San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area — Elections 1876–2024

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).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+10.9%	81,314	64,932	150,812
2020	D	+13.1%	88,310	67,436	159,714
2016	D	+8.0%	67,107	56,164	137,202
2012	D	+1.0%	61,258	59,967	125,966
2008	D	+5.3%	68,176	61,055	133,155
2004	R	−7.2%	58,742	67,995	129,050
2000	R	−11.3%	44,526	56,859	108,886
1996	R	−6.3%	40,395	46,733	100,500
1992	D	+3.6%	40,136	36,384	104,619
1988	R	−13.1%	35,667	46,613	83,467
1984	R	−28.7%	26,946	49,035	76,950
1980	R	−26.1%	20,508	38,631	69,527
1976	R	−5.3%	24,926	27,785	54,298
1972	R	−15.3%	20,779	28,566	51,033
1968	R	−9.5%	15,828	19,420	37,881
1964	D	+19.8%	22,252	14,906	37,186
1960	R	−8.7%	14,975	17,862	33,055
1956	R	−17.4%	11,407	16,223	27,748
1952	R	−31.0%	8,761	16,733	25,691
1948	R	−11.3%	8,135	10,325	19,304
1944	D	+1.7%	8,068	7,793	15,936
1940	D	+8.1%	8,499	7,204	15,920
1936	D	+23.8%	7,889	4,812	12,906
1932	D	+37.2%	7,933	3,449	12,062
1928	R	−23.4%	3,336	5,425	8,920
1924	R	−39.6%	731	3,804	7,761
1920	R	−37.4%	1,606	4,123	6,725
1916	D	+9.6%	3,539	2,854	7,099
1912	O	+40.5%	2,248	0	5,553
1908	R	−15.8%	1,381	2,008	3,956
1904	R	−23.1%	1,167	2,015	3,667
1900	D	+4.4%	1,713	1,564	3,414
1896	D	+10.1%	2,056	1,671	3,820
1892	R	−6.2%	1,199	1,433	3,761
1888	R	−3.1%	1,585	1,689	3,400
1884	R	−6.8%	1,069	1,233	2,397
1880	R	−5.8%	729	830	1,736
1876	D	+10.0%	944	772	1,716

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%

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.

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 →

Cite this page

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

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, California. Akashic. https://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.

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

Key facts

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions