Financial District is a Democratic stronghold. About 76% of voters here vote Democratic and 24% Republican.
About 51% of adults in Financial District typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Financial District, ~39% vote Democratic, ~12% Republican, and ~49% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Financial District compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Financial District leans more Democratic than 2 of 29 neighbors.
Financial District runs about 33 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Financial District. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+64) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+37), a spread of about 27 points.
Why Financial District 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 Financial District, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 70% of adults in Financial District hold a bachelor's degree, about 41 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Financial District, San Francisco, CA 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 Financial District looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 79% of households in Financial District rent, about 54 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout, and about 9% of homes in Financial District have more than one occupant per room, above 89% of neighborhoods. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Financial District sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Chinatown-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA D+38
- Union Square, San Francisco, CA D+59
- South of Market, San Francisco, CA D+61
- North Beach, San Francisco, CA D+57
- Nob Hill, San Francisco, CA D+62
- Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco, CA D+56
- Russian Hill, San Francisco, CA D+68
- Pacific Heights, San Francisco, CA D+69
- Cow Hollow, San Francisco, CA D+64
- Potrero, San Francisco, CA D+79
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Hegewisch, Chicago, IL D+17
- Chinatown-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA D+38
- Morningside, Detroit, MI D+85
- Flamingo-Lummus, Miami Beach, FL D+17
- Holland, Minneapolis, MN D+67
- Harambee, Milwaukee, WI D+82
- Serramonte, Daly City, CA D+36
- Friendly, Fort Washington, MD D+78
- Bloomfield-Allen, Des Moines, IA D+4
- Academy Heights, Orange, NJ D+76
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.