Barnstable County, MA Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Barnstable County

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

Barnstable County leans Democratic by roughly 20 points: about 60% of voters vote Democratic and 40% Republican.

 

About 88% of adults in Barnstable County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Barnstable County, ~53% vote Democratic, ~35% Republican, and ~12% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Barnstable County compares

Among counties within 50 miles, Barnstable County leans more Democratic than 3 of 6 neighbors.

Barnstable County runs about 5 points more Republican than Massachusetts as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by city within Barnstable County. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+31) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+9), a spread of about 22 points.

Why Barnstable County leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Barnstable County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 48% of adults in Barnstable County hold a bachelor's degree, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Barnstable County sits in the top fifth on density (about 61%, above 86% of counties).

Cancer-screening access and voter turnout

Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Barnstable County, MA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.

Why turnout in Barnstable County looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Barnstable County 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 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 81% of households in Barnstable County own their home, above 85% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Barnstable County have completed high school, above 97% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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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.