East Palo Alto leans heavily Democratic by roughly 50 points: about 75% of voters vote Democratic and 25% Republican.
About 42% of adults in East Palo Alto typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in East Palo Alto, ~32% vote Democratic, ~10% Republican, and ~58% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How East Palo Alto compares
Among cities within 25 miles, East Palo Alto leans more Democratic than 54 of 71 neighbors.
East Palo Alto runs about 29 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within East Palo Alto. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+62) and the northwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+46), a spread of about 16 points.
Why East Palo Alto 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 East Palo Alto, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. About 92% of residents in East Palo Alto live in densely developed areas, about 56 points above the U.S. average of 36%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 46% of adults in East Palo Alto have never been married, above 97% of cities.
Paved land cover and Democratic lean
Places with extensive paved surfaces tend to lean Democratic; East Palo Alto, CA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in East Palo Alto looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. East Palo Alto is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 50% of households in East Palo Alto rent, about 25 points above the U.S. average of 25%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 23% of adults in East Palo Alto report food insecurity, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Menlo Park, CA D+64
- Palo Alto, CA D+52
- Stanford, CA D+64
- Atherton, CA D+46
- North Fair Oaks, CA D+49
- Redwood City, CA D+53
- Mountain View, CA D+46
- Los Altos Hills, CA D+23
- Woodside, CA D+46
- Portola Valley, CA D+58
Cities with Similar Populations
- Davison, MI R+14
- Riverside, NJ D+7
- McMinnville, TN R+60
- Pewaukee, WI R+13
- Harvey, LA D+32
- Lake Jackson, TX R+36
- Piedmont, SC R+33
- Twentynine Palms, CA R+24
- Martinez, GA R+27
- Hightstown, NJ D+25
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.