Oakland leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Rhode Island did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 80% of adults in Oakland typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Oakland, ~31% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~20% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Oakland compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Oakland leans more Republican than 106 of 109 neighbors.
Oakland runs about 37 points more Republican than Rhode Island as a whole. Rhode Island leans Democratic overall, while Oakland is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Oakland 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 Oakland, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Oakland votes against the grain of Rhode Island. Rhode Island leans Democratic overall, while Oakland runs about 37 points more Republican.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Oakland, RI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Oakland looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Oakland 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Harrisville, RI R+18
- Mapleville, RI R+21
- Burrillville, RI R+21
- Slatersville, RI R+22
- Pascoag, RI R+16
- Cherry Valley, RI R+24
- Chepachet, RI R+16
- North Smithfield, RI R+3
- Millville, MA R+13
Cities with Similar Populations
- Worth, MI R+43
- Pasadena Park, MO D+80
- Swanquarter, NC R+41
- Nuangola, PA R+27
- Ripton, VT D+27
- New Munich, MN R+74
- Scofield, MI R+43
- Cisco, GA R+74
- Gardner, WV R+61
- Boggstown, IN R+58
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Rhode Island Board 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. RI did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.