Barry County is a Republican stronghold. About 19% of voters here vote Democratic and 81% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Barry County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Barry County, ~13% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Barry County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Barry County leans more Republican than 11 of 13 neighbors.
Barry County runs about 43 points more Republican than Missouri as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Barry County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+72) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+51), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Barry 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 Barry County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 14% of adults in Barry County hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points below the Missouri average of 22%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 70% of households in Barry County are family households, above 78% of counties.
Never-married share and voter turnout
Places with a low never-married share tend to turn out at a higher rate; Barry County, MO sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Barry County looks the way it does
Turnout in Barry County sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Lawrence County, MO R+60
- Stone County, MO R+55
- Carroll County, AR R+48
- McDonald County, MO R+65
- Newton County, MO R+54
- Benton County, AR R+26
- Taney County, MO R+50
- Christian County, MO R+51
- Jasper County, MO R+40
- Greene County, MO R+18
Counties with Similar Populations
- Cowley County, KS R+38
- Taos County, NM D+42
- Nicollet County, MN R+9
- Putnam County, OH R+66
- Steuben County, IN R+45
- Clark County, WI R+43
- Effingham County, IL R+56
- Harris County, GA R+45
- Lincoln County, NE R+46
- Brookings County, SD R+25
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Missouri 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.