Lawrence, KS Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Lawrence

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

Lawrence leans heavily Democratic by roughly 44 points: about 72% of voters vote Democratic and 28% Republican.

 

About 63% of adults in Lawrence typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lawrence, ~45% vote Democratic, ~18% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Lawrence compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Lawrence is the most Democratic-leaning.

Lawrence runs about 61 points more Democratic than Kansas as a whole. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Lawrence is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Lawrence. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+58) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+20), a spread of about 38 points.

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

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 54% of adults in Lawrence hold a bachelor's degree, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Lawrence sits in the top fifth on density (about 81%, above 94% of cities). Lawrence runs against the grain of Kansas, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Lawrence, KS sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.

Why turnout in Lawrence looks the way it does

Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 96% of adults in Lawrence have completed high school, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 90%. 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 Kansas 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.