† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · 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
GroupBell GardensCaliforniaUnited States
Mexican70.8%32.3%11.3%
Salvadoran9.2%2.0%0.7%
Guatemalan6.0%1.3%0.5%
Honduran1.2%—0.3%
Puerto Rican1.0%0.6%1.8%
Cuban0.8%—0.7%
Nicaraguan0.8%0.3%—
Colombian0.8%0.3%0.4%
German1.9%6.8%12.5%
Irish1.6%5.9%9.4%
English1.6%6.3%9.5%
American1.3%2.8%5.3%
Italian1.1%3.4%4.8%
Armenian0.9%——
Polish0.5%0.9%2.2%
French0.4%1.3%1.6%
Aztec15.3%0.3%—
Maya9.2%——
Samoan3.1%——
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
Bell Gardens
California
United States
Median age
32.3
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
10.7%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
9.4%
15.6%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Bell Gardens
California
United States
Median household income
$62,298
$99,122
$84,427
Poverty rate
20.0%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
7.1%
36.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Bell Gardens
California
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
89.0%
44.4%
22.3%
Spanish
88.3%
28.4%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Bell Gardens
California
United States
Catholic
—
26.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
9.0%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
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.
Bell Gardens, California
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+61.6%
2008
+69.9%
2012
+75.5%
2016
+79.4%
2020
+63.4%
2024
+34.3%
DemocraticRepublican
6 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. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004, 2012, 2024 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for these cycles was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
65.1%Harris5,371
30.8%Trump2,539
4.1%
D+34.3
R+29.1
D+35.8
8,252
D
80.6%Biden8,290
17.2%Trump1,768
2.3%
D+63.4
R+16.0
D+58.9
10,290
D
87.4%Clinton7,454
8.0%Trump684
4.6%
D+79.4
D+3.9
D+77.3
8,529
D
86.5%Obama6,015
11.0%Romney767
2.5%
D+75.5
D+5.6
D+71.6
6,954
D
84.7%Obama5,940
14.9%McCain1,042
0.4%
D+69.9
D+8.3
D+62.6
7,011
D
79.9%Kerry5,232
18.3%Bush1,201
1.8%
D+61.6
—
D+64.0
6,549
Bell Gardens packs more than 38,000 residents into roughly 2.4 square miles east of Los Angeles, and its electorate is among the most uniformly Latino in the state — a dynamic that shapes every race on the ballot.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 79.4 points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 29.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 34.3 points.
A population of 38,229, a 2% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $62,298 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Bell and Maywood.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities 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.
In 2024, Bell Gardens, California voted Democratic by 34.3 points (D+34.3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 8,252 votes cast, 5,371 went Democratic and 2,539 went Republican.
How many people live in Bell Gardens, California?
Bell Gardens, California has a population of 38,229 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bell Gardens, California?
Median household income in Bell Gardens, California is $62,298 — below the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Bell Gardens, California?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Bell Gardens, California from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
