San Diego Media Market — Elections 1876–2024

San Diego, California: New American market. In 2024, voted D+17%. Democratic peak: D+45 in 1912.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+17MIT Election Lab
Political typology: New AmericanAkashic typology
Population: 3,288,7742024 5-year
Median household income: $106,2682024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 48.4%2024 5-year
Black: 4.7%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 34.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+45 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+43 in 1924MIT Election Lab

2024 presidential election

San Diego

HarrisD+17

—

How it voted

Share of the 2024 vote

Kamala Harris ✓Democratic	56.9%	841,372
Donald TrumpRepublican	40.1%	593,270
OtherAll other candidates	2.9%	43,386

D+60

R+60

1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.

presidential history

Presidential margin, 1876–2024

Democratic minus Republican, by election

Presidential margin over time
Year	Margin (D minus R)
1876	−8.6%
1880	−15.1%
1884	−16.3%
1888	−18.0%
1892	−15.4%
1896	+3.6%
1900	−16.2%
1904	−40.2%
1908	−32.1%
1912	+44.8%
1916	−0.4%
1920	−36.5%
1924	−42.6%
1928	−35.2%
1932	+12.1%
1936	+28.4%
1940	+12.3%
1944	+8.5%
1948	−1.6%
1952	−26.3%
1956	−29.3%
1960	−13.1%
1964	−0.6%
1968	−20.2%
1972	−27.5%
1976	−14.1%
1980	−33.5%
1984	−31.9%
1988	−21.8%
1992	+1.5%
1996	−1.5%
2000	−4.0%
2004	−6.1%
2008	+10.2%
2012	+7.6%
2016	+19.6%
2020	+22.8%
2024	+16.8%

DemocraticRepublican

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+16.8%	841,372	593,270	1,478,028
2020	D	+22.8%	964,650	600,094	1,602,143
2016	D	+19.6%	735,476	477,766	1,311,618
2012	D	+7.6%	626,957	536,726	1,193,949
2008	D	+10.2%	666,581	541,032	1,235,503
2004	R	−6.1%	526,437	596,033	1,136,351
2000	R	−4.0%	437,666	475,736	958,634
1996	R	−1.5%	389,964	402,876	884,151
1992	D	+1.5%	367,397	352,125	986,646
1988	R	−21.8%	333,264	523,143	869,195
1984	R	−31.9%	257,029	502,344	769,267
1980	R	−33.5%	195,410	435,910	716,866
1976	R	−14.1%	263,654	353,302	633,795
1972	R	−27.5%	206,455	371,627	601,137
1968	R	−20.2%	167,669	261,540	464,863
1964	R	−0.6%	211,808	214,445	426,286
1960	R	−13.1%	171,259	223,056	395,421
1956	R	−29.3%	106,716	195,742	303,605
1952	R	−26.3%	101,880	175,281	278,751
1948	R	−1.6%	98,217	101,552	205,459
1944	D	+8.5%	89,959	75,746	166,764
1940	D	+12.3%	71,188	55,434	128,110
1936	D	+28.4%	64,628	35,686	101,854
1932	D	+12.1%	45,622	35,305	85,150
1928	R	−35.2%	22,749	47,769	71,151
1924	R	−42.6%	2,944	22,726	46,391
1920	R	−36.5%	8,478	19,826	31,087
1916	R	−0.4%	16,815	16,978	36,537
1912	O	+44.8%	9,731	0	21,728
1908	R	−32.1%	2,393	5,412	9,403
1904	R	−40.2%	1,398	4,303	7,230
1900	R	−16.2%	2,678	3,800	6,921
1896	D	+3.6%	3,908	3,631	7,748
1892	R	−15.4%	2,334	3,525	7,712
1888	R	−18.0%	3,189	4,661	8,194
1884	R	−16.3%	800	1,120	1,965
1880	R	−15.1%	546	743	1,308
1876	R	−8.6%	668	794	1,462

Demographics

2024 ACS

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

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

German

9.1%

English

8.0%

Irish

7.8%

Italian

4.2%

American

2.5%

French

1.8%

Polish

1.6%

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: 37.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.1%

2.0%

75–84

2.5%

4.3%

65–74

4.8%

5.8%

55–64

5.9%

6.1%

45–54

6.0%

7.4%

35–44

6.9%

8.3%

25–34

7.6%

5.3%

18–24

4.5%

7.9%

5–17

7.5%

2.9%

2.7%

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

2024 ACS

Median household income

Inflation-adjusted dollars

$106,268

San Diego ranks near the middle of US counties.

San Diego$106,268

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

10.3%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1811.8%

Working age (18–64)9.9%

Seniors (65+)10.1%

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

2024 ACS

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

62.7%

speak English only

Spanish24.1%

Asian & Pacific Islander7.8%

Other Indo-European3.7%

Other languages1.7%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

2020 religion census

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

23.2%

Other Christian

10.1%

Non-Christian

3.1%

Pentecostal & Holiness

1.5%

Mainline Protestant

1.5%

Baptist

1.4%

Methodist

0.6%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 58.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

San Diego's media market spans a dense military and tech workforce alongside fast-growing inland suburbs, producing competitive margins in federal and statewide races even as registration trends Democratic by roughly 10 points.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of forty-five points in 1912 and a Republican high of forty-three points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventeen points.

A population of 3,288,774, a 48% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $106,268 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.

San Diego, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/825/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did San Diego, California vote in 2024?

In 2024, San Diego, California voted Democratic by 16.8 points (D+17), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 1,478,028 votes cast, 841,372 went Democratic and 593,270 went Republican.

What is San Diego, California's political typology?

Akashic places San Diego, 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 11 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.

When did San Diego, California last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which San Diego, California voted Republican was 2004.

How many people live in San Diego, California?

San Diego, California has a population of 3,288,774 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in San Diego, California?

Median household income in San Diego, California is $106,268 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.

What is the political history of San Diego, California?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in San Diego, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The market's typology — "New American" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.

San Diego moved 6 points toward the Republican candidate between 2020 and 2024.

Key facts

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions