Albert Lea leans slightly Republican by roughly 12 points: about 44% of voters vote Democratic and 56% Republican.
About 77% of adults in Albert Lea typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Albert Lea, ~34% vote Democratic, ~43% Republican, and ~23% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Albert Lea compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Albert Lea leans more Republican than 2 of 53 neighbors.
Albert Lea runs about 15 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Albert Lea is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Albert Lea. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+20) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+7), a spread of about 13 points.
Why Albert Lea leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Albert Lea, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Albert Lea votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 65%, far above the Minnesota average of 23%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Albert Lea runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Albert Lea, MN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Albert Lea looks the way it does
Turnout in Albert Lea sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Oakland, MN R+33
- Bancroft, MN R+35
- Twin Lakes, MN R+37
- Hayward, MN R+38
- Conger, MN R+36
- Glenville, MN R+41
- Manchester, MN R+43
- Clarks Grove, MN R+41
- Petran, MN R+40
- Armstrong, MN R+43
Cities with Similar Populations
- Highland, UT R+49
- Mill Valley, CA D+55
- Glenvar Heights, FL R+11
- Northampton, PA R+18
- Sterling, IL R+5
- Altus, OK R+41
- Hawthorne, NJ R+8
- Arcadia, FL R+31
- Batavia, NY R+13
- Lanham, MD D+68
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.