Fruitdale is a Republican stronghold. About 14% of voters here vote Democratic and 86% Republican.
About 65% of adults in Fruitdale typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Fruitdale, ~9% vote Democratic, ~56% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Fruitdale compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Fruitdale leans more Republican than 12 of 18 neighbors.
Fruitdale runs about 43 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Fruitdale. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+83) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+60), a spread of about 23 points.
Why Fruitdale 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 Fruitdale, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 78% of households in Fruitdale are family households, about 11 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Fruitdale, SD sits below the national average on this measure.
Why turnout in Fruitdale looks the way it does
Turnout in Fruitdale sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Belle Fourche, SD R+56
- St. Onge, SD R+57
- Nisland, SD R+78
- Spearfish, SD R+32
- Whitewood, SD R+53
- Beulah, WY R+74
- Newell, SD R+75
- Central City, SD R+51
- Vale, SD R+78
Cities with Similar Populations
- Clarks Mills, PA R+59
- Sugar Loaf, ID R+66
- McDonald, NC R+32
- Daybrook, WV R+60
- Fowler, KS R+69
- White Earth, MN Even
- Lotus, CA R+20
- Maine, NY R+29
- Dungannon, VA R+68
- Lyons Point, LA R+83
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.