Otsego leans Republican by roughly 24 points: about 38% of voters vote Democratic and 62% Republican.
About more than 99% of adults in Otsego typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Otsego, ~39% vote Democratic, ~63% Republican, and ~-2% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Otsego compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Otsego leans more Republican than 49 of 81 neighbors.
Otsego runs about 28 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Otsego is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Otsego. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+32) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 19 points.
Why Otsego 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 Otsego, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Otsego votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 48%, well above the Minnesota average of 23%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 75% of households in Otsego are family households, above 75% of cities. Otsego runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Otsego, MN 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 Otsego looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Otsego 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 92% of households in Otsego own their home, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Albertville, MN R+16
- Elk River, MN R+19
- St. Michael, MN R+19
- Rogers, MN R+9
- Ramsey, MN R+11
- Hanover, MN R+25
- Dayton, MN R+5
- Nowthen, MN R+40
- Big Lake, MN R+30
- Monticello, MN R+28
Cities with Similar Populations
- Burlington, WA Even
- Pearl River, NY R+24
- Southern Pines, NC D+5
- Seven Corners, VA D+37
- Sturgeon Bay, WI R+3
- North New Hyde Park, NY R+12
- Mastic Beach, NY R+12
- Port Royal, SC R+6
- Townsend, DE Even
- Boone, IA R+18
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.