Ripley County is a Republican stronghold. About 15% of voters here vote Democratic and 85% Republican.
About 74% of adults in Ripley County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ripley County, ~11% vote Democratic, ~63% Republican, and ~26% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Ripley County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Ripley County leans more Republican than 11 of 12 neighbors.
Ripley County runs about 51 points more Republican than Missouri as a whole.
Why Ripley County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Ripley County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 13% of adults in Ripley County hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the Missouri average of 22%. Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Non-Hispanic white share in Ripley County is about 93%, well above similar-sized counties (around 72%).
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Ripley County, MO sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Ripley County looks the way it does
Turnout in Ripley County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Butler County, MO R+52
- Carter County, MO R+71
- Randolph County, AR R+63
- Clay County, AR R+62
- Wayne County, MO R+68
- Oregon County, MO R+69
- Greene County, AR R+58
- Lawrence County, AR R+65
- Dunklin County, MO R+50
- Shannon County, MO R+68
Counties with Similar Populations
- Winnebago County, IA R+28
- Red Willow County, NE R+55
- Middlesex County, VA R+27
- Guthrie County, IA R+41
- Wilcox County, AL D+22
- Essex County, VA R+8
- Evans County, GA R+33
- Colfax County, NE R+27
- Bollinger County, MO R+70
- Mitchell County, IA R+36
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Missouri 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.