Notre Dame leans heavily Democratic by roughly 38 points: about 69% of voters vote Democratic and 31% Republican.
About 22% of adults in Notre Dame typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Notre Dame, ~15% vote Democratic, ~7% Republican, and ~78% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Notre Dame compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Notre Dame is the most Democratic-leaning.
Notre Dame runs about 57 points more Democratic than Indiana as a whole. Indiana leans Republican overall, while Notre Dame is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Notre Dame 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 Notre Dame, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 72% of adults in Notre Dame hold a bachelor's degree, about 43 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Notre Dame sits in the top fifth on density (about 80%, above 94% of cities). Notre Dame runs against the grain of Indiana, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Notre Dame, IN sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Notre Dame looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 81% of households in Notre Dame rent, about 56 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 96% of adults in Notre Dame have completed high school, above 81% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Roseland, IN D+24
- South Bend, IN D+22
- Mishawaka, IN Even
- Granger, IN R+9
- Chain-O-Lakes, IN R+6
- Woodland, IN R+20
- Niles, MI R+15
- Osceola, IN R+27
- Buchanan, MI R+22
- Kessington, MI R+33
Cities with Similar Populations
- Sidney, NE R+53
- La Crescent, MN R+4
- Weare, NH R+11
- Rockland, ME D+15
- Blairstown, NJ R+31
- Roanoke, IN R+45
- Folsom, PA R+7
- Calipatria, CA R+8
- Lagrangeville, NY R+17
- Wrightstown, NJ R+11
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Indiana 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.