Merrillville is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Merrillville typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Merrillville, ~13% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~38% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Merrillville compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Merrillville leans more Republican than 24 of 42 neighbors.
Merrillville runs about 57 points more Republican than Georgia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Merrillville. The east side is the most Republican-leaning (R+65) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+49), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Merrillville 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 Merrillville, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 78% of households in Merrillville are family households, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 67%. Low college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Merrillville sits in the bottom quarter (about 15%, below 79% of cities).
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Merrillville, GA sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Merrillville looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Merrillville is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 20% of adults in Merrillville report food insecurity, above 80% of cities. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 85% of adults in Merrillville have completed high school, below 79% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Coolidge, GA R+63
- Patten, GA R+57
- Shelly, GA R+62
- Murphy, GA R+77
- Pavo, GA R+58
- Ione, GA R+61
- Dawesville, GA R+57
- Sunset, GA R+60
- Five Forks, GA R+38
- Barwick, GA R+54
Cities with Similar Populations
- Zia Pueblo, NM D+36
- Lacomb, OR R+49
- Coolidge, NM D+33
- Warren, OK R+71
- Lodgepole, NE R+74
- Teddy, KY R+75
- Jerome, AR R+46
- West Danby, NY D+2
- McCray, NC R+42
- Pickering, MO R+60
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Georgia Elections Division, 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.