Houston is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 94% of adults in Houston typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Houston, ~20% vote Democratic, ~74% Republican, and ~6% 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 48 of 68 neighbors.
Houston runs about 69 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Houston is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
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 a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Houston, more than 99% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 27 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 17 points below the Illinois average of 27%. Houston runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Renting and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Houston, IL sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Houston looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. More than 99% of households in Houston own their home, about 20 points above the Illinois average of 80%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Houston have completed high school, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Baldwin, IL R+60
- Sparta, IL R+32
- Preston, IL R+60
- Walsh, IL R+60
- Tilden, IL R+53
- Marissa, IL R+56
- Old Marissa, IL R+55
- Eden, IL R+49
- Prairie, IL R+55
- Clarmin, IL R+57
Cities with Similar Populations
- Hubbell, NE R+70
- Milltown, AR R+75
- West Hartford, VT D+32
- Buena Vista, NM D+16
- Pyro, OH R+66
- Brunot, MO R+68
- Cauthornville, VA R+8
- Weed Crossroad, AL R+70
- Wilbur, WV R+70
- Cottage Grove, IN R+63
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois 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.