Back of the Yards, Chicago, IL Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Back of the Yards

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Back of the Yards leans heavily Democratic by roughly 46 points: about 73% of voters vote Democratic and 27% Republican.

 

About 34% of adults in Back of the Yards typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Back of the Yards, ~25% vote Democratic, ~9% Republican, and ~66% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Back of the Yards compares

Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Back of the Yards leans more Democratic than 16 of 44 neighbors.

Back of the Yards runs about 35 points more Democratic than Illinois as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by block within Back of the Yards. The southeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+67) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+31), a spread of about 36 points.

Why Back of the Yards 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 Back of the Yards, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Density combined with diversity predicts Democratic voting. Non-Hispanic white share in Back of the Yards is about 3%, about 70 points below the U.S. average of 72%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 50% of adults in Back of the Yards have never been married, above 82% of neighborhoods.

Population density and Democratic lean

Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Back of the Yards, Chicago, IL sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Back of the Yards looks the way it does

Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Back of the Yards is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 41%, about 22 points below the Illinois average of 63%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 67% of households in Back of the Yards rent, compared to around 44% in nearby neighborhoods. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 47% of adults in Back of the Yards report food insecurity, above 97% of neighborhoods. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois State Board of 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.