Penrose is a Democratic stronghold. About 93% of voters here vote Democratic and 7% Republican.
About 50% of adults in Penrose typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Penrose, ~46% vote Democratic, ~4% Republican, and ~50% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Penrose compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Penrose leans more Democratic than 14 of 18 neighbors.
Penrose runs about 105 points more Democratic than Missouri as a whole. Missouri leans Republican overall, while Penrose is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Penrose leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Penrose, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Density combined with diversity predicts Democratic voting. Non-Hispanic white share in Penrose is about 2%, about 70 points below the U.S. average of 72%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 58% of adults in Penrose have never been married, above 92% of neighborhoods. Penrose runs against the grain of Missouri, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Penrose, St. Louis, MO sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Penrose looks the way it does
Areas with high food insecurity turn out at lower rates. About 39% of adults in Penrose report food insecurity, about 23 points above the U.S. average of 16%. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Penrose sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- O'Fallon, St. Louis, MO D+87
- The Greater Ville, St. Louis, MO D+87
- Mark Twain, St. Louis, MO D+85
- Wells-Goodfellow, St. Louis, MO D+86
- Jeff-Vander-Lou, St. Louis, MO D+84
- North Pointe, St. Louis, MO D+89
- Grand Center, St. Louis, MO D+74
- Central West End, St. Louis, MO D+69
- Baden, St. Louis, MO D+83
- Debaliviere Place, St. Louis, MO D+81
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Whittier Heights, Seattle, WA D+80
- Kenwood-Duluth, Duluth, MN D+30
- Valley, Providence, RI D+38
- Riverton, Portland, ME D+27
- Garfield, Huntington Beach, CA D+2
- Central Bench, Boise, ID D+21
- Greater Belhaven, Jackson, MS D+34
- Downtown Riverfront-190th, Bothell, WA D+42
- Downtown, Providence, RI D+64
- Terra Linda, San Rafael, CA D+43
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Missouri 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.