Cottage Grove leans heavily Democratic by roughly 46 points: about 73% of voters vote Democratic and 27% Republican.
About 61% of adults in Cottage Grove typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Cottage Grove, ~45% vote Democratic, ~16% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Cottage Grove compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Cottage Grove is the most Democratic-leaning.
Cottage Grove runs about 76 points more Democratic than Alabama as a whole. Alabama leans Republican overall, while Cottage Grove is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Cottage Grove 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 Cottage Grove, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural, majority-Black areas of the Southern Black Belt vote Democratic, against the usual rural pattern. About 62% of residents in Cottage Grove are Black or African American, about 38 points above the Alabama average of 24%. Cottage Grove runs against the grain of Alabama, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Non-English at home and voter turnout
Places with a high non-English-at-home share tend to turn out at a lower rate; Cottage Grove, AL sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Cottage Grove looks the way it does
Areas with low high-school completion turn out at lower rates. About 85% of adults in Cottage Grove have completed high school, about 5 points below the U.S. average of 90%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Nixburg, AL R+41
- Kellyton, AL Even
- Rockford, AL R+52
- Equality, AL R+70
- Our Town, AL R+66
- Soleo, AL D+10
- Hissop, AL R+40
- Seman, AL R+68
- Alexander City, AL R+25
- Speed, AL R+68
Cities with Similar Populations
- Gasburg, VA R+20
- Dola, WV R+64
- North Washington, PA R+52
- Bellevue, TX R+83
- Mount Welcome, WV R+64
- Beaverville, IL R+50
- Pansy, OH R+64
- Lomax, IL R+48
- Hellier, KY R+78
- Cruso, NC R+51
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alabama 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.