Bristol County, RI Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Bristol County

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

Bristol County leans Democratic by roughly 16 points: about 58% of voters vote Democratic and 42% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Rhode Island did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.

 

About 75% of adults in Bristol County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Bristol County, ~44% vote Democratic, ~32% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Bristol County compares

Among counties within 50 miles, Bristol County leans more Democratic than 5 of 11 neighbors.

Politically, Bristol County sits close to the rest of Rhode Island.

Politics vary noticeably by city within Bristol County. The northwest side runs the most Democratic (D+36) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+2), a spread of about 38 points.

Why Bristol 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 Bristol County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 54% of adults in Bristol County hold a bachelor's degree, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 33% of adults in Bristol County have never been married, above 76% of counties.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Bristol County, RI 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 Bristol County looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Bristol 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 77%, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Bristol County have completed high school, above 85% of counties. 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 Rhode Island 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. RI did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.