Pleasant Lake leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.
About 74% of adults in Pleasant Lake typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Pleasant Lake, ~27% vote Democratic, ~47% Republican, and ~26% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Pleasant Lake compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Pleasant Lake leans more Republican than 6 of 53 neighbors.
Pleasant Lake runs about 32 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Pleasant Lake is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Pleasant Lake. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+45) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+6), a spread of about 39 points.
Why Pleasant Lake 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 Pleasant Lake, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Pleasant Lake votes against the grain of Minnesota. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Pleasant Lake runs about 32 points more Republican. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Pleasant Lake are family households, above 80% of cities.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Pleasant Lake, MN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Pleasant Lake looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Pleasant Lake 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 92% of households in Pleasant Lake own their home, compared to around 76% in nearby cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Rockville, MN R+44
- Waite Park, MN D+5
- St. Joseph, MN R+19
- St. Cloud, MN D+6
- St. Augusta, MN R+38
- Jacobs Prairie, MN R+37
- Luxemburg, MN R+45
- Collegeville, MN R+19
- Sartell, MN R+18
- Cold Spring, MN R+39
Cities with Similar Populations
- Worth, NY R+45
- South Rushford, MN R+31
- Veribest, TX R+69
- Ono, WI R+39
- Boswell, AR R+71
- Rock Mills, AL R+86
- King Lake, NE R+38
- Glenworth, PA R+42
- East Danville, OH R+69
- Enoch, WV R+64
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.