† 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
GroupWatsonvilleCaliforniaUnited States
Mexican71.1%32.3%11.3%
Salvadoran2.1%2.0%0.7%
Spaniard1.6%0.3%—
Puerto Rican1.2%0.6%1.8%
Spanish1.2%0.3%—
Cuban0.5%—0.7%
Guatemalan0.5%1.3%0.5%
Colombian0.5%0.3%0.4%
English5.8%6.3%9.5%
German5.6%6.8%12.5%
Irish5.2%5.9%9.4%
Italian3.0%3.4%4.8%
Scottish1.1%0.9%1.3%
French1.1%1.3%1.6%
American0.9%2.8%5.3%
Polish0.9%0.9%2.2%
Chinese0.7%3.9%1.3%
Asian Indian0.5%2.3%1.4%
Filipino0.5%3.3%0.9%
Japanese0.3%0.6%0.2%
Korean0.2%1.2%0.4%
Aztec9.6%0.3%—
Maya4.8%——
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
Watsonville
California
United States
Median age
33.8
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
10.7%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
13.0%
15.6%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Watsonville
California
United States
Median household income
$78,393
$99,122
$84,427
Poverty rate
14.7%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
12.4%
36.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Watsonville
California
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
74.5%
44.4%
22.3%
Spanish
71.1%
28.4%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
1.0%
3.4%
2.0%
Religious landscape
Measure
Watsonville
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.
Watsonville, California
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+53.0%
2008
+62.9%
2012
+60.5%
2016
+67.8%
2020
+63.7%
2024
+43.9%
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
70.4%Harris10,012
26.5%Trump3,769
3.1%
D+43.9
R+19.9
D+45.3
14,228
D
81.0%Biden13,273
17.3%Trump2,829
1.7%
D+63.7
R+4.1
D+59.3
16,383
D
81.6%Clinton10,754
13.7%Trump1,810
4.7%
D+67.8
D+7.3
D+65.8
13,183
D
78.0%Obama11,094
17.4%Romney2,483
4.6%
D+60.5
R+2.4
D+56.7
14,231
D
81.2%Obama9,011
18.3%McCain2,033
0.5%
D+62.9
D+9.9
D+55.6
11,094
D
75.0%Kerry8,322
22.0%Bush2,439
3.1%
D+53.0
—
D+55.4
11,102
Watsonville's workforce is rooted in Monterey Bay's strawberry and vegetable industries, giving its majority-Latino electorate a distinctive profile in which labor and immigration policy consistently drive turnout patterns above surrounding rural precincts.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 67.8 points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 19.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 43.9 points.
A population of 51,712, a 12% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,393 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of East Los Angeles and Bay Point.
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, Watsonville, California voted Democratic by 43.9 points (D+43.9), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 14,228 votes cast, 10,012 went Democratic and 3,769 went Republican.
How many people live in Watsonville, California?
Watsonville, California has a population of 51,712 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Watsonville, California?
Median household income in Watsonville, California is $78,393 — below the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Watsonville, California?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Watsonville, California from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
