Polk City leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Polk City typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Polk City, ~24% vote Democratic, ~43% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Polk City compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Polk City leans more Republican than 34 of 62 neighbors.
Polk City runs about 15 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Polk City. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+33) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+22), a spread of about 10 points.
Why Polk City 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 Polk City, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 82% of households in Polk City are family households, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Polk City, IA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Polk City looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Polk City 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Polk City have completed high school, above 94% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Granger, IA R+32
- Ankeny, IA R+3
- Alleman, IA R+34
- Sheldahl, IA R+28
- Johnston, IA D+8
- Grimes, IA R+3
- Granger Homesteads, IA R+32
- Slater, IA R+10
- Madrid, IA R+25
- Midvale, IA R+26
Cities with Similar Populations
- Ramblewood, NJ D+9
- Boyd, TX R+74
- Blakely, PA Even
- Faysville, TX R+13
- Linton, IN R+48
- Tonopah, AZ R+50
- Durand, MI R+30
- McCormick, SC R+3
- Hodgenville, KY R+51
- Pocomoke City, MD D+8
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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.