Highland County is a Republican stronghold. About 20% of voters here vote Democratic and 80% Republican.
About 74% of adults in Highland County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Highland County, ~15% vote Democratic, ~59% Republican, and ~26% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Highland County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Highland County leans more Republican than 16 of 18 neighbors.
Highland County runs about 50 points more Republican than Ohio as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Highland County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+69) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+54), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Highland County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Highland County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Highland County, about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 7 points below the Ohio average of 23%.
Foreign-born share and voter turnout
Places with a low foreign-born share tend to turn out in mixed patterns; Highland County, OH sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Highland County looks the way it does
Turnout in Highland County 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 Counties
- Clinton County, OH R+53
- Fayette County, OH R+55
- Brown County, OH R+61
- Adams County, OH R+64
- Pike County, OH R+58
- Ross County, OH R+44
- Clermont County, OH R+37
- Warren County, OH R+30
- Greene County, OH R+17
- Mason County, KY R+42
Counties with Similar Populations
- Chesterfield County, SC R+28
- DeKalb County, IN R+49
- Muscatine County, IA R+16
- Suwannee County, FL R+58
- Cerro Gordo County, IA R+18
- Jackson County, NC R+18
- Coffee County, GA R+35
- Sullivan County, NH R+16
- Prince George County, VA R+2
- Dubois County, IN R+44
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Ohio 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.