akashic
1876–2024
8th Essex District·Massachusetts

Massachusetts 31st State House District has voted Democratic in ten straight presidential cycles.

One of Merrimack Valley's most reliably Democratic legislative seats

1876 — 2024·38 elections
MA
Latest
D+20
in 2024
Archetype
Democratic loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
12,294
2024 ACS

Massachusetts 31st State House District, Massachusetts: Democratic loyalist district. In 2024, voted D+20%. Democratic peak: D+49 in 1964.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+20MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
Population
12,2942024 5-year
Median household income
$101,8832024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
67.8%2024 5-year
Black
4.0%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
24.1%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+49 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+49 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
1 counties · 1 D · 0 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+20.2%
3,5782,3496,076
D
+28.8%
4,0402,1906,420
D
+21.9%
3,3612,0615,939
D
+16.3%
3,1802,2755,540
D
+20.3%
3,1602,0735,345
D
+17.7%
2,9342,0435,039
D
+22.1%
2,6981,6634,692
D
+28.1%
2,5861,3484,407
D
+11.9%
2,1261,5454,874
D
+1.1%
2,2962,2474,619
R
−10.1%
2,0012,4524,470
R
−4.7%
1,7571,9694,499
D
+13.3%
2,5061,8984,558
D
+6.5%
2,3792,0874,492
D
+25.6%
2,5991,5084,259
D
+48.9%
3,1771,0834,278
D
+14.0%
2,5381,9144,462
R
−20.4%
1,6582,5124,180
R
−11.7%
1,8652,3594,240
D
+9.4%
1,9961,6473,725
D
+2.7%
1,7881,6933,489
D
+4.0%
1,9051,7563,685
D
+3.9%
1,6041,4713,372
R
−1.8%
1,3881,4412,919
R
−6.5%
1,3531,5422,915
R
−48.2%
3881,4052,110
R
−48.8%
4621,4372,000
R
−4.8%
4915431,075
O
−1.1%
3133241,008
R
−28.7%
284550928
R
−31.0%
281559898
R
−23.1%
299498861
R
−40.8%
227560816
R
−13.4%
332440807
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
18.7%
Italian
13.6%
English
9.6%
French
4.7%
German
4.4%
Polish
3.1%
American
2.7%
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: 41.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.5%
2.4%
75–84
3.0%
5.0%
65–74
5.8%
6.8%
55–64
7.3%
6.0%
45–54
6.5%
6.3%
35–44
6.5%
6.2%
25–34
6.2%
4.4%
18–24
4.4%
7.9%
5–17
7.5%
2.7%
<5
2.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$101,883
8th Essex District ranks near the middle of US counties.
8th Essex District$101,883
Massachusetts$103,960
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.9%
Working age (18–64)8.2%
Seniors (65+)13.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
71.3%
speak English only
Spanish19.1%
Other Indo-European6.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.1%
Other languages1.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
38.2%
Non-Christian
3.0%
Other Christian
2.8%
Mainline Protestant
2.5%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.4%
Baptist
0.7%
Methodist
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Anchored in the dense, working-class neighborhoods of Lawrence, the 8th Essex District delivers Democratic presidential margins above 35 points, reflecting a majority-Latino electorate with deep roots in Dominican and Puerto Rican communities.

The Democratic margin in Massachusetts 31st State House District reached its widest at forty-nine points in 1964. The margin in 2024 was twenty points — still decisive.

Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $101,883, a 68% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 12,294 together describe a district whose political habits are deeply settled.

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 Essex District, Massachusetts. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/25031/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did 8th Essex District, Massachusetts vote in 2024?
In 2024, 8th Essex District, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 20.2 points (D+20), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 6,076 votes cast, 3,578 went Democratic and 2,349 went Republican.
What is 8th Essex District, Massachusetts's political archetype?
Akashic classifies 8th Essex District, Massachusetts as a "Democratic loyalist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 19 times, Republican 14 times, and other 1 times.
When did 8th Essex District, Massachusetts last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which 8th Essex District, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in 8th Essex District, Massachusetts?
8th Essex District, Massachusetts has a population of 12,294 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in 8th Essex District, Massachusetts?
Median household income in 8th Essex District, Massachusetts is $101,883 — above the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of 8th Essex District, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in 8th Essex District, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.