Oak Park is a Democratic stronghold. About 79% of voters here vote Democratic and 21% Republican.
About 76% of adults in Oak Park typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Oak Park, ~60% vote Democratic, ~16% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Oak Park compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Oak Park leans more Democratic than 88 of 93 neighbors.
Oak Park runs about 60 points more Democratic than Michigan as a whole. Michigan is roughly evenly split, and Oak Park sits clearly on the Democratic side.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Oak Park. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+84) and the north side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+25), a spread of about 59 points.
Why Oak Park 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 Oak Park, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. More than 99% of residents in Oak Park live in densely developed areas, about 64 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and Oak Park sits in the top quarter (about 37%, above 84% of cities). Oak Park runs against the grain of Michigan, a Democratic-leaning outlier in a roughly evenly split state.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Oak Park, MI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Oak Park looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Oak Park 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%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Huntington Woods, MI D+47
- Pleasant Ridge, MI D+49
- Berkley, MI D+31
- Ferndale, MI D+53
- Lathrup Village, MI D+74
- Royal Oak, MI D+32
- Southfield, MI D+70
- Hazel Park, MI D+18
- Beverly Hills, MI D+25
- Madison Heights, MI D+9
Cities with Similar Populations
- Pooler, GA D+10
- Galt, CA R+13
- Saugus, MA Even
- Englewood, NJ D+36
- Aliquippa, PA R+3
- Collinsville, IL Even
- Waynesboro, VA R+18
- Woodburn, OR D+7
- Seymour, IN R+44
- Magna, UT R+6
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.