Buffalo Ridge is a Republican stronghold. About 24% of voters here vote Democratic and 76% Republican.
About 85% of adults in Buffalo Ridge typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Buffalo Ridge, ~20% vote Democratic, ~65% Republican, and ~15% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Buffalo Ridge compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Buffalo Ridge leans more Republican than 19 of 38 neighbors.
Buffalo Ridge runs about 22 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Buffalo Ridge. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+54) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+31), a spread of about 24 points.
Why Buffalo Ridge 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 Buffalo Ridge, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 86% of households in Buffalo Ridge are family households, about 20 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Buffalo Ridge, SD sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Buffalo Ridge looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Buffalo Ridge 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 94% of households in Buffalo Ridge own their home, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Hartford, SD R+44
- Tea, SD R+40
- Pumpkin Center, SD R+54
- Sioux Falls, SD R+5
- Chancellor, SD R+53
- Crooks, SD R+49
- Humboldt, SD R+54
- Lennox, SD R+39
- Naomi, SD R+50
- Harrisburg, SD R+43
Cities with Similar Populations
- Moro, OR R+62
- Rincon, NM R+3
- Ringgold, MD R+47
- Dixon Springs, TN R+68
- North Spencer, NY R+32
- Whiting, MO R+69
- South Hampton, NH Even
- Remington, OH D+5
- Rixies, NV R+74
- Mallie, KY R+62
All Local Stats
Home Services
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.