Fort Payne is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 64% of adults in Fort Payne typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Fort Payne, ~12% vote Democratic, ~52% Republican, and ~36% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Fort Payne compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Fort Payne leans more Republican than 7 of 64 neighbors.
Fort Payne runs about 33 points more Republican than Alabama as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Fort Payne. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+80) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+57), a spread of about 23 points.
Why Fort Payne 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 Fort Payne, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Fort Payne votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 28%, modestly above the Alabama average of 19%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Non-English at home and voter turnout
Places with a low non-English-at-home share tend to turn out at a higher rate; Fort Payne, AL sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Fort Payne looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Fort Payne is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Pine Ridge, AL R+69
- Rainsville, AL R+75
- Lebanon, AL R+76
- Loveless, AL R+78
- Jamestown, AL R+80
- Taff, AL R+83
- Sylvania, AL R+77
- Shiloh, AL R+81
- Hammondville, AL R+72
- Valley Head, AL R+73
Cities with Similar Populations
- Mattoon, IL R+33
- Watervliet, NY D+17
- Howard, WI R+12
- Fulshear, TX R+25
- Evergreen Park, IL D+31
- Bryn Mawr, PA D+40
- Canyon Lake, TX R+48
- Stroudsburg, PA Even
- Lillington, NC R+24
- Melville, NY R+4
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alabama 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.