Clarkston leans slightly Republican by roughly 14 points: about 43% of voters vote Democratic and 57% Republican.
About 96% of adults in Clarkston typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Clarkston, ~41% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~4% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Clarkston compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Clarkston leans more Republican than 45 of 82 neighbors.
Clarkston runs about 13 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Clarkston. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+21) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+10), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Clarkston 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 Clarkston, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Clarkston votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 67%, far above the Michigan average of 31%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Clarkston, MI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Clarkston looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Clarkston 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Clarkston have completed high school, above 83% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Village of Clarkston, MI Even
- Lake Angelus, MI R+19
- Waterford, MI R+6
- Davisburg, MI R+24
- Lake Orion, MI R+5
- Ortonville, MI R+29
- Oxford, MI R+21
- Pontiac, MI D+53
- White Lake, MI R+20
- Sylvan Lake, MI D+11
Cities with Similar Populations
- Shakopee, MN D+4
- Rexburg, ID R+31
- Urbandale, IA D+7
- Rosenberg, TX D+3
- Cocoa, FL R+19
- Shelby, NC R+18
- Coral Gables, FL D+3
- Pikesville, MD D+35
- Lake Ridge, VA D+26
- Herndon, VA D+34
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.