Evanston is a Democratic stronghold. About 82% of voters here vote Democratic and 18% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Evanston typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Evanston, ~49% vote Democratic, ~11% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Evanston compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Evanston leans more Democratic than 10 of 23 neighbors.
Evanston runs about 74 points more Democratic than Ohio as a whole. Ohio leans Republican overall, while Evanston is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Evanston. The west side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+82) and the northwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+41), a spread of about 41 points.
Why Evanston 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 Evanston, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. More than 99% of residents in Evanston live in densely developed areas, about 64 points above the U.S. average of 36%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 64% of adults in Evanston have never been married, above 96% of neighborhoods. Evanston runs against the grain of Ohio, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Developed land and Democratic lean
Places with a heavily developed built environment tend to lean Democratic; Evanston, Cincinnati, OH sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Developed land does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Evanston looks the way it does
High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, mostly because the housing stress common in those areas makes voting harder. Evanston sits in the top 15% nationally on a violent-crime measure. See CrimeGrade for more details. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- North Avondale, Cincinnati, OH D+81
- Avondale, Cincinnati, OH D+83
- Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, OH D+74
- Hyde Park, Cincinnati, OH D+38
- Corryville, Cincinnati, OH D+54
- Oakley, Cincinnati, OH D+44
- Bond Hill, Cincinnati, OH D+72
- Mount Auburn, Cincinnati, OH D+67
- Mount Lookout, Cincinnati, OH D+33
- Clifton, Cincinnati, OH D+68
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Windsor Spring, Hephzibah, GA D+69
- Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ D+33
- Burbank, Detroit, MI D+79
- Barton-McFarland, Detroit, MI D+87
- Vistancia, Peoria, AZ R+21
- Pilsen, Chicago, IL D+62
- Patterson Park, Baltimore, MD D+74
- Portland, Louisville, KY D+29
- Central Terry, Billings, MT D+3
- Sun City, Georgetown, TX R+20
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Ohio 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.