Palo Alto leans Republican by roughly 26 points: about 37% of voters vote Democratic and 63% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Palo Alto typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Palo Alto, ~22% vote Democratic, ~38% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Palo Alto compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Palo Alto leans more Republican than 14 of 20 neighbors.
Palo Alto runs about 12 points more Republican than Texas as a whole.
Why Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 4% of residents in Palo Alto live in densely developed areas, about 31 points below the Texas average of 35%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Palo Alto, TX sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Palo Alto looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Palo Alto is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 42%, about 11 points below the Texas average of 54%. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Palo Alto sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Bishop, TX R+13
- Kingsville, TX R+4
- Driscoll, TX R+20
- Agua Dulce, TX R+21
- Banquete, TX R+11
- Ricardo, TX R+20
- Petronila, TX R+31
- Ben Bolt, TX R+14
- San Pedro, TX Even
- Rabb, TX R+35
Cities with Similar Populations
- Dewar, IA R+41
- Bridgewater Center, OH R+62
- Stull, KS R+13
- Meadowville, WV R+62
- Wiltshire, MS D+19
- Berwick, MS D+14
- Sebrell, VA R+33
- Luthers Mills, PA R+53
- Wheeler, KS R+77
- Melby, MN R+49
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Texas 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.