Arlington Center is a Democratic stronghold. About 85% of voters here vote Democratic and 15% Republican.
About 72% of adults in Arlington Center typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Arlington Center, ~61% vote Democratic, ~11% Republican, and ~28% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Arlington Center compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Arlington Center leans more Democratic than 25 of 39 neighbors.
Arlington Center runs about 46 points more Democratic than Massachusetts as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Arlington Center. The south side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+78) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+55), a spread of about 23 points.
Why Arlington Center leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Arlington Center, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 70% of adults in Arlington Center hold a bachelor's degree, about 41 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Arlington Center, Arlington, MA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Arlington Center looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Arlington Center 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 78%, about 18 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- West Somerville, Somerville, MA D+63
- Arlington Heights, Arlington, MA D+63
- North Cambridge, Cambridge, MA D+71
- Tufts, Somerville, MA D+71
- Ball Square, Somerville, MA D+70
- Wedgemere Historic District, Winchester, MA D+52
- Avon Hill, Cambridge, MA D+79
- Neighborhood Nine, Cambridge, MA D+78
- Strawberry Hill, Cambridge, MA D+78
- Cushing Square, Belmont, MA D+67
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Meydenbauer, Bellevue, WA D+45
- Standish, Minneapolis, MN D+76
- Sierra Springs, San Antonio, TX D+12
- Mount Pleasant-Lower Broadway, Newark, NJ D+36
- Palmer, Newport News, VA D+32
- West Augusta, Augusta, GA D+6
- Gross Point, Wilmette, IL D+47
- 25th Street, Ogden, UT D+13
- Westwood-San Francisco, Napa, CA D+35
- Memorial Northwest, Spring, TX R+20
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 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.