Melrose leans heavily Democratic by roughly 42 points: about 71% of voters vote Democratic and 29% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Melrose typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Melrose, ~42% vote Democratic, ~17% Republican, and ~41% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Melrose compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Melrose leans more Democratic than 9 of 20 neighbors.
Melrose runs about 71 points more Democratic than Tennessee as a whole. Tennessee leans Republican overall, while Melrose is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Melrose. The west side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+55) and the east side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+29), a spread of about 26 points.
Why Melrose leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Melrose, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 77% of adults in Melrose hold a bachelor's degree, about 49 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Melrose sits in the top fifth on density (more than 99%, above 89% of neighborhoods). Melrose runs against the grain of Tennessee, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Developed land and Democratic lean
Places with a heavily developed built environment tend to lean Democratic; Melrose, Nashville, TN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Developed land does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Melrose looks the way it does
Turnout in Melrose sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Bellmont Hillsboro, Nashville, TN D+51
- Edgehill, Nashville, TN D+64
- Midtown-Nashville, Nashville, TN D+32
- Hillsboro West End, Nashville, TN D+45
- Southside, Nashville, TN D+74
- The Gulch, Nashville, TN D+11
- Vanderbilt-West End, Nashville, TN D+54
- Woodbine, Nashville, TN D+26
- Green Hills, Nashville, TN D+13
- Downtown Nashville, Nashville, TN D+50
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Overlook, Portland, OR D+83
- Riverside, Wichita, KS R+13
- Inglewood-Riverwood, Nashville, TN D+24
- Baywood-Aragon, San Mateo, CA D+51
- Area IV, Cambridge, MA D+74
- Old River Terrace, Channelview, TX R+21
- Inverness, Hoover, AL R+26
- Alki, Seattle, WA D+68
- Clarke Square, Milwaukee, WI D+46
- Regency, Jacksonville, FL D+16
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of 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.