2024 presidential election
San Luis Obispo
HarrisD+48.7
Constituent county margins for San Luis Obispo, CAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Kamala Harris ✓Democratic | 72.5% | 17,578 |
|---|---|---|
| Donald TrumpRepublican | 23.8% | 5,762 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 3.7% | 906 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2008–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | +36.1% |
| 2012 | +32.4% |
| 2016 | +45.7% |
| 2020 | +52.5% |
| 2024 | +48.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 72.5%Harris17,578 | 23.8%Trump5,762 | 3.7% | 24,246 | ||
| D | 74.8%Biden20,046 | 22.3%Trump5,976 | 2.9%incl. Jorgensen | 26,796 | ||
| D | 68.2%Clinton15,426 | 22.5%Trump5,091 | 9.3%incl. Johnson | 22,616 | ||
| D | 66.2%Obama12,750 | 33.8%Romney6,517 | 0.0% | 19,267 | ||
| D | 67.9%Obama15,223 | 31.7%McCain7,118 | 0.4% | 22,436 |
Demographics
Demographic profile
Demographic Profile
Key indicators compared across containing geographies
| Indicator | San Luis ObispoCity | CaliforniaState | United StatesNation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race & Ethnicity | |||
| White | 73.3% | 39.7% | 61.0% |
| Black | 1.2% | 5.4% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 5.7% | 15.5% | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 13.7% | 19.2% | 12.6% |
| Other race | 6.0% | 20.1% | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 18.4% | 40.1% | 19.3% |
| Income & Age | |||
| Median household income | $73,685 | $99,122 | $84,427 |
| Poverty rate | 30.4% | 12.0% | 12.5% |
| Median age | 26.3 | 37.9 | 39.1 |
| Age 18–24 | 14.9% | 9.1% | 9.2% |
| Age 65 and older | 22.2% | 15.6% | 17.2% |
| Education & Language | |||
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 39.8% | 36.6% | 35.6% |
| Speaks a non-English language at home | 17.5% | 44.4% | 22.3% |
| Spanish | 13.0% | 28.4% | 13.6% |
| Ancestry | |||
| Largest ancestry | German 14.9% | German 6.8% | German 12.5% |
| 2nd-largest ancestry | English 14.4% | English 6.3% | English 9.5% |
| 3rd-largest ancestry | Irish 12.7% | Irish 5.9% | Irish 9.4% |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 20.3%County context | 26.2% | 18.6% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 10.8%County context | 9.0% | 16.5% |
| Unaffiliated or unclaimed | 61.3%County context | 55.2% | 51.5% |
ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.
Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 26.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$73,685
San Luis Obispo$73,685
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
30.4%
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.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
82.5%
speak English only
Spanish13.0%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)0.7%
Other Asian & Pacific Island0.5%
German or other West Germanic0.4%
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)0.4%
Arabic0.4%
Other languages0.4%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.3%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic0.2%
Korean0.2%
Vietnamese0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Unaffiliated or not counted61.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.
San Luis Obispo sits in the Pacific Coast. In 2024 it voted Democratic.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 52.5 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 3.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 48.7 points.
A population of 48,491, a 73% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $73,685 describe the city.
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, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/city/0668154/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did San Luis Obispo, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, San Luis Obispo, California voted Democratic by 48.7 points (D+48.7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 24,246 votes cast, 17,578 went Democratic and 5,762 went Republican.
What is San Luis Obispo, California's political typology?
Akashic places San Luis Obispo, California in the "" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 5 elections in the dataset, the city has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 0 times, and other 0 times.
How many people live in San Luis Obispo, California?
San Luis Obispo, California has a population of 48,491 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, California?
Median household income in San Luis Obispo, California is $73,685 — below the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of San Luis Obispo, California?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in San Luis Obispo, California from 2008 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 0 went Republican. The city's typology — "" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.