† 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
GroupGoletaCaliforniaUnited States
German10.8%6.8%12.5%
English10.3%6.3%9.5%
Irish8.9%5.9%9.4%
Italian4.8%3.4%4.8%
American2.8%2.8%5.3%
Scottish2.1%0.9%1.3%
French1.9%1.3%1.6%
Polish1.6%0.9%2.2%
Mexican32.8%32.3%11.3%
Salvadoran0.7%2.0%0.7%
Guatemalan0.5%1.3%0.5%
Spanish0.5%0.3%—
Puerto Rican0.3%0.6%1.8%
Spaniard0.3%0.3%—
Colombian0.2%0.3%0.4%
Honduran0.2%—0.3%
Filipino3.0%3.3%0.9%
Chinese2.8%3.9%1.3%
Vietnamese1.1%1.7%0.6%
Korean1.1%1.2%0.4%
Asian Indian0.9%2.3%1.4%
Japanese0.9%0.6%0.2%
African American†1.7%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
Goleta
California
United States
Median age
36.9
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
12.2%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.2%
15.6%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Goleta
California
United States
Median household income
$122,370
$99,122
$84,427
Poverty rate
9.3%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
49.4%
36.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Goleta
California
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
33.9%
44.4%
22.3%
Spanish
22.3%
28.4%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
1.2%
3.4%
2.0%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)
4.0%
3.5%
1.1%
Vietnamese
1.1%
1.5%
0.5%
Religious landscape
Measure
Goleta
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.
Goleta, California
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+18.9%
2008
+33.2%
2012
+27.5%
2016
+40.3%
2020
+46.5%
2024
+42.3%
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 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
69.3%Harris11,351
27.1%Trump4,432
3.6%
D+42.3
R+4.3
D+43.7
16,376
D
72.0%Biden12,722
25.5%Trump4,506
2.5%
D+46.5
D+6.2
D+42.1
17,664
D
66.9%Clinton9,736
26.7%Trump3,879
6.4%
D+40.3
D+12.8
D+38.2
14,546
D
62.2%Obama8,364
34.7%Romney4,669
3.1%
D+27.5
R+5.7
D+23.6
13,456
D
66.5%Obama9,121
33.3%McCain4,565
0.2%
D+33.2
D+14.3
D+25.9
13,719
D
59.0%Kerry7,878
40.1%Bush5,350
0.9%
D+18.9
—
D+21.4
13,347
Goleta sits just west of Santa Barbara, and its electorate blends university-adjacent renters with long-established aerospace and tech workers — a mix that has kept local races closer than the surrounding county's partisan lean might suggest.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 46.5 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 4.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 42.3 points.
A population of 32,685, a 45% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $122,370 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Santa Barbara and Napa.
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, Goleta, California voted Democratic by 42.3 points (D+42.3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 16,376 votes cast, 11,351 went Democratic and 4,432 went Republican.
How many people live in Goleta, California?
Goleta, California has a population of 32,685 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Goleta, California?
Median household income in Goleta, California is $122,370 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Goleta, California?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Goleta, California from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
