Atherton leans heavily Democratic by roughly 46 points: about 73% of voters vote Democratic and 27% Republican.
About 77% of adults in Atherton typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Atherton, ~56% vote Democratic, ~21% Republican, and ~23% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Atherton compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Atherton leans more Democratic than 45 of 70 neighbors.
Atherton runs about 26 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Atherton. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+52) and the southeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+36), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Atherton 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 Atherton, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 81% of adults in Atherton hold a bachelor's degree, about 52 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Atherton sits in the top fifth on density (about 98%, in the top fraction of cities). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 33% of adults in Atherton have never been married, above 84% of cities.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Atherton, CA sits in the top tenth 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 Atherton looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Atherton 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Atherton have completed high school, above 94% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Menlo Park, CA D+64
- North Fair Oaks, CA D+49
- Redwood City, CA D+53
- Stanford, CA D+64
- Woodside, CA D+46
- East Palo Alto, CA D+49
- Palo Alto, CA D+52
- San Carlos, CA D+57
- Portola Valley, CA D+58
- Belmont, CA D+53
Cities with Similar Populations
- Conifer, CO D+4
- Talent, OR D+28
- Hillview, KY R+39
- Wise, VA R+55
- Park Ridge, NJ R+6
- Chandler, TX R+64
- Marvin, NC R+11
- Princeton, IL R+22
- St. Pete Beach, FL R+14
- Excelsior, MN D+16
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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.