Coastal California

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Counties commonly seen as constituting coastal California.
Counties commonly seen as constituting coastal California.

Coastal California refers to the coastal regions of the US state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by sociological, economical and political attributes. The coastal regions of California tend to be more liberal, affluent and expensive that other regions of the state. The area includes the San Francisco Bay Area (including Silicon Valley), Central Coast, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego. During the 2000 Census, roughy a third of households in coastal California had incomes exceeding $75,000, compared to 17.6% in the Central Valley[1] and 22.5% at the national average.[2] Nearly all congressional districts in the region are left-leaning with a mean Cook Partisan Voting Index of D +13.3, meaning that a Democratic presidential candidate will, on average, be 13.3 percentage points ahead of his Republican opponent.

Cook Partisan Index ratings ranged from D +9 in California's 23rd congressional district, which includes coastal San Luis Obispo county and the northern coast to D +20 in the 30th district, which includes Malibu, West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, to D +36 in Nancy Pelosi's 8th district, which includes most of San Francisco. The region is renowned for being home to artisan communities such as Laguna Beach and Carmel as well as its natural beauty. While the area has always been relatively expensive, when compared to inland regions and the national average, the recent real estate boom has left it as the most expensive housing market in the nation. An October 2004 CNN Money publication found that a 2,200 square foot home in a "middle management neighborhood" would cost an average of $1.8 million.[3]

Exceptions to the liberal dominance in Coastal California are Del Norte, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Orange, and San Diego counties, all of which were Coastal California counties won by president George W. Bush in 2004.

Moreover, within the coastal regions there remains a further political divide. The 23rd congressional district which includes a narrow coastal strip from San Luis Obispo to Ventura County has a partisan rating of D +9 with Bush having received 40% of votes in this district, while a few miles inland is the 24th congressional district with a partisan rating of R +5 and Bush garnering 56% of the votes. A similar case is found in San Diego County, where the 53rd district which includes the city itself and La Jolla is heavily Democratic while the rest of the county remains Republican.

[edit] Political inclination by congressional district

District Location Cook Partisan Index % for Bush, 2004 Median Household Income[4] Per Capita Income[4]
1st district Coastal regions of Del Norte, Humbolt, Yolo, Mendecino and Napa Counties D +10 38% $38,918 $20,615
6th district Marin and Sonoma County D +21 28% $59,115 $33,036
9th district Oakland, Berkeley and the Oakland hills D +38 13% $52,322 $34,552
8th district City of San Francisco D +36 14% $44,314 $25,201
10th district City of Fairfield, Antioch, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Livermore D +9 42% NO DATA NO DATA
12th district San Francisco Peninsula including most of San Mateo County D +22 27% $70,307 $34,448
13th district Silicon Valley and East Bay, including Fremont, Union city and Hayward D +22 28% $62,415 $26,076
14th district Silicon Valley, including Redwood City, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto and most of Santa Cruz County D +18 30% $77,985 $43,063
15th district City of San Jose (western areas) D +14 36% $74,947 $32,617
16th district San Jose, Morgan Hill D +16 N/A $67,689 $25,064
17th district Central Coast encompassing Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito County D +17 33% $49,234 $21,244
23rd district Costal regions of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura County D +9 40% $44,874 $20,747
24th district Inland regions of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as well some coastline near Thousand Oaks R +5 56% $61,453 $26,998
30th district Western Los Angeles County, including Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Hollywood D +20 33% $60,713 $47,498
33rd district Western Los Angeles County, including Culver City D +36 16% $31,655 $19,250
34th district Los Angeles D +23 30% $29,863 $11,816
35th district Los Angeles D +33 20% $32,156 $14,041
36th district Beach cities, Torrance as well as parts of Los Angeles D +11 40% $51,633 $28,962
37th district Long Beach, parts of Los Angeles and Compton D +27 25% $34,006 $14,286
38th district Eastern Los Angeles county and western San Gabriel Valley including Norwalk, Pomona, Santa Fe Springs, La Puente, the City of Industry, Montebello, and Pico Rivera, plus the unincorporated communities of Avocado Heights, Hacienda Heights, West Puente Valley D +20 34% $42,488 $14,021
39th district South-eastern Los Angeles County D +13 40% $45,307 $15,250
40th district Northern Orange County, including Buena Park and Orange R +8 60% $54,356 $22,434
44th district Orange County, including San Clemente and Riverside County, including the city of Riverside R +6 59% $51,578 $21,335
46th district Northern Orange County, including Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Westminster as well as parts of Long Beach and Los Angeles further north R +6 57% $61,567 $30,942
47th district Orange County, including Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim D +5 50% $41,618 $12,541
48th district Southern Orange County, including Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Beach, and parts of Newport Beach, San Juan Capistrano R +8 58% $69,663 $37,242
49th district Northern San Diego and South-western Riverside County R +10 63% $46,445 $19,659
50th district Northern San Diego County, including costal communities such as Carlsbad but excluding La Jolla R +5 55% $59,813 $29,877
53rd district City of San Diego including La Jolla, Coronado and Imperial Beach D +12 39% $36,637 $21,715
Regional averages
San Francisco Bay Area Districts: 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 D +23.4 25.14% $63,637 $31,757
Central Coast Districts: 17 & 23rd D +13 36.5% $47,054 $20,995
Southern California Districts: 24, 30, 33rd, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53rd D +9.8 43.23% $47,703 $24,289
Overall averages
National Average N/A 51% $41,994 $21,587
Means for all districts Coastal California D +13.4 37.85% $51,895 $31,757

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