Rifle leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Rifle typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rifle, ~27% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rifle compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rifle leans more Republican than 2 of 8 neighbors.
Rifle runs about 40 points more Republican than Colorado as a whole. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while Rifle is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Rifle. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+37) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+25), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Rifle 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 Rifle, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rifle votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 48%, modestly above the Colorado average of 35%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Rifle runs against the grain of Colorado, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Rifle, CO sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Rifle looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Rifle is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Silt, CO R+29
- New Castle, CO R+9
- Parachute, CO R+56
- Battlement Mesa, CO R+33
- Rulison, CO R+49
- Plateau City, CO R+53
- Collbran, CO R+52
- Glenwood Springs, CO D+17
- Rio Blanco, CO R+56
- Cattle Creek, CO D+11
Cities with Similar Populations
- White City, OR R+23
- Ripley, TN R+11
- Lincolnwood, IL D+5
- Fleetwood, PA R+29
- Grand Terrace, CA R+5
- Trophy Club, TX R+32
- North Valley Stream, NY D+38
- Canal Fulton, OH R+33
- Babylon, NY R+14
- Loomis, CA R+24
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Colorado 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.