Forest City leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 86% of adults in Forest City typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Forest City, ~34% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~13% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Forest City compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Forest City leans more Republican than 1 of 42 neighbors.
Forest City runs about 9 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Forest City. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+45) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 31 points.
Why Forest City 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 Forest City, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Forest City votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 58%, far above the Iowa average of 16%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Forest City, IA 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 Forest City looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Forest City is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 71%, about 11 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Miller, IA R+45
- Leland, IA R+39
- Hayfield, IA R+53
- Crystal Lake, IA R+46
- Fertile, IA R+38
- Thompson, IA R+37
- Duncan, IA R+52
- Garner, IA R+32
- Lake Mills, IA R+30
- Joice, IA R+36
Cities with Similar Populations
- Cottonport, LA R+8
- Paxton, IL R+33
- Frederica, DE R+12
- Dayton, VA R+49
- Hodges, SC R+39
- Fair Grove, MO R+58
- Paris, AR R+57
- Lavonia, GA R+52
- Harmony, PA R+32
- Pine Ridge, SD D+68
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.