Cranston leans slightly Democratic by roughly 12 points: about 56% of voters vote Democratic and 44% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Rhode Island did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 63% of adults in Cranston typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Cranston, ~35% vote Democratic, ~28% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Cranston compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Cranston leans more Democratic than 83 of 114 neighbors.
Politically, Cranston sits close to the rest of Rhode Island.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Cranston. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+26) and the southwest side runs the most Republican (R+3), a spread of about 29 points.
Why Cranston 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 Cranston, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 37% of adults in Cranston hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 35% of adults in Cranston have never been married, above 87% of cities.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Cranston, RI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Cranston looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Cranston 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Providence, RI D+11
- Johnston, RI R+4
- Warwick, RI D+8
- Riverside, RI D+8
- East Providence, RI D+12
- North Providence, RI D+14
- West Warwick, RI D+6
- Hope, RI R+14
- Rumford, RI D+16
- Barrington, RI D+32
Cities with Similar Populations
- Maryville, TN R+48
- Milpitas, CA D+25
- Rapid City, SD R+22
- Bowie, MD D+64
- Buena Park, CA D+8
- Dallas, GA R+25
- Port Charlotte, FL R+32
- Farmington Hills, MI D+25
- Waipahu, HI D+10
- Pasco, WA R+9
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Rhode Island 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. RI did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.