Balboa Park is a Democratic stronghold. About 79% of voters here vote Democratic and 21% Republican.
About 55% of adults in Balboa Park typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Balboa Park, ~43% vote Democratic, ~12% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Balboa Park compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Balboa Park leans more Democratic than 34 of 38 neighbors.
Balboa Park runs about 38 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Balboa Park. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+66) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+31), a spread of about 35 points.
Why Balboa Park 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 Balboa Park, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 56% of adults in Balboa Park hold a bachelor's degree, about 28 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 51% of adults in Balboa Park have never been married, above 83% of neighborhoods.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Balboa Park, San Diego, 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 Balboa Park looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 75% of households in Balboa Park rent, about 50 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Grant Hill, San Diego, CA D+42
- Sherman Heights, San Diego, CA D+45
- East Village, San Diego, CA D+44
- Core, San Diego, CA D+43
- Cortez Hill, San Diego, CA D+50
- Mount Hope, San Diego, CA D+35
- North Park San Diego, San Diego, CA D+62
- Marina, San Diego, CA D+45
- Bario Logan, San Diego, CA D+39
- Columbia San Diego, San Diego, CA D+37
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Providence Plantation, Charlotte, NC Even
- Mount Tabor, Portland, OR D+85
- Trumbull Village, Albuquerque, NM D+23
- Hillside, Daly City, CA D+39
- Douglas Park, Arlington, VA D+53
- Sans Pareil, Jacksonville, FL R+3
- Liberty Street Historic District, San Francisco, CA D+81
- Thunderbird Hills, San Antonio, TX D+23
- Shenandoah, Aurora, CO D+23
- Brookside, Stockton, CA D+12
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.