Rulison leans heavily Republican by roughly 48 points: about 26% of voters vote Democratic and 74% Republican.
About 36% of adults in Rulison typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rulison, ~9% vote Democratic, ~27% Republican, and ~64% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rulison compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rulison leans more Republican than 3 of 8 neighbors.
Rulison runs about 60 points more Republican than Colorado as a whole. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while Rulison is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Rulison. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+58) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+41), a spread of about 17 points.
Why Rulison 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 Rulison, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rulison votes against the grain of Colorado. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while Rulison runs about 60 points more Republican. Rural areas vote Republican, and Rulison sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 1%, below 98% of cities).
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Rulison, CO 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 Rulison looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Rulison is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 34% of households in Rulison rent, above 89% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Parachute, CO R+56
- Battlement Mesa, CO R+33
- DeBeque, CO R+54
- Rifle, CO R+29
- Rio Blanco, CO R+56
- Plateau City, CO R+53
- Collbran, CO R+52
- Silt, CO R+29
- Molina, CO R+54
- Mesa, CO R+54
Cities with Similar Populations
- Owattonna, SD R+71
- Bonnerton, NC R+16
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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.