Iowa Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Iowa

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

Iowa leans slightly Republican by roughly 12 points: about 44% of voters vote Democratic and 56% Republican.

 

About 81% of adults in Iowa typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Iowa, ~36% vote Democratic, ~45% Republican, and ~19% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Iowa compares

Among states within 500 miles, Iowa leans more Republican than 4 of 11 neighbors.

Politics vary noticeably by county within Iowa. The east side runs the most Democratic (Even) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+44), a spread of about 45 points.

Why Iowa leans the way it does

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

Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Iowa, about 83% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, below 68% of states.

Paved land cover and Republican lean

Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Iowa sits below the national average on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.

Why turnout in Iowa looks the way it does

Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 73% of households in Iowa own their home, above 82% of states. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

All Local Stats

Home Services

Sources and methodology

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