Arlington leans heavily Republican by roughly 48 points: about 26% of voters vote Democratic and 74% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Arlington typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Arlington, ~17% vote Democratic, ~50% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Arlington compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Arlington leans more Republican than 7 of 27 neighbors.
Arlington runs about 20 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Why Arlington 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 Arlington, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 5% of residents in Arlington live in densely developed areas, about 31 points below the U.S. average of 36%.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Arlington, SD sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Arlington looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Arlington 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Sinai, SD R+52
- Hetland, SD R+50
- Badger, SD R+53
- Arlington Beach, SD R+51
- Lake Preston, SD R+49
- Volga, SD R+46
- Oldham, SD R+47
- Bruce, SD R+52
- Lake Poinsett, SD R+55
- Lake Norden, SD R+70
Cities with Similar Populations
- Clarks Grove, MN R+41
- Alexis, IL R+38
- Blue River, CO D+18
- Peconic, NY R+4
- Holden, WV R+66
- Pattison, TX R+37
- Sherwood Shores, TX R+57
- Melcher-Dallas, IA R+39
- Georgetown, CO D+19
- Riverton, MN R+36
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.