† 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
GroupBerkeleyCaliforniaUnited States
German11.0%6.8%12.5%
English10.5%6.3%9.5%
Irish10.3%5.9%9.4%
Italian5.7%3.4%4.8%
American3.4%2.8%5.3%
French2.5%1.3%1.6%
Portuguese2.5%——
Polish2.1%0.9%2.2%
Chinese6.6%3.9%1.3%
Asian Indian5.8%2.3%1.4%
Filipino3.3%3.3%0.9%
Vietnamese1.2%1.7%0.6%
Korean0.8%1.2%0.4%
Japanese0.4%0.6%0.2%
Taiwanese0.4%0.3%—
Pakistani0.3%——
Mexican8.9%32.3%11.3%
Salvadoran0.8%2.0%0.7%
Guatemalan0.7%1.3%0.5%
Puerto Rican0.4%0.6%1.8%
Nicaraguan0.3%0.3%—
Spaniard0.2%0.3%—
Spanish0.2%0.3%—
Honduran0.2%—0.3%
African American†6.6%4.4%9.9%
African0.3%0.3%0.5%
Ethiopian0.3%——
Nigerian0.3%—0.2%
Jamaican0.2%—0.4%
Aztec1.2%0.3%—
Maya0.8%——
Fijian0.8%——
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
Berkeley
California
United States
Median age
33.2
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
24.3%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.7%
15.6%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Berkeley
California
United States
Median household income
$108,092
$99,122
$84,427
Poverty rate
17.3%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
74.9%
36.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Berkeley
California
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
30.7%
44.4%
22.3%
Spanish
8.9%
28.4%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
5.2%
3.4%
2.0%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)
6.8%
3.5%
1.1%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
2.3%
2.0%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Berkeley
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.
Berkeley, California
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+86.4%
2008
+89.5%
2012
+87.6%
2016
+87.2%
2020
+89.9%
2024
+84.6%
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 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle 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
89.8%Harris52,825
5.2%Trump3,031
5.1%
D+84.6
R+5.2
D+86.1
58,843
D
93.8%Biden60,259
4.0%Trump2,547
2.2%
D+89.9
D+2.7
D+85.4
64,227
D
90.4%Clinton57,534
3.2%Trump2,025
6.5%
D+87.2
R+0.4
D+85.1
63,674
D
92.2%Obama53,564
4.6%Romney2,687
3.2%
D+87.6
R+2.0
D+83.7
58,103
D
94.6%Obama61,301
5.1%McCain3,301
0.3%
D+89.5
D+3.2
D+82.3
64,772
D
92.4%Kerry53,123
6.1%Bush3,498
1.5%
D+86.4
—
D+88.8
57,466
Berkeley's electorate skews heavily toward graduate-degree holders and renters, producing lopsided margins in federal races while local contests often hinge on tenant-rights and land-use fault lines that cut across party labels.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 89.9 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 5.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 84.6 points.
A population of 120,257, a 52% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $108,092 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cambridge and Silver Spring.
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, Berkeley, California voted Democratic by 84.6 points (D+84.6), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 58,843 votes cast, 52,825 went Democratic and 3,031 went Republican.
How many people live in Berkeley, California?
Berkeley, California has a population of 120,257 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Berkeley, California?
Median household income in Berkeley, California is $108,092 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Berkeley, California?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Berkeley, California from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
