Gary is a Democratic stronghold. About 85% of voters here vote Democratic and 15% Republican.
About 56% of adults in Gary typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Gary, ~48% vote Democratic, ~8% Republican, and ~44% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Gary compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Gary leans more Democratic than 76 of 92 neighbors.
Gary runs about 89 points more Democratic than Indiana as a whole. Indiana leans Republican overall, while Gary is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Gary. The west side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+84) and the southwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+16), a spread of about 68 points.
Why Gary 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 Gary, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. About 88% of residents in Gary live in densely developed areas, about 52 points above the U.S. average of 36%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 47% of adults in Gary have never been married, above 97% of cities. Gary runs against the grain of Indiana, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Gary, IN sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Gary looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Gary 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 41%, about 20 points below the Indiana average of 61%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 48% of households in Gary rent, compared to around 30% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 41% of adults in Gary report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- New Chicago, IN R+12
- Lake Station, IN R+12
- Griffith, IN D+4
- Hobart, IN R+7
- Merrillville, IN D+47
- Highland, IN Even
- East Chicago, IN D+58
- Hammond, IN D+31
- Schererville, IN R+5
- Portage, IN Even
Cities with Similar Populations
- Glen Burnie, MD D+17
- Lehi, UT R+37
- Dublin, CA D+35
- Anderson, IN R+14
- Burlington, NC D+9
- South Hill, WA Even
- Rocklin, CA R+9
- Grand Junction, CO R+11
- Traverse City, MI D+3
- Tonawanda, NY D+9
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Indiana 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.