Bear Creek, SD Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Bear Creek

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

Bear Creek leans heavily Democratic by roughly 30 points: about 65% of voters vote Democratic and 35% Republican.

 

About 59% of adults in Bear Creek typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Bear Creek, ~38% vote Democratic, ~21% Republican, and ~41% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Bear Creek compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Bear Creek leans more Democratic than 4 of 8 neighbors.

Bear Creek runs about 60 points more Democratic than South Dakota as a whole. South Dakota leans Republican overall, while Bear Creek is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Bear Creek. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+49) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+33), a spread of about 82 points.

Why Bear Creek 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 Bear Creek, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Bear Creek votes against the grain of South Dakota. South Dakota leans Republican overall, while Bear Creek runs about 60 points more Democratic. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 48% of adults in Bear Creek have never been married, above 97% of cities.

Cancer-screening access and voter turnout

Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Bear Creek, SD sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.

Why turnout in Bear Creek looks the way it does

Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Bear Creek is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 35% of households in Bear Creek rent, above 91% of cities. 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 South Dakota 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.