Clayton is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 66% of adults in Clayton typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Clayton, ~11% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Clayton compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Clayton leans more Republican than 34 of 48 neighbors.
Clayton runs about 77 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Clayton is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Clayton. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+74) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+63), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Clayton 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 Clayton, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 9% of adults in Clayton hold a bachelor's degree, about 17 points below the Illinois average of 27%. Clayton runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Foreign-born share and voter turnout
Places with a low foreign-born share tend to turn out in mixed patterns; Clayton, IL sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Clayton looks the way it does
Turnout in Clayton sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Timewell, IL R+63
- Mound Station, IL R+62
- Camp Point, IL R+67
- Kellerville, IL R+72
- Golden, IL R+72
- La Prairie, IL R+70
- Columbus, IL R+72
- Mount Sterling, IL R+30
- Coatsburg, IL R+69
- Hersman, IL R+32
Cities with Similar Populations
- Hulmeville, PA R+12
- Mount Vision, NY R+25
- Neola, UT R+82
- Neola, PA R+27
- Carbon, IN R+59
- Stetson, ME R+41
- Hickory Corners, WI R+45
- Yates City, IL R+41
- Weippe, ID R+68
- Morley, NY R+4
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.