2024 presidential election
Santa Cruz
HarrisD+72.3
Constituent county margins for Santa Cruz, 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 | 84.0% | 26,211 |
|---|---|---|
| Donald TrumpRepublican | 11.7% | 3,652 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 4.3% | 1,352 |
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 | +76.1% |
| 2012 | +74.2% |
| 2016 | +72.6% |
| 2020 | +75.5% |
| 2024 | +72.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 84.0%Harris26,211 | 11.7%Trump3,652 | 4.3% | 31,215 | ||
| D | 86.4%Biden28,277 | 10.9%Trump3,575 | 2.7%incl. Jorgensen | 32,721 | ||
| D | 82.4%Clinton26,005 | 9.8%Trump3,085 | 7.8%incl. Johnson | 31,550 | ||
| D | 87.1%Obama31,956 | 12.9%Romney4,723 | 0.0% | 36,679 | ||
| D | 87.9%Obama27,305 | 11.8%McCain3,672 | 0.3% | 31,075 |
Demographics
Demographic profile
Demographic Profile
Key indicators compared across containing geographies
| Indicator | Santa CruzCity | CaliforniaState | United StatesNation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race & Ethnicity | |||
| White | 63.5% | 39.7% | 61.0% |
| Black | 1.8% | 5.4% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 10.2% | 15.5% | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 14.0% | 19.2% | 12.6% |
| Other race | 10.5% | 20.1% | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 22.4% | 40.1% | 19.3% |
| Income & Age | |||
| Median household income | $115,475 | $99,122 | $84,427 |
| Poverty rate | 17.0% | 12.0% | 12.5% |
| Median age | 31.1 | 37.9 | 39.1 |
| Age 18–24 | 14.1% | 9.1% | 9.2% |
| Age 65 and older | 19.0% | 15.6% | 17.2% |
| Education & Language | |||
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 43.9% | 36.6% | 35.6% |
| Speaks a non-English language at home | 33.6% | 44.4% | 22.3% |
| Spanish | 26.4% | 28.4% | 13.6% |
| Other Indo-European | 1.6% | 3.4% | 2.0% |
| Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese) | 1.3% | 3.5% | 1.1% |
| Ancestry | |||
| Largest ancestry | Mexican 30.4% | Mexican 32.3% | German 12.5% |
| 2nd-largest ancestry | English 11.8% | German 6.8% | Mexican 11.3% |
| 3rd-largest ancestry | German 11.3% | English 6.3% | English 9.5% |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 25.8%County context | 26.2% | 18.6% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 4.9%County context | 9.0% | 16.5% |
| Unaffiliated or unclaimed | 60.5%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 origins and ancestries reported within it.
Reported ancestry · ACS B04006
English
11.8%
German
11.3%
Irish
10.5%
Italian
6.1%
Scottish
2.3%
French
2.2%
American
1.9%
Polish
1.8%
Specific origin · ACS B03001
Mexican
30.4%
Salvadoran
0.9%
Spaniard
0.7%
Puerto Rican
0.5%
Spanish
0.5%
Cuban
0.2%
Guatemalan
0.2%
Colombian
0.2%
The ACS does not publish subgroup detail for people reporting two or more races.
Tribal grouping · detailed group · ACS B02020 · B02016
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other single-race responses combined.
Aztec
0.2%
Detailed group · ACS B02015
Chinese
1.3%
Asian Indian
0.8%
Filipino
0.8%
Japanese
0.5%
Korean
0.3%
Vietnamese
0.2%
African American identity is recorded by the ACS race question; the ancestry item enumerates specific African and Caribbean ancestries, none of which clears the display floor here.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Race shares: B02001 · B03003. Subgroup detail: B03001 (Hispanic or Latino specific origin), B02015 (Asian groups), B02020 · B02016 (American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and Pacific Islander groups), B04006 (reported ancestry). Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so group shares can total more than 100%. All subgroup rows are shares of total population; ancestry is self-reported and multiple-response, so rows do not sum to the parent group's share.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 31.1 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
$115,475
Santa Cruz$115,475
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
17.0%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.9%
Working age (18–64)11.7%
Seniors (65+)9.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
66.4%
speak English only
Spanish26.4%
Other Indo-European1.6%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)1.3%
German or other West Germanic0.9%
Other Asian & Pacific Island0.9%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic0.6%
Arabic0.5%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.4%
Korean0.3%
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)0.3%
Other languages0.3%
Vietnamese0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Unaffiliated or not counted60.5%
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.
Santa Cruz sits in the Pacific Coast. In 2024 it voted Democratic.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 76.1 points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 3.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 72.3 points.
A population of 61,607, a 64% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $115,475 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.
Santa Cruz, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/city/0669112/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Santa Cruz, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, Santa Cruz, California voted Democratic by 72.3 points (D+72.3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 31,215 votes cast, 26,211 went Democratic and 3,652 went Republican.
What is Santa Cruz, California's political typology?
Akashic places Santa Cruz, 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 Santa Cruz, California?
Santa Cruz, California has a population of 61,607 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Santa Cruz, California?
Median household income in Santa Cruz, California is $115,475 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Santa Cruz, California?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in Santa Cruz, 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.