Ocean Isle Beach leans heavily Republican by roughly 36 points: about 32% of voters vote Democratic and 68% Republican.
About 94% of adults in Ocean Isle Beach typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ocean Isle Beach, ~30% vote Democratic, ~64% Republican, and ~6% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Ocean Isle Beach compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Ocean Isle Beach leans more Republican than 19 of 37 neighbors.
Ocean Isle Beach runs about 33 points more Republican than North Carolina as a whole.
Why Ocean Isle Beach 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 Ocean Isle Beach, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Ocean Isle Beach votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 55%, well above the North Carolina average of 27%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Ocean Isle Beach, NC sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Ocean Isle Beach looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Ocean Isle Beach 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 73%, about 13 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 90% of households in Ocean Isle Beach own their home, above 80% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Sunset Beach, NC R+37
- Grissettown, NC R+40
- Shallotte, NC R+40
- Carolina Shores, NC R+34
- Calabash, NC R+32
- Longwood, NC R+27
- Ash, NC R+38
- Holden Beach, NC R+37
- Supply, NC R+43
- Regan, NC R+47
Cities with Similar Populations
- Orangeburg, NY R+5
- Topanga, CA D+28
- Clarkston, WA R+19
- Pinon Hills, CA R+41
- Newport, WA R+33
- Bristow, OK R+52
- Thatcher, AZ R+57
- Frankenmuth, MI R+20
- Gurley, AL R+56
- Jackson, CA R+32
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North Carolina State 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. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.