Lyon County is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 93% of adults in Lyon County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lyon County, ~17% vote Democratic, ~76% Republican, and ~7% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Lyon County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Lyon County is the most Republican-leaning.
Lyon County runs about 52 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Lyon County. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+77) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+56), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Lyon County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Lyon County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Lyon County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 93% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 72%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 69% of households in Lyon County are family households, above 75% of counties.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Lyon County, IA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Lyon County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Lyon County 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 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 81% of households in Lyon County own their home, above 84% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 95% of adults in Lyon County have completed high school, above 93% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Rock County, MN R+45
- Sioux County, IA R+55
- Lincoln County, SD R+29
- Osceola County, IA R+57
- Minnehaha County, SD R+10
- O'Brien County, IA R+54
- Nobles County, MN R+28
- Pipestone County, MN R+48
- Plymouth County, IA R+49
- Turner County, SD R+53
Counties with Similar Populations
- Lunenburg County, VA R+24
- Owyhee County, ID R+63
- Summers County, WV R+52
- Morris County, TX R+39
- Greene County, IL R+56
- Linn County, MO R+55
- Prowers County, CO R+38
- Custer County, MT R+43
- Chickasaw County, IA R+40
- Lawrence County, MS R+30
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.