† 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
GroupChelseaMassachusettsUnited States
Dominican16.2%2.7%0.7%
Puerto Rican11.9%4.6%1.8%
Salvadoran10.4%1.1%0.7%
Colombian7.0%0.6%0.4%
Guatemalan4.4%0.8%0.5%
Mexican3.5%0.8%11.3%
Honduran3.2%—0.3%
Cuban0.9%0.2%0.7%
Irish6.2%18.6%9.4%
Italian4.1%11.1%4.8%
English2.6%9.7%9.5%
German2.2%5.4%12.5%
American1.1%3.3%5.3%
Polish1.1%3.4%2.2%
French0.8%4.7%1.6%
Scottish0.5%—1.3%
African American†3.8%2.6%9.9%
Haitian1.3%1.1%0.3%
Cape Verdean0.8%0.9%—
Jamaican0.7%0.5%0.4%
Trinidadian and Tobagonian0.3%——
Nigerian0.3%0.2%0.2%
African0.2%0.3%0.5%
Barbadian0.2%——
Chinese0.9%2.5%1.3%
Asian Indian0.4%1.9%1.4%
Vietnamese0.4%0.8%0.6%
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
Chelsea
Massachusetts
United States
Median age
34.4
40.3
39.1
Age 18–24
7.8%
9.9%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
10.5%
17.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Chelsea
Massachusetts
United States
Median household income
$72,179
$103,960
$84,427
Poverty rate
20.8%
10.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
22.2%
47.3%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Chelsea
Massachusetts
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
70.6%
25.1%
22.3%
Spanish
60.4%
9.7%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
2.9%
6.1%
2.0%
Arabic
1.8%
0.6%
0.4%
Other languages
1.6%
1.0%
0.8%
Religious landscape
Measure
Chelsea
Massachusetts
United States
Catholic
—
35.5%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
3.6%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
51.4%
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.
Chelsea, Massachusetts
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+48.7%
2008
+52.1%
2012
+62.4%
2016
+62.5%
2020
+56.3%
2024
+35.9%
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
65.2%Harris5,803
29.3%Trump2,608
5.5%
D+35.9
R+20.4
D+37.4
8,900
D
77.4%Biden8,175
21.1%Trump2,228
1.5%
D+56.3
R+6.2
D+51.9
10,557
D
79.4%Clinton7,519
16.9%Trump1,599
3.7%
D+62.5
D+0.1
D+60.4
9,471
D
80.3%Obama6,823
17.9%Romney1,521
1.8%
D+62.4
D+10.3
D+58.5
8,497
D
75.2%Obama5,926
23.1%McCain1,820
1.8%
D+52.1
D+3.4
D+44.8
7,885
D
73.5%Kerry5,223
24.8%Bush1,764
1.7%
D+48.7
—
D+51.1
7,108
Chelsea's electorate is majority-minority and heavily Latino, with naturalization and voter-registration drives consistently shifting its active voter pool. Turnout patterns here track closely with statewide Democratic performance margins in the high double digits.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 62.5 points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 20.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 35.9 points.
A population of 39,908, a 20% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,179 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lake Worth Beach and Union City.
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, Chelsea, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 35.9 points (D+35.9), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 8,900 votes cast, 5,803 went Democratic and 2,608 went Republican.
How many people live in Chelsea, Massachusetts?
Chelsea, Massachusetts has a population of 39,908 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Chelsea, Massachusetts?
Median household income in Chelsea, Massachusetts is $72,179 — below the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of Chelsea, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Chelsea, Massachusetts from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
