Downtown is a Democratic stronghold. About 87% of voters here vote Democratic and 13% Republican.
About 48% of adults in Downtown typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Downtown, ~41% vote Democratic, ~6% Republican, and ~53% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Downtown compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Downtown leans more Democratic than 5 of 9 neighbors.
Downtown runs about 63 points more Democratic than Illinois as a whole.
Why Downtown leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Downtown, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 78% of adults in Downtown hold a bachelor's degree, about 50 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 66% of adults in Downtown have never been married, above 96% of neighborhoods.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Downtown, Evanston, IL 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 Downtown looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 63% of households in Downtown rent, about 38 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- South Evanston, Evanston, IL D+81
- Central Street Merchant District, Evanston, IL D+77
- Gross Point, Wilmette, IL D+47
- Rogers Park, Chicago, IL D+75
- West Ridge, Chicago, IL D+21
- Granville Gardens, Chicago, IL D+40
- Edgewater, Chicago, IL D+71
- Andersonville, Chicago, IL D+84
- North Park, Chicago, IL D+28
- Lincoln Square, Chicago, IL D+54
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Jefferson Park, Los Angeles, CA D+59
- Central District, Seattle, WA D+80
- Arden Heights, Staten Island, NY R+47
- Sherwood-Tualatin South, Tualatin, OR D+28
- Edgewood-Kirkwood, Atlanta, GA D+75
- Glen-Fallstaff, Baltimore, MD D+49
- Far Northeast-Houston, Houston, TX D+5
- West Loch, Waipahu, HI D+9
- Potrero, San Francisco, CA D+79
- Great Bridge East, Chesapeake, VA R+26
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.