Parkersburg leans heavily Republican by roughly 36 points: about 32% of voters vote Democratic and 68% Republican.
About 65% of adults in Parkersburg typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Parkersburg, ~21% vote Democratic, ~44% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Parkersburg compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Parkersburg leans more Republican than 6 of 100 neighbors.
Parkersburg runs about 7 points more Democratic than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Parkersburg. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+47) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+23), a spread of about 24 points.
Why Parkersburg 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 Parkersburg, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Parkersburg votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 73%, far above the West Virginia average of 12%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Parkersburg, WV sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Parkersburg looks the way it does
Turnout in Parkersburg sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- North Hills, WV R+35
- Pettyville, WV R+50
- Belpre, OH R+41
- Vienna, WV R+33
- Murphytown, WV R+57
- Boreman, WV R+52
- Davisville, WV R+55
- Mineralwells, WV R+54
- Porterfield, OH R+41
- Washington, WV R+51
Cities with Similar Populations
- Menlo Park, CA D+64
- Trenton, MI R+7
- Haines City, FL Even
- Romeoville, IL D+15
- Levittown, NY R+21
- Perrysburg, OH R+7
- East Stroudsburg, PA D+12
- Monrovia, CA D+27
- Orange, TX R+44
- Catonsville, MD D+34
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia 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.