Idyllwild leans Republican by roughly 18 points: about 41% of voters vote Democratic and 59% Republican.
About 50% of adults in Idyllwild typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Idyllwild, ~20% vote Democratic, ~30% Republican, and ~50% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Idyllwild compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Idyllwild leans more Republican than 30 of 38 neighbors.
Idyllwild runs about 38 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while Idyllwild is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Idyllwild. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+18) and the southeast side runs the most Republican (R+25), a spread of about 43 points.
Why Idyllwild 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 Idyllwild, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 2% of residents in Idyllwild live in densely developed areas, about 56 points below the California average of 58%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 81% of households in Idyllwild are family households, above 92% of cities. Idyllwild runs against the grain of California, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Idyllwild, CA sits below the national average on this measure.
Why turnout in Idyllwild looks the way it does
Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout. About 7% of homes in Idyllwild have more than one occupant per room, above 92% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Fern Valley, CA D+9
- Mountain Center, CA R+19
- Thomas Mountain, CA R+17
- Pinyon Pines, CA R+2
- Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA D+11
- Anza, CA R+20
- Palm Springs, CA D+37
- Cahuilla, CA R+27
- Rancho Mirage, CA D+15
- Cathedral City, CA D+22
Cities with Similar Populations
- Pricetown, KY R+72
- Obert, NE R+69
- Hawthorne, IA R+51
- South Junction, OR R+8
- South Lee, MA D+45
- Saratoga Center, IL R+47
- Patterson, VA R+68
- Snyder, IL R+59
- Ex-Way, NC R+44
- Leonard, AR R+67
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.