Ithaca, NY Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Ithaca

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

Ithaca is a Democratic stronghold. About 83% of voters here vote Democratic and 17% Republican.

 

About 57% of adults in Ithaca typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ithaca, ~47% vote Democratic, ~10% Republican, and ~43% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Ithaca compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Ithaca leans more Democratic than 108 of 109 neighbors.

Ithaca runs about 53 points more Democratic than New York as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Ithaca. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+70) and the northwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+56), a spread of about 14 points.

Why Ithaca 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 Ithaca, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 67% of adults in Ithaca hold a bachelor's degree, about 38 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Ithaca sits in the top fifth on density (about 58%, above 89% of cities). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 58% of adults in Ithaca have never been married, in the top fraction of cities.

Population density and Democratic lean

Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Ithaca, NY sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Ithaca looks the way it does

Renters vote less often than owners. About 56% of households in Ithaca rent, about 32 points above the U.S. average of 25%. 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 New York 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.