Oildale leans heavily Republican by roughly 34 points: about 33% of voters vote Democratic and 67% Republican.
About 45% of adults in Oildale typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Oildale, ~15% vote Democratic, ~30% Republican, and ~55% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Oildale compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Oildale leans more Republican than 11 of 17 neighbors.
Oildale runs about 54 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while Oildale is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Oildale. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+44) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+24), a spread of about 20 points.
Why Oildale 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 Oildale, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Oildale votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 93%, far above the California average of 58%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Low college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Oildale sits in the bottom quarter (about 13%, below 85% of cities). Oildale runs against the grain of California, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
High-school completion, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine low high-school-completion share and a heavily developed built environment tend to turn out at a lower rate, as Oildale, CA does.
Why turnout in Oildale looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Oildale is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 58% of households in Oildale rent, compared to around 37% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 26% of adults in Oildale report food insecurity, above 92% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Bakersfield, CA R+12
- Cawelo, CA R+52
- Edison, CA R+36
- Pumpkin Center, CA R+29
- Lamont, CA D+15
- Shafter, CA R+11
- Mexican Colony, CA R+52
- Weedpatch, CA Even
- Di Giorgio, CA R+31
- Edmundson Acres, CA Even
Cities with Similar Populations
- Montgomery Village, MD D+48
- Golden Glades, FL D+57
- Roseville, MN D+40
- Rio Grande City, TX R+7
- Port Angeles, WA D+9
- Sanger, CA R+9
- Enterprise, AL R+36
- Greenville, TX R+37
- Manhattan Beach, CA D+28
- Central Islip, NY D+27
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.