Palo leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.
About 86% of adults in Palo typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Palo, ~31% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~14% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Palo compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Palo leans more Republican than 21 of 57 neighbors.
Palo runs about 14 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Palo. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+38) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+20), a spread of about 18 points.
Why Palo 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, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 80% of households in Palo are family households, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Palo, IA sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Palo looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Palo 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 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 94% of households in Palo own their home, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Toddville, IA R+28
- Atkins, IA R+36
- Hiawatha, IA D+4
- Shellsburg, IA R+44
- Robins, IA R+6
- Cedar Rapids, IA D+15
- Lafayette, IA R+34
- Fairfax, IA R+11
- Center Point, IA R+29
- Newhall, IA R+35
Cities with Similar Populations
- Eleanor, WV R+54
- Landover Hills, MD D+60
- Stratford, OK R+62
- Lemont Furnace, PA R+42
- Meadowlakes, TX R+48
- Albany, TX R+70
- Leon, IA R+50
- Van Buren, ME R+32
- Manson, NC D+28
- Fairbank, IA R+44
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.