Harper is a Republican stronghold. About 25% of voters here vote Democratic and 75% Republican.
About 83% of adults in Harper typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Harper, ~21% vote Democratic, ~62% Republican, and ~17% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Harper compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Harper leans more Republican than 36 of 50 neighbors.
Harper runs about 38 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Why Harper 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 Harper, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Car-dependent areas vote Republican. About 90% of residents in Harper drive to work alone, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 74%. A high white share with below-average college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Harper fits that profile on both counts. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 77% of households in Harper are family households, above 83% of cities.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Harper, IA sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Harper looks the way it does
Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 96% of adults in Harper have completed high school, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 90%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Keota, IA R+39
- Talleyrand, IA R+50
- South English, IA R+50
- Sigourney, IA R+39
- Hayesville, IA R+46
- Kinross, IA R+49
- Webster, IA R+51
- Ollie, IA R+53
- Rubio, IA R+51
- North English, IA R+42
Cities with Similar Populations
- Bragg City, MO R+70
- Otisfield, ME R+24
- Cahone, CO R+41
- Lenora, KS R+83
- Harmans, MD D+40
- Brownsburg, WV R+50
- Klingville, MI R+15
- Poplar Branch, NC R+49
- Okreek, SD D+27
- South Anna, VA R+40
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.