Independence Plaza, Kansas City, MO Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Independence Plaza

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Independence Plaza is a Democratic stronghold. About 80% of voters here vote Democratic and 20% Republican.

 

About 45% of adults in Independence Plaza typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Independence Plaza, ~36% vote Democratic, ~9% Republican, and ~55% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Independence Plaza compares

Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Independence Plaza leans more Democratic than 10 of 17 neighbors.

Independence Plaza runs about 79 points more Democratic than Missouri as a whole. Missouri leans Republican overall, while Independence Plaza is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by block within Independence Plaza. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+82) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+43), a spread of about 39 points.

Why Independence Plaza leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Independence Plaza, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Dense areas vote Democratic. More than 99% of residents in Independence Plaza live in densely developed areas, about 64 points above the U.S. average of 36%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 50% of adults in Independence Plaza have never been married, above 82% of neighborhoods. Independence Plaza runs against the grain of Missouri, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Cancer-screening access and voter turnout

Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Independence Plaza, Kansas City, MO sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.

Why turnout in Independence Plaza looks the way it does

Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Independence Plaza is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 37%, about 20 points below the Missouri average of 57%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 46% of adults in Independence Plaza report food insecurity, above 97% of neighborhoods. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Independence Plaza sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Missouri 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.