Rio Blanco is a Republican stronghold. About 22% of voters here vote Democratic and 78% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Rio Blanco typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rio Blanco, ~15% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rio Blanco compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rio Blanco is the most Republican-leaning.
Rio Blanco runs about 67 points more Republican than Colorado as a whole. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while Rio Blanco is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Rio Blanco. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+62) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+39), a spread of about 24 points.
Why Rio Blanco 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 Rio Blanco, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rio Blanco votes against the grain of Colorado. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while Rio Blanco runs about 67 points more Republican. Rural areas vote Republican, and Rio Blanco sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 1%, below 98% of cities). A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 78% of households in Rio Blanco are family households, above 84% of cities.
Never-married share, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine a low never-married share and a rural land-use pattern tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Rio Blanco, CO does.
Why turnout in Rio Blanco looks the way it does
Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 96% of adults in Rio Blanco have completed high school, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 90%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Rulison, CO R+49
- Meeker, CO R+39
- Parachute, CO R+56
- Rifle, CO R+29
- Battlement Mesa, CO R+33
- Silt, CO R+29
- DeBeque, CO R+54
- New Castle, CO R+9
- Plateau City, CO R+53
- Collbran, CO R+52
Cities with Similar Populations
- Sublett, ID R+79
- Monowi, NE R+73
- Modena, UT R+78
- Mineral Springs, FL R+71
- Westport, ME D+5
- Glacier, WA R+3
- North Cameron, NY R+62
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.