Downtown Nashville, Nashville, TN Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Downtown Nashville

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

Downtown Nashville leans heavily Democratic by roughly 50 points: about 75% of voters vote Democratic and 25% Republican.

 

About 58% of adults in Downtown Nashville typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Downtown Nashville, ~43% vote Democratic, ~15% Republican, and ~42% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Downtown Nashville compares

Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Downtown Nashville leans more Democratic than 11 of 24 neighbors.

Downtown Nashville runs about 80 points more Democratic than Tennessee as a whole. Tennessee leans Republican overall, while Downtown Nashville is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by block within Downtown Nashville. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+62) and the southwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+24), a spread of about 39 points.

Why Downtown Nashville 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 Nashville, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 76% of adults in Downtown Nashville hold a bachelor's degree, about 47 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 62% of adults in Downtown Nashville have never been married, above 94% of neighborhoods. Downtown Nashville runs against the grain of Tennessee, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Downtown Nashville, Nashville, TN 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 Nashville looks the way it does

Renters vote less often than owners. About 76% of households in Downtown Nashville rent, about 52 points above the U.S. average of 25%. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Downtown Nashville sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division 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.