Des Moines, IA Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Des Moines

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Des Moines is a true toss-up. About 51% of voters here vote Democratic and 49% Republican.

 

About 79% of adults in the Des Moines area typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in the Des Moines area, ~40% vote Democratic, ~39% Republican, and ~21% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Des Moines compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Des Moines sits roughly in the middle of the political spectrum, with 61 neighbors leaning further in the place's direction and 5 leaning the other way.

Des Moines runs about 15 points more Democratic than Iowa as a whole. Iowa leans Republican overall, while Des Moines sits closer to the political middle.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Des Moines. The south side runs the most Democratic (D+5) and the southwest side runs the most Republican (R+21), a spread of about 25 points.

Why Des Moines 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 Des Moines, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Des Moines votes against the grain of Iowa. Iowa leans Republican overall, while Des Moines runs about 15 points more Democratic.

Population density and Democratic lean

Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Des Moines, IA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Des Moines looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Des Moines 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 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.