Old Town-Chinatown is a Democratic stronghold. About 77% of voters here vote Democratic and 23% Republican.
About 39% of adults in Old Town-Chinatown typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Old Town-Chinatown, ~30% vote Democratic, ~9% Republican, and ~61% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Old Town-Chinatown compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Old Town-Chinatown leans more Democratic than 2 of 44 neighbors.
Old Town-Chinatown runs about 40 points more Democratic than Oregon as a whole.
Why Old Town-Chinatown leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Old Town-Chinatown, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 64% of adults in Old Town-Chinatown have never been married, well above similar-sized neighborhoods (around 46%).
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Old Town-Chinatown, Portland, OR sits in the bottom 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 Old Town-Chinatown looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 92% of households in Old Town-Chinatown rent, about 67 points above the U.S. average of 25%. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Old Town-Chinatown sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Pearl District, Portland, OR D+63
- University District, Portland, OR D+62
- Northwest, Portland, OR D+77
- Slabtown, Portland, OR D+78
- Eliot, Portland, OR D+79
- Buckman, Portland, OR D+80
- Irvington, Portland, OR D+85
- Kerns, Portland, OR D+80
- Hosford-Abernethy, Portland, OR D+81
- Homestead, Portland, OR D+69
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Bayside, Queens, NY D+9
- Zach White, El Paso, TX Even
- West Southwest 3, Topeka, KS D+12
- Rincon Heights, Tucson, AZ D+57
- Downtown Omaha, Omaha, NE D+49
- Sylvan Park, Nashville, TN D+38
- South Salt Creek, Lincoln, NE D+29
- Riverbend, Tampa, FL D+3
- Allendale, Oakland, CA D+63
- Lytle Creek, San Bernardino, CA D+26
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.