Milwaukee, WI Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Milwaukee

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

Milwaukee leans Democratic by roughly 18 points: about 59% of voters vote Democratic and 41% Republican.

 

About 82% of adults in the Milwaukee area typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in the Milwaukee area, ~48% vote Democratic, ~34% Republican, and ~18% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Milwaukee compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Milwaukee leans more Democratic than 62 of 73 neighbors.

Milwaukee runs about 19 points more Democratic than Wisconsin as a whole. Wisconsin is roughly evenly split, and Milwaukee sits clearly on the Democratic side.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Milwaukee. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+68) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+27), a spread of about 95 points.

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

Dense areas vote Democratic. About 83% of residents in the Milwaukee area live in densely developed areas, about 47 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and Milwaukee sits in the top quarter (about 39%, above 86% of cities). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 38% of adults in the Milwaukee area have never been married, above 92% of cities.

Population density and Democratic lean

Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Milwaukee, WI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Milwaukee looks the way it does

Turnout in the Milwaukee area sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. 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 Wisconsin Elections Commission, 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.