Salem Center leans slightly Republican by roughly 8 points: about 46% of voters vote Democratic and 54% Republican.
About 71% of adults in Salem Center typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Salem Center, ~33% vote Democratic, ~38% Republican, and ~29% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Salem Center compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Salem Center leans more Republican than 86 of 125 neighbors.
Salem Center runs about 20 points more Republican than New York as a whole. New York leans Democratic overall, while Salem Center is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Salem Center 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 Salem Center, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Salem Center votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 34%, above 82% of cities). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 94% of households in Salem Center are family households, in the top fraction of cities. Salem Center runs against the grain of New York, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Salem Center, NY sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Salem Center looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Salem Center is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 79%, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and more than 99% of households in Salem Center own their home, compared to around 85% in nearby cities. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and more than 99% of adults in Salem Center have completed high school, in the top fraction of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Purdys, NY Even
- Somers, NY D+7
- Goldens Bridge, NY D+14
- Heritage Hills, NY D+15
- Croton Falls, NY Even
- Katonah, NY D+10
- North Salem, NY D+6
- Amawalk, NY R+7
- Granite Springs, NY R+6
- Baldwin Place, NY R+6
Cities with Similar Populations
- Stovertown, OH R+59
- Lostwood, ND R+78
- Colonial Acres, MD R+11
- Havens, NE R+68
- Weathers, AR R+64
- Waugh, VA R+40
- Wren, VA R+47
- Dresden, KS R+73
- Linn, MS D+6
- McCann, CA R+16
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New York State Board of 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.