Franklin County leans Republican by roughly 24 points: about 38% of voters vote Democratic and 62% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Vermont did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 77% of adults in Franklin County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Franklin County, ~29% vote Democratic, ~48% 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 is the most Republican-leaning.
Franklin County runs about 56 points more Republican than Vermont as a whole. Vermont leans Democratic overall, while Franklin County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Franklin County. The north side is the most Republican-leaning (R+36) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+14), a spread of about 22 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.
Franklin County votes against the grain of Vermont. Vermont leans Democratic overall, while Franklin County runs about 56 points more Republican.
High-school completion, uninsured rate, and voter turnout
Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a low uninsured rate tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Franklin County, VT does.
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 66%, about 6 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 82% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Grand Isle County, VT Even
- Lamoille County, VT D+7
- Chittenden County, VT D+35
- Clinton County, NY R+5
- Orleans County, VT R+17
- Washington County, VT D+19
- Caledonia County, VT R+9
- Addison County, VT D+23
- Essex County, NY R+5
- Essex County, VT R+31
Counties with Similar Populations
- Knox County, IL R+9
- Newaygo County, MI R+40
- Queen Anne's County, MD R+27
- Buffalo County, NE R+36
- Lamar County, TX R+50
- Carroll County, NH R+2
- Polk County, TX R+50
- Wilson County, TX R+50
- Winona County, MN R+8
- Bedford County, TN R+51
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Vermont Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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. VT did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.