State Senate District 38 State Senate District (CA) — Elections 1876–2024

California 38th State Senate District, California: Tossup district. In 2024, voted D+9%. Republican peak: R+50 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+9MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: TossupAkashic typology
Population: 789,2832024 5-year
Median household income: $111,7272024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 45.3%2024 5-year
Black: 3.0%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 34.4%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+42 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+50 in 1924MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

2 counties · 2 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).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+9.2%	185,871	153,753	350,443
2020	D	+15.3%	215,947	157,443	381,769
2016	D	+13.8%	163,196	121,077	305,943
2012	D	+0.1%	138,095	137,730	282,920
2008	D	+3.3%	147,465	137,757	291,674
2004	R	−14.0%	114,454	152,291	270,208
2000	R	−10.3%	101,032	125,494	236,600
1996	R	−8.2%	87,083	104,688	214,021
1992	R	−6.1%	81,826	96,413	239,884
1988	R	−30.0%	72,947	136,776	212,486
1984	R	−42.6%	56,096	141,129	199,501
1980	R	−40.3%	45,349	119,581	184,287
1976	R	−21.3%	60,348	94,099	158,535
1972	R	−35.5%	46,575	101,488	154,862
1968	R	−27.7%	38,537	71,344	118,521
1964	R	−6.7%	47,118	53,879	101,058
1960	R	−17.3%	33,923	48,123	82,262
1956	R	−31.4%	19,115	36,802	56,242
1952	R	−31.1%	15,549	29,682	45,516
1948	R	−9.1%	14,671	17,694	33,287
1944	D	+0.8%	13,719	13,490	27,380
1940	D	+2.9%	11,612	10,955	22,824
1936	D	+21.8%	11,113	7,090	18,496
1932	D	+8.1%	8,221	6,930	15,995
1928	R	−45.0%	3,519	9,371	13,006
1924	R	−49.7%	670	5,187	9,084
1920	R	−42.9%	1,402	3,904	5,826
1916	R	−8.9%	2,716	3,296	6,538
1912	O	+42.3%	1,662	0	3,925
1908	R	−27.7%	521	1,032	1,847
1904	R	−38.6%	293	832	1,398
1900	R	−13.1%	534	708	1,327
1896	O	+0.0%	659	659	1,360
1892	R	−12.2%	391	542	1,236
1888	R	−18.0%	348	509	895
1884	R	−16.3%	87	122	215
1880	R	−14.7%	60	81	143
1876	R	−8.8%	73	87	160

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

German

8.2%

English

7.6%

Irish

6.8%

Italian

3.9%

American

3.6%

French

1.6%

Polish

1.4%

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: 38.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.8%

85+

1.2%

2.1%

75–84

2.6%

4.4%

65–74

4.9%

6.2%

55–64

6.3%

6.4%

45–54

6.4%

7.0%

35–44

6.7%

7.7%

25–34

7.3%

4.9%

18–24

4.4%

8.0%

5–17

7.6%

2.8%

2.6%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$111,727

State Senate District 38 ranks near the middle of US counties.

State Senate District 38$111,727

California$99,122

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

9.9%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1811.2%

Working age (18–64)9.4%

Seniors (65+)11.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

57.7%

speak English only

Spanish24.2%

Asian & Pacific Islander12.2%

Other Indo-European4.4%

Other languages1.5%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

27.2%

Other Christian

9.9%

Non-Christian

2.8%

Baptist

2.2%

Mainline Protestant

1.7%

Pentecostal & Holiness

1.6%

Methodist

0.5%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

California 38th State Senate District in the Pacific Coast delivered a near-tie in 2024, with the Democratic candidate carrying the district by nine points — well within the historical noise of how the district votes.

The district's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached forty-two points in 1912; the Republican margin reached fifty points in 1924. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Its demographics — a population of 789,283, a 45% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $111,727 — 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.

State Senate District 38, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/06038/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 38, California vote in 2024?

In 2024, State Senate District 38, California voted Democratic by 9.2 points (D+9), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 350,443 votes cast, 185,871 went Democratic and 153,753 went Republican.

What is State Senate District 38, California's political archetype?

Akashic classifies State Senate District 38, California as a "Tossup" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 9 times, Republican 27 times, and other 2 times.

When did State Senate District 38, California last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 38, California voted Republican was 2004.

How many people live in State Senate District 38, California?

State Senate District 38, California has a population of 789,283 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in State Senate District 38, California?

Median household income in State Senate District 38, California is $111,727 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.

What is the political history of State Senate District 38, California?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 38, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

California 38th State Senate District delivered D+9 in 2024 — close enough to flip again next time.

Key facts

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions