Elk leans heavily Democratic by roughly 50 points: about 75% of voters vote Democratic and 25% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Elk typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Elk, ~45% vote Democratic, ~15% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Elk compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Elk leans more Democratic than 11 of 16 neighbors.
Elk runs about 30 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Elk. The west side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+60) and the south side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+46), a spread of about 14 points.
Why Elk 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 Elk, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 35% of adults in Elk hold a bachelor's degree, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 34% of adults in Elk have never been married, above 85% of cities.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with renter-heavy households tend to turn out at a lower rate; Elk, CA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Elk looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 45% of households in Elk rent, about 20 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout, and about 4% of homes in Elk have more than one occupant per room, above 85% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Albion, CA D+62
- Little River, CA D+63
- Navarro, CA D+42
- Comptche, CA D+45
- Mendocino, CA D+61
- Philo, CA D+46
- Manchester, CA D+51
- Caspar, CA D+43
- Noyo, CA D+32
- Redwood Lodge, CA D+31
Cities with Similar Populations
- Ahsahka, ID R+65
- Northport, WI R+41
- South Lagrange, ME R+38
- Bingham, IL R+65
- Shady Dell, OR R+28
- Tallysville, VA R+20
- Denniston, KY R+65
- Hadley, IN R+60
- Jobs Corners, PA R+59
- West Cameron, PA R+58
All Local Stats
Home Services
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.