SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California: Urban anchor market. In 2024, voted D+20%. Republican peak: R+50 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+20MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Urban anchorAkashic typology
- Population
- 725,2562024 5-year
- Median household income
- $97,8832024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 56.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 39.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+40 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+50 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, CAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 195,463 | 129,802 | 336,501 | ||
| D | 218,273 | 133,172 | 361,146 | ||
| D | 174,249 | 112,529 | 316,080 | ||
| D | 155,387 | 124,573 | 289,851 | ||
| D | 173,790 | 126,640 | 308,562 | ||
| D | 149,056 | 144,801 | 298,911 | ||
| R | 117,937 | 128,352 | 263,860 | ||
| D | 111,045 | 110,648 | 251,245 | ||
| D | 109,351 | 93,759 | 267,375 | ||
| R | 99,253 | 124,137 | 226,407 | ||
| R | 78,189 | 138,349 | 219,270 | ||
| R | 61,158 | 108,260 | 198,522 | ||
| R | 79,944 | 88,707 | 174,142 | ||
| R | 71,388 | 95,641 | 172,574 | ||
| R | 53,393 | 69,488 | 131,301 | ||
| D | 70,633 | 52,926 | 123,672 | ||
| R | 44,384 | 56,667 | 101,457 | ||
| R | 28,332 | 47,517 | 76,232 | ||
| R | 23,554 | 46,717 | 70,634 | ||
| R | 21,220 | 30,323 | 53,704 | ||
| D | 23,789 | 21,440 | 45,393 | ||
| D | 25,736 | 21,311 | 47,598 | ||
| D | 23,812 | 14,540 | 38,951 | ||
| D | 21,306 | 12,313 | 35,353 | ||
| R | 8,290 | 17,091 | 25,719 | ||
| R | 1,973 | 12,419 | 21,079 | ||
| R | 4,192 | 11,093 | 17,054 | ||
| D | 8,737 | 7,307 | 17,568 | ||
| O | 5,067 | 0 | 12,811 | ||
| R | 3,021 | 4,721 | 8,872 | ||
| R | 2,319 | 4,691 | 7,925 | ||
| R | 3,312 | 3,552 | 7,195 | ||
| D | 3,972 | 3,675 | 7,870 | ||
| R | 2,427 | 2,916 | 7,282 | ||
| R | 3,150 | 3,373 | 6,823 | ||
| R | 2,119 | 2,476 | 4,838 | ||
| R | 1,446 | 1,737 | 3,654 | ||
| R | 1,687 | 1,946 | 3,635 |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
11.1%
English
10.7%
Irish
9.3%
Italian
4.8%
American
2.3%
Scottish
2.1%
French
1.9%
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.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 36.9 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$97,883
SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb ranks near the middle of US counties.
SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb$97,883
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.8%
Working age (18–64)13.9%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
68.4%
speak English only
Spanish25.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.0%
Other Indo-European2.1%
Other languages1.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Spanning three Central Coast counties, this media market blends UC Santa Barbara's student electorate with agricultural inland communities, producing countywide margins that routinely diverge from statewide Democratic baselines by 8–12 points depending on the cycle.
The Democratic margin in SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb has been steady. It reached its modern peak at forty points in 1912; the 2024 margin was twenty points, still in line with the market's long pattern.
Its political identity is inseparable from its demographic profile: a 56% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $97,883, and the full diversity of a major metropolitan center.
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.
SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/855/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California voted Democratic by 19.5 points (D+20), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 336,501 votes cast, 195,463 went Democratic and 129,802 went Republican.
What is SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California's political archetype?
Akashic classifies SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California as a "Urban anchor" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.
When did SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California voted Republican was 2000.
How many people live in SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California?
SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California has a population of 725,256 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California?
Median household income in SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California is $97,883 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Urban anchor" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.