Memphis, TN Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Memphis

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

Memphis leans Democratic by roughly 22 points: about 61% of voters vote Democratic and 39% Republican.

 

About 62% of adults in the Memphis area typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in the Memphis area, ~38% vote Democratic, ~24% Republican, and ~38% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Memphis compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Memphis leans more Democratic than 47 of 50 neighbors.

Memphis runs about 50 points more Democratic than Tennessee as a whole. Tennessee leans Republican overall, while Memphis is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Memphis. The west side runs the most Democratic (D+64) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+13), a spread of about 78 points.

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

Dense areas vote Democratic. About 71% of residents in the Memphis area live in densely developed areas, about 35 points above the U.S. average of 36%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 39% of adults in the Memphis area have never been married, above 92% of cities. Memphis runs against the grain of Tennessee, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Memphis, TN 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 Memphis looks the way it does

Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Memphis is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 46%, about 10 points below the Tennessee average of 56%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 38% of households in the Memphis area rent, above 93% of cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 22% of adults in the Memphis area report food insecurity, above 85% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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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.