Laurel Dale is a Republican stronghold. About 13% of voters here vote Democratic and 87% Republican.
About 58% of adults in Laurel Dale typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Laurel Dale, ~8% vote Democratic, ~50% Republican, and ~42% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Laurel Dale compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Laurel Dale leans more Republican than 73 of 86 neighbors.
Laurel Dale runs about 33 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Laurel Dale. The south side is the most Republican-leaning (R+79) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+67), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Laurel Dale 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 Laurel Dale, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Laurel Dale, about 97% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 25 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points below the U.S. average of 28%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Laurel Dale sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 5%, below 78% of cities). A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 78% of households in Laurel Dale are family households, above 85% of cities.
Developed land and Republican lean
Places with a rural land-use pattern tend to lean Republican; Laurel Dale, WV sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Developed land does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Laurel Dale looks the way it does
Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout. About 5% of homes in Laurel Dale have more than one occupant per room, above 86% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Hartmansville, WV R+72
- Elk Garden, WV R+70
- Williamsport, WV R+71
- Scherr, WV R+76
- Antioch, WV R+73
- New Creek, WV R+65
- Mount Storm, WV R+76
- Kitzmiller, MD R+67
- Lahmansville, WV R+79
Cities with Similar Populations
- Fryburg, ND R+69
- McGrath, AK D+15
- McClures Bend, TN R+66
- Franklinton, KY R+60
- Blue Brick, SC D+6
- Sandy Ridge, TN R+68
- Black Springs, AR R+73
- Tobinsport, IN R+47
- Lairdsville, PA R+64
- Fatio, FL R+63
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia 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.