Nicollet County leans slightly Republican by roughly 10 points: about 45% of voters vote Democratic and 55% Republican.
About 82% of adults in Nicollet County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Nicollet County, ~37% vote Democratic, ~45% Republican, and ~18% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Nicollet County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Nicollet County leans more Republican than 4 of 13 neighbors.
Nicollet County runs about 14 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Nicollet County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Nicollet County. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+7) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+50), a spread of about 57 points.
Why Nicollet County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Nicollet County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Nicollet County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 48%, well above the Minnesota average of 23%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Nicollet County runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
High-school completion, uninsured rate, and voter turnout
Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a low uninsured rate tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Nicollet County, MN does.
Why turnout in Nicollet County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Nicollet County 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 67%, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 95% of adults in Nicollet County have completed high school, above 92% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Blue Earth County, MN R+6
- Le Sueur County, MN R+32
- Sibley County, MN R+48
- Brown County, MN R+37
- Waseca County, MN R+32
- Watonwan County, MN R+29
- Rice County, MN Even
- Faribault County, MN R+38
- McLeod County, MN R+40
- Scott County, MN R+5
Counties with Similar Populations
- Putnam County, OH R+66
- Steuben County, IN R+45
- Taos County, NM D+42
- Brookings County, SD R+25
- Barry County, MO R+62
- Cowley County, KS R+38
- Marshall County, TN R+54
- Platte County, NE R+48
- Ford County, KS R+26
- Clark County, WI R+43
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota Secretary of State, 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.