Heart of the Westside leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 48% of adults in Heart of the Westside typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Heart of the Westside, ~20% vote Democratic, ~28% Republican, and ~52% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Heart of the Westside compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Heart of the Westside leans more Republican than 14 of 19 neighbors.
Politically, Heart of the Westside sits close to the rest of Missouri.
Why Heart of the Westside leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Heart of the Westside, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 7% of adults in Heart of the Westside hold a bachelor's degree, about 15 points below the Missouri average of 22%. Car-dependent areas vote Republican, and about 82% of residents in Heart of the Westside drive to work alone, above 87% of neighborhoods.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Heart of the Westside, Springfield, MO sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Heart of the Westside looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Heart of the Westside 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 44%, about 14 points below the Missouri average of 57%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 76% of adults in Heart of the Westside have completed high school, below 90% of neighborhoods. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Heart of the Westside sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Grant Beach, Springfield, MO Even
- Tom Watkins, Springfield, MO R+22
- West Central, Springfield, MO D+10
- Westside Community Betterment, Springfield, MO R+12
- Woodland Heights, Springfield, MO R+8
- Downtown Springfield, Springfield, MO D+19
- Midtown Springfield, Springfield, MO D+17
- Young-Lilly, Springfield, MO R+27
- Doling, Springfield, MO R+17
- Phelps, Springfield, MO D+31
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Wentworth Estates, Naples, FL R+16
- Jacoby Creek, Arcata, CA D+59
- Croissant Park, Fort Lauderdale, FL D+5
- Sunset, Tempe, AZ D+41
- Old West Tampa, Tampa, FL D+39
- McFerrin Park, Nashville, TN D+71
- Historic District, Natchitoches, LA D+13
- Southgate Triangle, Missoula, MT D+26
- Madison Area, Grand Rapids, MI D+72
- Glendale, Madison, WI D+57
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Missouri 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.