Downtown Minneapolis is a Democratic stronghold. About 82% of voters here vote Democratic and 18% Republican.
About 71% of adults in Downtown Minneapolis typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Downtown Minneapolis, ~58% vote Democratic, ~13% Republican, and ~29% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Downtown Minneapolis compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Downtown Minneapolis leans more Democratic than 10 of 15 neighbors.
Downtown Minneapolis runs about 59 points more Democratic than Minnesota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Downtown Minneapolis. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+71) and the northwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+50), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Downtown Minneapolis 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 Minneapolis, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 57% of adults in Downtown Minneapolis have never been married, modestly above similar-sized neighborhoods (around 45%).
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN 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 Minneapolis looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Downtown Minneapolis 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.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- West Side, St. Paul, MN D+46
- Thomas-Dale, St. Paul, MN D+53
- Summit-University, St. Paul, MN D+72
- Dayton's Bluff, St. Paul, MN D+46
- West 7th, St. Paul, MN D+59
- Summit Hill, St. Paul, MN D+71
- Payne Phallen, St. Paul, MN D+40
- North End, St. Paul, MN D+45
- Midway, St. Paul, MN D+67
- Como, St. Paul, MN D+61
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Loring Park, Minneapolis, MN D+69
- Capitol Hill, Salt Lake City, UT D+52
- Clark-Fulton, Cleveland, OH D+30
- Concordia, Portland, OR D+79
- Whitney Ranch, Henderson, NV D+10
- Hollywood Beach-Quadoman, Hollywood, FL R+7
- Fairmuont, Newark, NJ D+73
- Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA D+71
- Ravenna, Seattle, WA D+81
- Highland Square, Akron, OH D+48
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.