Central City leans heavily Republican by roughly 48 points: about 26% of voters vote Democratic and 74% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Central City typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Central City, ~16% vote Democratic, ~44% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Central City compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Central City leans more Republican than 6 of 62 neighbors.
Central City runs about 59 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Central City is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Central City 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 Central City, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 8% of adults in Central City hold a bachelor's degree, about 18 points below the Illinois average of 27%. Dense places usually vote Democratic, but Central City runs against that pattern. Central City runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Never-married share, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine a never-married-heavy adult population and a heavily developed built environment tend to turn out at a lower rate, as Central City, IL does.
Why turnout in Central City looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Central City is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 43%, about 20 points below the Illinois average of 63%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 30% of households in Central City rent, above 84% of cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 32% of adults in Central City report food insecurity, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Centralia, IL R+31
- Junction City, IL R+59
- Wamac, IL R+47
- Sandoval, IL R+53
- Odin, IL R+61
- Ferrin, IL R+59
- Hubbard Woods, IL R+56
- Walnut Hill, IL R+59
- Hoffman, IL R+56
- Irvington, IL R+56
Cities with Similar Populations
- Sunsweet, GA R+71
- Tillatoba, MS R+44
- Perrysburg, NY R+26
- Norwood, CO R+38
- Star, MS R+39
- Lidgerwood, ND R+45
- Correctionville, IA R+58
- Ashkum, IL R+58
- Joppa, MI R+38
- Cooperstown, ND R+51
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois State 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. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.