Kirkwood leans slightly Democratic by roughly 8 points: about 54% of voters vote Democratic and 46% Republican.
About 50% of adults in Kirkwood typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kirkwood, ~27% vote Democratic, ~23% Republican, and ~50% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Kirkwood compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Kirkwood leans more Democratic than 8 of 11 neighbors.
Kirkwood runs about 13 points more Republican than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Kirkwood. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+36) and the north side runs the most Republican (R+26), a spread of about 62 points.
Why Kirkwood 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 Kirkwood, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 36% of adults in Kirkwood hold a bachelor's degree, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 37% of adults in Kirkwood have never been married, above 90% of cities.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Kirkwood, CA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Kirkwood looks the way it does
Turnout in Kirkwood sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Twin Bridges, CA R+16
- Echo Lake, CA D+7
- Kyburz, CA R+16
- Sorensens, CA D+36
- South Lake Tahoe, CA D+18
- Markleeville, CA D+36
- Stateline, NV D+4
- White Hall, CA R+21
- Zephyr Cove, NV R+5
- Gardnerville Ranchos, NV R+36
Cities with Similar Populations
- Faywood, NM R+9
- Oak Beach, NY R+11
- Stirling City, CA R+25
- Speed, IN R+41
- Zell, SD R+61
- Ligurta, AZ R+42
- Linesville, GA D+17
- Cardiff, AL R+63
- Nissler, MT R+32
- Patton, IL R+65
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.