New River leans heavily Republican by roughly 46 points: about 27% of voters vote Democratic and 73% Republican.
About 57% of adults in New River typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in New River, ~15% vote Democratic, ~42% Republican, and ~43% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How New River compares
Among cities within 25 miles, New River leans more Republican than 19 of 77 neighbors.
New River runs about 51 points more Republican than Virginia as a whole. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while New River is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why New 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 New River, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 6% of adults in New River hold a bachelor's degree, about 23 points below the Virginia average of 29%. Dense places usually vote Democratic, but New River runs against that pattern. New River runs against the grain of Virginia, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with renter-heavy households tend to turn out at a lower rate; New River, VA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in New River looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 46% of households in New River rent, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Strong routine healthcare access lines up with higher turnout, and New River sits in the top quarter on routine-care measures. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Dublin, VA R+44
- Radford, VA R+7
- Highland, VA R+58
- Fairlawn, VA R+19
- Newbern, VA R+49
- Pepper, VA R+30
- Belspring, VA R+35
- Graysontown, VA R+57
- Childress, VA R+55
Cities with Similar Populations
- Riverside, WY R+48
- Baton Rouge, SC R+38
- Dollar, TN R+69
- Lake View, AR Even
- Hico, LA R+66
- Goose Pond, NC R+12
- Plainfield, MI R+35
- Shady Glen, CA R+22
- Hazel Hurst, PA R+58
- Hillcrest, MI R+13
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Virginia Department 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.