Forrest City leans heavily Democratic by roughly 30 points: about 65% of voters vote Democratic and 35% Republican.
About 47% of adults in Forrest City typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Forrest City, ~31% vote Democratic, ~17% Republican, and ~52% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Forrest City compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Forrest City leans more Democratic than 40 of 45 neighbors.
Forrest City runs about 61 points more Democratic than Arkansas as a whole. Arkansas leans Republican overall, while Forrest City is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Forrest City. The west side runs the most Democratic (D+62) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+16), a spread of about 78 points.
Why Forrest 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 Forrest City, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Density combined with diversity predicts Democratic voting. Non-Hispanic white share in Forrest City is about 31%, about 42 points below the U.S. average of 72%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 44% of adults in Forrest City have never been married, above 96% of cities. Forrest City runs against the grain of Arkansas, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Forrest City, AR sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Forrest City looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Forrest City is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 40%, about 11 points below the Arkansas average of 51%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 56% of households in Forrest City rent, compared to around 26% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 39% of adults in Forrest City report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Madison, AR D+67
- Caldwell, AR R+36
- Haynes, AR R+14
- Widener, AR D+3
- Palestine, AR R+48
- Meadow Cliff, AR R+33
- Colt, AR R+41
- Slonikers Mill, AR R+38
- Newcastle, AR R+61
Cities with Similar Populations
- Tuckerton, NJ R+32
- Leesville, LA R+48
- Brock Hall, MD D+82
- Hermitage, PA R+17
- Belvedere Park, GA D+78
- Middlesex, NJ R+6
- Hedgesville, WV R+53
- Hartland, WI R+21
- Telford, PA R+9
- Aptos, CA D+42
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Arkansas 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.