Northfield leans heavily Republican by roughly 50 points: about 25% of voters vote Democratic and 75% Republican.
About 82% of adults in Northfield typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Northfield, ~20% vote Democratic, ~62% Republican, and ~18% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Northfield compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Northfield leans more Republican than 44 of 48 neighbors.
Northfield runs about 36 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Northfield. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+53) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+43), a spread of about 10 points.
Why Northfield 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 Northfield, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 14% of adults in Northfield hold a bachelor's degree, about 10 points below the Iowa average of 24%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 78% of households in Northfield are family households, above 86% of cities.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Northfield, IA sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Northfield looks the way it does
Turnout in Northfield 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.
Nearby Cities
- Kossuth, IA R+28
- Morning Sun, IA R+45
- Mediapolis, IA R+30
- Oakville, IA R+48
- Wapello, IA R+39
- Yarmouth, IA R+52
- Sperry, IA R+43
- Pleasant Grove, IA R+50
- Keithsburg, IL R+41
- New Boston, IL R+46
Cities with Similar Populations
- Rathbone, NY R+60
- Red Fish, LA R+54
- Scioto Furnace, OH R+63
- Glenford, NY D+42
- East Gilead, MI R+50
- Lomax, AL R+81
- Neosheo, KY R+61
- Tina, MO R+67
- Bardolph, IL R+48
- Norris, MS R+31
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.