Houghton leans Republican by roughly 24 points: about 38% of voters vote Democratic and 62% Republican.
About 42% of adults in Houghton typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Houghton, ~16% vote Democratic, ~26% Republican, and ~58% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Houghton compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Houghton leans more Republican than 4 of 107 neighbors.
Houghton runs about 37 points more Republican than New York as a whole. New York leans Democratic overall, while Houghton is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Houghton. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+50) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+23), a spread of about 28 points.
Why Houghton 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 Houghton, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 75% of households in Houghton are family households, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 67%. Houghton runs against the grain of New York, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with renter-heavy households tend to turn out at a lower rate; Houghton, NY sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Houghton looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 34% of households in Houghton rent, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 86% of adults in Houghton have completed high school, below 76% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Hume, NY R+54
- Fillmore, NY R+46
- Caneadea, NY R+42
- Higgins, NY R+59
- Rushford, NY R+43
- Oramel, NY R+44
- Mills Mills, NY R+41
- Centerville, NY R+58
- Wiscoy, NY R+41
- Belfast, NY R+43
Cities with Similar Populations
- Mineral Point, PA R+48
- Rushville, OH R+57
- New Virginia, IA R+45
- Saluda, VA R+30
- Long Lane, MO R+68
- Alexander, NY R+52
- Taylor, WI R+33
- St. Paul, OH R+55
- North Palm Springs, CA D+15
- Lexington, GA R+43
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New York State Board 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.