8.5
142,320
R
31.5%Carter40,650
54.0%Reagan69,629
14.5%
R+22.5
R+17.5
R+12.7
128,995
R
45.9%Carter55,018
50.8%Ford60,922
3.3%
R+4.9
D+8.6
R+7.0
119,844
R
41.6%McGovern50,609
55.2%Nixon67,075
3.2%
R+13.5
R+0.2
D+9.6
121,541
R
40.2%Humphrey37,565
53.6%Nixon50,068
6.2%
R+13.4
R+25.4
R+12.7
93,420
D
55.9%Johnson48,381
44.0%Goldwater38,020
0.1%
D+12.0
D+25.7
R+10.6
86,486
R
43.0%Kennedy29,409
56.7%Nixon38,805
0.3%
R+13.7
D+15.9
R+13.9
68,402
R
34.9%Stevenson16,925
64.5%Eisenhower31,294
0.5%
R+29.6
D+4.2
R+14.2
48,484
R
32.9%Stevenson14,793
66.7%Eisenhower29,984
0.4%
R+33.8
R+13.7
R+23.0
44,943
R
38.0%Truman13,085
58.1%Dewey19,998
3.8%
R+20.1
R+27.1
R+24.6
34,400
D
53.4%Roosevelt15,721
46.3%Dewey13,647
0.3%
D+7.0
R+2.8
R+0.5
29,457
D
54.4%Roosevelt17,237
44.5%Willkie14,107
1.1%
D+9.9
R+13.9
R+0.1
31,678
D
61.1%Roosevelt15,923
37.4%Landon9,728
1.5%
D+23.8
D+4.4
R+0.5
26,045
D
57.4%Roosevelt13,373
38.1%Hoover8,864
4.5%
D+19.4
D+59.3
D+1.6
23,291
R
29.5%Smith4,954
69.4%Hoover11,666
1.1%
R+40.0
D+15.4
R+22.5
16,799
R
9.3%Davis1,242
64.7%Coolidge8,615
26.0%
R+55.4
R+12.9
R+30.2
13,318
R
25.0%Cox2,586
67.5%Harding6,970
7.5%
R+42.4
R+49.6
R+16.3
10,329
D
49.7%Wilson5,198
42.5%Hughes4,453
7.8%
D+7.1
R+31.7
D+4.0
10,469
O
38.8%Wilson2,819
0.0%Taft0
61.2%
Roosevelt +22.3
D+60.7
D+19.3
7,258
R
33.4%Bryan1,640
55.2%Taft2,713
11.5%
R+21.8
D+14.0
R+12.3
4,916
R
27.1%Parker1,152
62.8%Roosevelt2,676
10.1%
R+35.8
R+25.5
R+16.1
4,258
R
42.3%Bryan1,599
52.6%McKinley1,988
5.1%
R+10.3
R+8.1
R+2.7
3,781
R
47.3%Bryan1,916
49.5%McKinley2,004
3.2%
R+2.2
D+5.1
D+3.9
4,050
R
34.9%Cleveland1,228
42.1%Harrison1,483
23.0%
R+7.2
—
R+8.9
3,521
Congressional elections · 3 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
D
61.2%110,609
38.8%70,126
180,735
2022
D
61.6%82,255
38.4%51,339
133,594
2018
D
100.0%136,491
0.0%0
136,491
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024D+21.5
vs
Presidential vote · 2024D+26.7
Registration leans Democratic; the presidential vote runs 5.2 points more Republican.
238,947 registered voters · 2024 · up from 234,759 in 2022
Domestic migration in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−2,369
2012
+671
2013
+1,171
2014
+535
2015
−1,168
2016
−1,833
2017
−2,275
2018
−2,157
2019
−1,924
2021
−11,979
2022
+3,561
2023
−7,049
2024
−4,601
2025
−3,844
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.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 38.8 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 55.4 points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 5.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 26.7 points.
A population of 443,701, a 41% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $98,161 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA and Salinas, CA.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
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All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/42200/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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How did Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California voted Democratic by 26.7 points (D+26.7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 184,715 votes cast, 114,149 went Democratic and 64,870 went Republican.
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 34 presidential elections in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, California from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican.
