Bakersfield, California: New American market. In 2024, voted R+21%. Democratic peak: D+52 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+21MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- New AmericanAkashic typology
- Population
- 915,0752024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,2102024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 43.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 56.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+52 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 2004MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Bakersfield
TrumpR+21
Constituent county margins for Bakersfield, CAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 59.3% | 167,879 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 38.2% | 108,241 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.5% | 7,126 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | +20.6% |
| 1880 | +17.5% |
| 1884 | +14.1% |
| 1888 | +14.5% |
| 1892 | +10.9% |
| 1896 | +10.2% |
| 1900 | +7.2% |
| 1904 | −13.9% |
| 1908 | −1.1% |
| 1912 | +51.7% |
| 1916 | +24.7% |
| 1920 | −6.8% |
| 1924 | −29.2% |
| 1928 | −26.2% |
| 1932 | +45.2% |
| 1936 | +50.4% |
| 1940 | +24.5% |
| 1944 | +11.6% |
| 1948 | +14.6% |
| 1952 | −10.4% |
| 1956 | −3.0% |
| 1960 | −1.3% |
| 1964 | +17.5% |
| 1968 | −4.1% |
| 1972 | −25.0% |
| 1976 | −6.7% |
| 1980 | −26.0% |
| 1984 | −31.0% |
| 1988 | −24.1% |
| 1992 | −11.3% |
| 1996 | −17.2% |
| 2000 | −24.5% |
| 2004 | −34.0% |
| 2008 | −17.7% |
| 2012 | −16.7% |
| 2016 | −12.7% |
| 2020 | −10.2% |
| 2024 | −21.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 108,241 | 167,879 | 283,246 | ||
| R | 133,366 | 164,484 | 305,292 | ||
| R | 98,689 | 129,584 | 244,163 | ||
| R | 89,495 | 126,618 | 222,189 | ||
| R | 93,457 | 134,793 | 233,808 | ||
| R | 68,603 | 140,417 | 211,174 | ||
| R | 66,003 | 110,663 | 182,308 | ||
| R | 62,658 | 92,151 | 171,391 | ||
| R | 60,510 | 80,762 | 179,263 | ||
| R | 55,083 | 90,550 | 147,293 | ||
| R | 49,567 | 94,776 | 145,744 | ||
| R | 41,097 | 72,842 | 122,121 | ||
| R | 50,567 | 58,023 | 110,961 | ||
| R | 41,937 | 71,686 | 119,193 | ||
| R | 49,284 | 53,990 | 115,832 | ||
| D | 64,174 | 45,014 | 109,308 | ||
| R | 51,440 | 52,800 | 104,705 | ||
| R | 43,533 | 46,220 | 90,075 | ||
| R | 36,151 | 44,600 | 81,332 | ||
| D | 33,029 | 24,464 | 58,811 | ||
| D | 26,205 | 20,730 | 47,161 | ||
| D | 32,202 | 19,445 | 52,126 | ||
| D | 25,726 | 8,345 | 34,479 | ||
| D | 19,634 | 7,011 | 27,920 | ||
| R | 8,541 | 14,692 | 23,445 | ||
| R | 3,159 | 8,646 | 18,763 | ||
| R | 6,095 | 7,079 | 14,444 | ||
| D | 9,566 | 5,611 | 15,981 | ||
| D | 5,569 | 0 | 10,765 | ||
| R | 2,215 | 2,270 | 4,978 | ||
| R | 1,724 | 2,359 | 4,571 | ||
| D | 1,960 | 1,692 | 3,746 | ||
| D | 1,763 | 1,430 | 3,265 | ||
| D | 1,266 | 992 | 2,513 | ||
| D | 1,229 | 910 | 2,195 | ||
| D | 798 | 598 | 1,423 | ||
| D | 661 | 463 | 1,131 | ||
| D | 844 | 556 | 1,400 |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
5.7%
English
5.6%
Irish
4.8%
American
3.5%
Italian
1.9%
French
1.0%
Scottish
1.0%
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 32.7 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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$70,210
Bakersfield ranks near the middle of US counties.
Bakersfield$70,210
California$99,122
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
19.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1825.6%
Working age (18–64)16.4%
Seniors (65+)17.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
54.3%
speak English only
Spanish40.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.8%
Other Indo-European2.0%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by Kern County's oil-and-agriculture economy, the Bakersfield media market consistently returns some of the widest Republican margins of any media market in California, making it a structural outlier in an otherwise Democratic-dominant state.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of fifty-two points in 1912 and a Republican high of thirty-four points in 2004. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved eleven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-one points.
A population of 915,075, a 44% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,210 describe the market.
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.
Bakersfield, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/800/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Bakersfield, California vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bakersfield, California voted Republican by 21.1 points (R+21), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 283,246 votes cast, 108,241 went Democratic and 167,879 went Republican.
What is Bakersfield, California's political typology?
Akashic places Bakersfield, California in the "New American" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.
When did Bakersfield, California last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Bakersfield, California voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Bakersfield, California?
Bakersfield, California has a population of 915,075 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bakersfield, California?
Median household income in Bakersfield, California is $70,210 — below the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.
What is the political history of Bakersfield, California?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bakersfield, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The market's typology — "New American" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.