Mills River leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 95% of adults in Mills River typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Mills River, ~40% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~5% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Mills River compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Mills River leans more Republican than 22 of 60 neighbors.
Mills River runs about 14 points more Republican than North Carolina as a whole.
Why Mills River 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 Mills River, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Mills River votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 23%, about 13 points below the U.S. average of 36%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 77% of households in Mills River are family households, above 82% of cities.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Mills River, NC sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Mills River looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Mills River 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 71%, about 11 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Horse Shoe, NC R+19
- Etowah, NC R+16
- Arden, NC D+15
- Fletcher, NC R+9
- Laurel Park, NC D+8
- Oak Forest, NC D+33
- Hendersonville, NC R+14
- Valley Hill, NC R+12
- Hoopers Creek, NC R+36
- Stony Fork, NC R+39
Cities with Similar Populations
- Blairsville, PA R+38
- Pea Ridge, AR R+54
- Middleborough Center, MA Even
- Satsuma, AL R+55
- Silvis, IL D+9
- Berryville, AR R+52
- Grayling, MI R+29
- Bedminster, NJ D+8
- Colonial Beach, VA R+26
- Patterson, LA R+21
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North Carolina State Board 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.