Palm Springs leans heavily Democratic by roughly 38 points: about 69% of voters vote Democratic and 31% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Palm Springs typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Palm Springs, ~42% vote Democratic, ~19% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Palm Springs compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Palm Springs is the most Democratic-leaning.
Palm Springs runs about 17 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Palm Springs. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+45) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+22), a spread of about 23 points.
Why Palm Springs 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 Palm Springs, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. About 87% of residents in Palm Springs live in densely developed areas, about 50 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and Palm Springs sits in the top quarter (about 43%, above 90% of cities). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 38% of adults in Palm Springs have never been married, above 91% of cities.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Palm Springs, CA sits in the top 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 Palm Springs looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 34% of households in Palm Springs rent, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout, and about 5% of homes in Palm Springs have more than one occupant per room, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Cathedral City, CA D+22
- North Palm Springs, CA D+15
- Rancho Mirage, CA D+15
- Garnet, CA D+20
- Thousand Palms, CA D+8
- Desert Edge, CA R+2
- Desert Hot Springs, CA D+13
- Snow Creek, CA Even
- Sky Valley, CA R+5
- Fern Valley, CA D+9
Cities with Similar Populations
- Northville, MI D+6
- Neenah, WI R+4
- Morristown, NJ D+23
- University, FL D+34
- Arlington, WA R+16
- Eagle Pass, TX R+8
- Moorhead, MN D+6
- Northport, AL R+35
- Duncanville, TX D+34
- Pittsfield, MA D+24
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.