Owsley County is a Republican stronghold. About 13% of voters here vote Democratic and 87% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Owsley County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Owsley County, ~9% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Owsley County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Owsley County leans more Republican than 20 of 21 neighbors.
Owsley County runs about 43 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Why Owsley County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Owsley County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 6% of adults in Owsley County hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points below the Kentucky average of 19%. Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Non-Hispanic white share in Owsley County is about 96%, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Owsley County, KY sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Owsley County looks the way it does
Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Owsley County sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Lee County, KY R+67
- Jackson County, KY R+73
- Breathitt County, KY R+62
- Clay County, KY R+72
- Wolfe County, KY R+57
- Estill County, KY R+63
- Leslie County, KY R+76
- Powell County, KY R+60
- Perry County, KY R+61
- Laurel County, KY R+63
Counties with Similar Populations
- Meade County, KS R+68
- Valley County, NE R+67
- Schuyler County, MO R+67
- Stafford County, KS R+66
- Union County, NM R+52
- LaMoure County, ND R+57
- Nuckolls County, NE R+60
- Dunn County, ND R+53
- Storey County, NV R+40
- Gregory County, SD R+65
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kentucky 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.