Great Falls leans Democratic by roughly 22 points: about 61% of voters vote Democratic and 39% Republican.
About 97% of adults in Great Falls typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Great Falls, ~59% vote Democratic, ~38% Republican, and ~3% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Great Falls compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Great Falls leans more Democratic than 55 of 201 neighbors.
Great Falls runs about 15 points more Democratic than Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Great Falls. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+32) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+8), a spread of about 24 points.
Why Great Falls 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 Great Falls, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 86% of adults in Great Falls hold a bachelor's degree, about 57 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Great Falls sits in the top fifth on density (about 58%, above 89% of cities).
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Great Falls, VA sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Great Falls looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Great Falls 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 81%, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 95% of households in Great Falls own their home, compared to around 76% in nearby cities. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 99% of adults in Great Falls have completed high school, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Dranesville, VA D+32
- Lowes Island, VA D+20
- Reston, VA D+45
- Wolf Trap, VA D+36
- Sterling, VA D+23
- Cascades, VA D+28
- Travilah, MD D+36
- Herndon, VA D+34
- Dulles Town Center, VA D+26
- Countryside, VA D+21
Cities with Similar Populations
- Dillsburg, PA R+35
- Auburn, GA R+23
- South Hadley, MA D+34
- Larchmont, NY D+43
- Fletcher, NC R+9
- Safety Harbor, FL R+6
- Four Corners, OR D+5
- Greenville, OH R+49
- Laurens, SC R+17
- Riverdale, IL D+80
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Virginia Department of 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.