Massachusetts 17th State House District, Massachusetts: Tossup district. In 2024, voted D+1%. Democratic peak: D+58 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- TossupAkashic typology
- Population
- 122,6092024 5-year
- Median household income
- $85,6322024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 76.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+58 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1896MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for 8th Bristol 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 | 29,024 | 28,257 | 58,541 | ||
| D | 32,301 | 25,241 | 59,250 | ||
| D | 27,280 | 22,203 | 54,053 | ||
| D | 30,204 | 19,773 | 50,857 | ||
| D | 30,927 | 19,065 | 51,198 | ||
| D | 31,135 | 17,380 | 49,041 | ||
| D | 28,707 | 13,237 | 44,505 | ||
| D | 26,895 | 9,934 | 41,741 | ||
| D | 21,565 | 11,030 | 44,594 | ||
| D | 22,712 | 17,648 | 40,755 | ||
| D | 19,796 | 19,635 | 39,599 | ||
| D | 17,575 | 16,331 | 39,719 | ||
| D | 24,494 | 14,734 | 40,384 | ||
| D | 21,722 | 17,774 | 39,752 | ||
| D | 25,150 | 11,935 | 38,655 | ||
| D | 30,929 | 8,261 | 39,300 | ||
| D | 27,383 | 13,539 | 41,002 | ||
| R | 16,709 | 23,066 | 39,874 | ||
| R | 19,675 | 20,659 | 40,431 | ||
| D | 22,473 | 13,312 | 36,331 | ||
| D | 19,062 | 12,820 | 31,941 | ||
| D | 20,544 | 12,665 | 33,351 | ||
| D | 17,014 | 10,478 | 29,720 | ||
| D | 13,154 | 10,707 | 24,568 | ||
| D | 12,477 | 11,625 | 24,374 | ||
| R | 4,170 | 12,409 | 18,737 | ||
| R | 3,731 | 11,947 | 16,221 | ||
| R | 3,804 | 4,755 | 8,855 | ||
| R | 2,616 | 2,797 | 7,994 | ||
| R | 2,257 | 4,356 | 7,190 | ||
| R | 2,338 | 3,947 | 6,578 | ||
| R | 1,970 | 4,084 | 6,306 | ||
| R | 1,268 | 4,555 | 5,988 | ||
| R | 2,280 | 3,313 | 5,740 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
16.8%
English
10.1%
Italian
8.1%
French
7.5%
German
3.6%
Polish
3.2%
American
2.9%
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: 40.9 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
$85,632
8th Bristol District ranks near the middle of US counties.
8th Bristol District$85,632
Massachusetts$87,796
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.7%
Working age (18–64)10.1%
Seniors (65+)13.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
78.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European13.2%
Spanish6.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The 8th Bristol District delivers presidential margins exceeding 39 points for Democrats, reflecting a dense, urban-skewing constituency in one of the commonwealth's more reliably one-sided corners of the state legislative map.
The district's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached fifty-eight points in 1964; the Republican margin reached fifty-five points in 1896. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.
Its demographics — a population of 122,609, a 77% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $85,632 — situate the district close to national averages on several dimensions.
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.
8th Bristol District, Massachusetts. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/25017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts vote in 2024?
In 2024, 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 1.3 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 58,541 votes cast, 29,024 went Democratic and 28,257 went Republican.
What is 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts's political archetype?
Akashic classifies 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts as a "Tossup" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 23 times, Republican 11 times, and other 0 times.
When did 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1956.
How many people live in 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts?
8th Bristol District, Massachusetts has a population of 122,609 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts?
Median household income in 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts is $85,632 — above the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $87,796.
What is the political history of 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in 8th Bristol District, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.