Alta Sierra is a true toss-up. About 49% of voters here vote Democratic and 51% Republican.
About 94% of adults in Alta Sierra typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Alta Sierra, ~46% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~6% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Alta Sierra compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Alta Sierra sits roughly in the middle of the political spectrum, with 7 neighbors leaning further in the place's direction and 47 leaning the other way.
Alta Sierra runs about 22 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while Alta Sierra sits closer to the political middle.
Why Alta Sierra 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 Alta Sierra, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Alta Sierra votes against the grain of California. California leans Democratic overall, while Alta Sierra runs about 22 points more Republican.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Alta Sierra, CA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Alta Sierra looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Alta Sierra is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Alta Sierra have completed high school, above 85% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Grass Valley, CA D+5
- Shady Glen, CA R+22
- Colfax, CA R+26
- Weimar, CA R+26
- Rough And Ready, CA R+7
- Meadow Vista, CA R+18
- Magra, CA R+36
- Heather Glen, CA R+23
- Penn Valley, CA R+7
- Nevada City, CA D+24
Cities with Similar Populations
- Salamanca, NY R+15
- Le Roy, NY R+25
- Ontario, OH R+32
- Young Harris, GA R+52
- Hull, GA R+35
- West Dundee, IL D+10
- Gate City, VA R+66
- Georgetown, OH R+56
- Wallace, NC R+18
- Neptune Beach, FL R+14
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.