Sacramento, CA Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Sacramento

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Sacramento leans slightly Democratic by roughly 14 points: about 57% of voters vote Democratic and 43% Republican.

 

About 62% of adults in the Sacramento area typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in the Sacramento area, ~35% vote Democratic, ~27% Republican, and ~38% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Sacramento compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Sacramento leans more Democratic than 47 of 59 neighbors.

Sacramento runs about 7 points more Republican than California as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Sacramento. The southwest side runs the most Democratic (D+42) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+23), a spread of about 66 points.

Why Sacramento 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 Sacramento, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Dense areas vote Democratic. About 84% of residents in the Sacramento area live in densely developed areas, about 48 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and Sacramento sits in the top quarter (about 37%, above 84% of cities). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 34% of adults in the Sacramento area have never been married, above 86% of cities.

Population density and Democratic lean

Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Sacramento, CA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Sacramento looks the way it does

Turnout in the Sacramento area sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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.