Rock Cave is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 63% of adults in Rock Cave typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rock Cave, ~10% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rock Cave compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rock Cave leans more Republican than 105 of 118 neighbors.
Rock Cave runs about 26 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Rock Cave 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 Rock Cave, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 5% of residents in Rock Cave live in densely developed areas, about 7 points below the West Virginia average of 12%. A high white share with below-average college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Rock Cave fits that profile on both counts.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Rock Cave, WV sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Rock Cave looks the way it does
Turnout in Rock Cave sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Wilsontown, WV R+68
- Gaines, WV R+68
- Carter, WV R+68
- Duffy, WV R+66
- French Creek, WV R+68
- Kanawha Head, WV R+68
- Hoover Town, WV R+68
- Zion, WV R+69
Cities with Similar Populations
- Buxton, ND R+41
- Barbours Creek, VA R+63
- Turrell, AR R+21
- Gillett, FL R+41
- Smoot, WY R+78
- Liverwort, TN R+66
- Mimbres, NM D+2
- Ellisforde, WA R+41
- Ellenburg Center, NY R+33
- Mountain Scene, GA R+61
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia 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.