Orleans leans heavily Democratic by roughly 38 points: about 69% of voters vote Democratic and 31% Republican.
About 92% of adults in Orleans typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Orleans, ~63% vote Democratic, ~29% Republican, and ~8% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Orleans compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Orleans leans more Democratic than 29 of 34 neighbors.
Orleans runs about 13 points more Democratic than Massachusetts as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Orleans. The south side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+41) and the northwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+28), a spread of about 13 points.
Why Orleans 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 Orleans, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 59% of adults in Orleans hold a bachelor's degree, about 31 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Dense areas vote Democratic, and Orleans sits in the top fifth on density (about 52%, above 87% of cities).
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Orleans, MA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Orleans looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Orleans 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 77%, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 99% of adults in Orleans have completed high school, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- South Orleans, MA D+31
- Eastham, MA D+31
- Brewster, MA D+29
- North Chatham, MA D+27
- North Eastham, MA D+30
- East Harwich, MA D+16
- Chatham, MA D+31
- West Chatham, MA D+31
- South Chatham, MA D+33
- Harwich, MA D+23
Cities with Similar Populations
- Gotha, FL D+3
- Manchester, MI R+10
- Grand Island, FL R+43
- Diamond Springs, CA R+29
- Clairton, PA D+41
- Magnolia, NJ D+13
- Middleburg, PA R+63
- East Bend, NC R+65
- Wayzata, MN D+18
- Wrightsville, GA R+26
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 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.