Lakeland is a true toss-up. About 50% of voters here vote Democratic and 50% Republican.
About more than 99% of adults in Lakeland typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lakeland, ~51% vote Democratic, ~51% Republican, and ~-2% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Lakeland compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Lakeland sits roughly in the middle of the political spectrum, with 38 neighbors leaning further in the place's direction and 48 leaning the other way.
Politically, Lakeland sits close to the rest of Minnesota.
Why Lakeland 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 Lakeland, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Density pulls a place toward Democrats and a high white share pulls it toward Republicans. In Lakeland the two roughly cancel.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Lakeland, MN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Lakeland looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Lakeland is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 91% of households in Lakeland own their home, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Lakeland have completed high school, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Lakeland Shores, MN R+2
- Lake St. Croix Beach, MN D+8
- St. Marys Point, MN D+7
- North Hudson, WI R+8
- Afton, MN D+5
- Hudson, WI R+8
- Bayport, MN D+14
- Oak Park Heights, MN D+16
- Lake Elmo, MN D+4
- Stillwater, MN D+12
Cities with Similar Populations
- Paint Lick, KY R+54
- Philadelphia, NY R+40
- Fountain City, IN R+53
- Richland, IN R+52
- Cairo, IL D+42
- Bucyrus, KS R+33
- Scarbro, WV R+51
- Ben Avon, PA D+37
- Silver Bay, MN R+8
- Ramsey, IL R+66
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.