Coastal California

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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 artisian 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. Despite this, the 23rd congressional district which includes the costal regions of San Luis Obispo and Ventura County has a partisan rating of D +9 with Bush having received 40% of votes in this district. 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

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[edit] See also

• California Congressional Districts
• San Francisco Bay Area
• Central Coast of California
• Greater Los Angeles Area
• Left Coast

[edit] References