Franklin County leans Democratic by roughly 22 points: about 61% of voters vote Democratic and 39% Republican.
About 77% of adults in Franklin County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Franklin County, ~47% vote Democratic, ~30% Republican, and ~23% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Franklin County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Franklin County leans more Democratic than 4 of 7 neighbors.
Politically, Franklin County sits close to the rest of Massachusetts.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Franklin County. The southwest side runs the most Democratic (D+38) and the east side runs the most Republican (R+8), a spread of about 45 points.
Why Franklin County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Franklin County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 40% of adults in Franklin County hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Franklin County, MA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Franklin County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Franklin County 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 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Franklin County have completed high school, above 88% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Hampshire County, MA D+45
- Windham County, VT D+28
- Cheshire County, NH Even
- Hampden County, MA D+14
- Berkshire County, MA D+27
- Bennington County, VT D+17
- Worcester County, MA D+12
- Rensselaer County, NY D+6
- Hillsborough County, NH D+11
- Sullivan County, NH R+16
Counties with Similar Populations
- Lewis and Clark County, MT R+7
- Boone County, IN R+19
- Surry County, NC R+52
- DeKalb County, AL R+71
- Portage County, WI R+7
- Creek County, OK R+55
- Morgan County, IN R+51
- Greene County, TN R+62
- Riley County, KS D+4
- York County, VA R+3
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 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.