Houghton is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Houghton typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Houghton, ~13% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~38% 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 14 of 23 neighbors.
Houghton runs about 28 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
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 a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Houghton, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the South Dakota average of 26%.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Houghton, SD sits in the top 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 Houghton looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Houghton 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 72%, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Hecla, SD R+58
- Columbia, SD R+59
- Claremont, SD R+57
- Huffton, SD R+59
- Barnard, SD R+57
- Tacoma Park, SD R+58
- Amherst, SD R+31
- Frederick, SD R+58
- Guelph, ND R+62
Cities with Similar Populations
- Sconondoa, NY R+36
- Recluse, WY R+80
- Fishers Landing, AZ R+46
- Opheim, MT R+64
- Locum, MS R+89
- Lorenz Park, NY Even
- Wildie, KY R+71
- Whyte, MN R+7
- Murrayfield, VA R+59
- Snake Creek, OK R+60
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.