Massachusetts 8th State House District, Massachusetts: Populist district. In 2024, voted D+40%. Democratic peak: D+54 in 2012.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+40MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 5,8082024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,0132024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+54 in 2012MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40 in 1896MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for 2nd Berkshire District, MAOne 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 | 2,113 | 889 | 3,081 | ||
| D | 2,320 | 811 | 3,220 | ||
| D | 1,962 | 756 | 2,984 | ||
| D | 2,192 | 640 | 2,894 | ||
| D | 2,224 | 668 | 2,967 | ||
| D | 2,142 | 754 | 2,930 | ||
| D | 1,702 | 709 | 2,666 | ||
| D | 1,765 | 586 | 2,727 | ||
| D | 1,654 | 661 | 3,040 | ||
| D | 1,715 | 1,082 | 2,821 | ||
| R | 1,335 | 1,513 | 2,862 | ||
| D | 1,322 | 1,214 | 3,053 | ||
| D | 1,765 | 1,232 | 3,090 | ||
| D | 1,588 | 1,363 | 2,974 | ||
| D | 1,727 | 1,036 | 2,893 | ||
| D | 2,191 | 680 | 2,887 | ||
| D | 1,846 | 1,227 | 3,079 | ||
| R | 1,138 | 1,856 | 3,005 | ||
| R | 1,336 | 1,724 | 3,071 | ||
| D | 1,376 | 1,233 | 2,659 | ||
| D | 1,401 | 1,114 | 2,523 | ||
| D | 1,464 | 1,165 | 2,642 | ||
| D | 1,305 | 1,014 | 2,404 | ||
| D | 1,043 | 1,040 | 2,164 | ||
| D | 1,080 | 1,070 | 2,162 | ||
| R | 492 | 947 | 1,607 | ||
| R | 492 | 904 | 1,432 | ||
| R | 375 | 439 | 843 | ||
| R | 279 | 287 | 772 | ||
| R | 265 | 410 | 717 | ||
| R | 260 | 418 | 710 | ||
| R | 245 | 403 | 668 | ||
| R | 176 | 436 | 642 | ||
| R | 301 | 329 | 651 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
19.0%
Italian
14.8%
English
13.8%
German
10.4%
French
9.0%
Polish
6.6%
American
4.2%
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.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 47.3 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$76,013
2nd Berkshire District ranks near the middle of US counties.
2nd Berkshire District$76,013
Massachusetts$103,960
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.0%
Working age (18–64)10.7%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Spanish3.7%
Other Indo-European2.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, this district delivers presidential margins exceeding 40 points, reflecting a college-educated, arts-economy population concentrated around Pittsfield and its surrounding hill towns.
The Democratic margin in Massachusetts 8th State House District peaked at fifty-four points in 2012. By 1988 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $76,013 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
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.
2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/25008/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts vote in 2024?
In 2024, 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 39.7 points (D+40), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 3,081 votes cast, 2,113 went Democratic and 889 went Republican.
What is 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts's political archetype?
Akashic classifies 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 22 times, Republican 12 times, and other 0 times.
When did 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts?
2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts has a population of 5,808 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts?
Median household income in 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts is $76,013 — below the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in 2nd Berkshire District, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 12 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.