Rio Linda leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 61% of adults in Rio Linda typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rio Linda, ~26% vote Democratic, ~35% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rio Linda compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rio Linda leans more Republican than 33 of 56 neighbors.
Rio Linda runs about 36 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while Rio Linda is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Rio Linda. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+27) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+12), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Rio Linda 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 Linda, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rio Linda votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 69%, modestly above the California average of 58%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Rio Linda runs against the grain of California, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
High-school completion, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine low high-school-completion share and a heavily developed built environment tend to turn out at a lower rate, as Rio Linda, CA does.
Why turnout in Rio Linda looks the way it does
Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout. About 9% of homes in Rio Linda have more than one occupant per room, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Elverta, CA R+33
- McClellan Park, CA D+6
- North Highlands, CA D+7
- Antelope, CA R+2
- Foothill Farms, CA D+2
- Riego, CA R+45
- Arden-Arcade, CA D+25
- Carmichael, CA D+11
- Pleasant Grove, CA R+39
- Sacramento, CA D+14
Cities with Similar Populations
- Seminole, TX R+71
- Lewisville, NC R+17
- Labelle, FL R+41
- Camby, IN R+25
- Verdigris, OK R+49
- Hewitt, TX R+26
- Stallings, NC R+18
- Cumberland, RI D+7
- Carmel, NY R+13
- Haddonfield, NJ D+41
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.