Central Boulder is a Democratic stronghold. About 85% of voters here vote Democratic and 15% Republican.
About 70% of adults in Central Boulder typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Central Boulder, ~60% vote Democratic, ~10% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Central Boulder compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Central Boulder leans more Democratic than 4 of 8 neighbors.
Central Boulder runs about 60 points more Democratic than Colorado as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Central Boulder. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+75) and the southeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+58), a spread of about 17 points.
Why Central Boulder leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Central Boulder, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 75% of adults in Central Boulder hold a bachelor's degree, about 46 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 62% of adults in Central Boulder have never been married, above 94% of neighborhoods.
High-school completion and voter turnout
Places with high-school-completion-heavy adults tend to turn out at a higher rate; Central Boulder, Boulder, CO sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Central Boulder looks the way it does
Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 99% of adults in Central Boulder have completed high school, about 6 points above the Colorado average of 93%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Colorado University, Boulder, CO D+62
- Washington Village, Boulder, CO D+77
- Crossroads, Boulder, CO D+73
- Southeast Boulder, Boulder, CO D+69
- East Boulder, Boulder, CO D+61
- Palo Park, Boulder, CO D+64
- North Boulder, Boulder, CO D+72
- South Boulder, Boulder, CO D+76
- Walnut Grove, Broomfield, CO D+15
- Brandywine, Broomfield, CO D+24
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Northeast Tacoma, Tacoma, WA D+23
- Eads-Fisherville, Cordova, TN D+31
- Greektown, Chicago, IL D+59
- Macalester-Groveland, St. Paul, MN D+68
- Queen Anne, Seattle, WA D+74
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA D+64
- Five Points, Toledo, OH D+28
- East Garfield Park, Chicago, IL D+79
- Beverly, Chicago, IL D+50
- South Boston, Boston, MA D+48
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Colorado 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.