Riverside is a Democratic stronghold. About 89% of voters here vote Democratic and 11% Republican.
About 46% of adults in Riverside typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Riverside, ~41% vote Democratic, ~5% Republican, and ~54% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Riverside compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Riverside leans more Democratic than 51 of 54 neighbors.
Riverside runs about 53 points more Democratic than Massachusetts as a whole.
Why Riverside leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Riverside, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 77% of adults in Riverside hold a bachelor's degree, about 48 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 74% of adults in Riverside have never been married, above 98% of neighborhoods.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Riverside, Cambridge, MA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Riverside looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 82% of households in Riverside rent, about 57 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Mid-Cambridge, Cambridge, MA D+77
- Cambridgeport, Cambridge, MA D+77
- Aggasiz-Harvard, Cambridge, MA D+78
- Area IV, Cambridge, MA D+74
- Wellington-Harrington, Cambridge, MA D+72
- Union Square, Somerville, MA D+75
- MIT, Cambridge, MA D+70
- West Cambridge, Cambridge, MA D+78
- Neighborhood Nine, Cambridge, MA D+78
- Avon Hill, Cambridge, MA D+79
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- West Bench, Boise, ID D+4
- Drake, Des Moines, IA D+50
- Lower Northwood, Baltimore, MD D+84
- Windsor Park, Charlotte, NC D+44
- West Garfield Park, Chicago, IL D+81
- Adamsville, Atlanta, GA D+86
- Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ D+63
- College Point, Queens, NY R+6
- Avenues West, Milwaukee, WI D+52
- South East, Pasadena, CA D+56
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 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.