Houston is a Republican stronghold. About 10% of voters here vote Democratic and 90% Republican.
About 66% of adults in Houston typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Houston, ~6% vote Democratic, ~60% Republican, and ~34% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Houston compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Houston leans more Republican than 14 of 47 neighbors.
Houston runs about 50 points more Republican than Alabama as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Houston. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+88) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+78), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Houston 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 Houston, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 75% of households in Houston are family households, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Houston, AL sits below the national average on this measure.
Why turnout in Houston looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 95% of households in Houston own their home, about 17 points above the Alabama average of 78%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Moreland, AL R+88
- Addison, AL R+86
- Arley, AL R+81
- Delmar, AL R+83
- Double Springs, AL R+84
- Inmanfield, AL R+87
- New Georgia, AL R+86
- Poplar Springs, AL R+82
- Grayson, AL R+87
- Trade, AL R+83
Cities with Similar Populations
- Maury City, TN R+61
- Somerset, MI R+22
- Littlefork, MN R+38
- Montague, TX R+77
- Downsville, NY R+43
- Rose Lodge, OR R+8
- Fairfax, MO R+62
- East Marion, NY D+15
- Moltonville, NC R+17
- Sanish, ND D+29
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alabama 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.