Placer County leans slightly Republican by roughly 10 points: about 45% of voters vote Democratic and 55% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Placer County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Placer County, ~34% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Placer County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Placer County leans more Republican than 3 of 7 neighbors.
Placer County runs about 31 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while Placer County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Placer County. The northwest side is the most split-leaning (R+48) and the east side is the least split-leaning (Even), a spread of about 47 points.
Why Placer County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Placer County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Placer County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 73%, well above the California average of 58%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 73% of households in Placer County are family households, above 90% of counties. Placer County runs against the grain of California, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Placer County, 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 Placer County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Placer County 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 95% of adults in Placer County have completed high school, above 91% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Sacramento County, CA D+20
- El Dorado County, CA R+13
- Yuba County, CA R+16
- Nevada County, CA D+11
- Sutter County, CA R+23
- Yolo County, CA D+35
- Amador County, CA R+35
- Colusa County, CA R+20
- Calaveras County, CA R+29
- Solano County, CA D+21
Counties with Similar Populations
- St. Charles County, MO R+14
- Genesee County, MI D+8
- Waukesha County, WI R+14
- Orange County, NY R+7
- Charleston County, SC D+14
- Manatee County, FL R+15
- Pulaski County, AR D+28
- Mobile County, AL R+8
- Richland County, SC D+38
- Butler County, OH R+20
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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.