Salem is a Republican stronghold. About 20% of voters here vote Democratic and 80% Republican.
About 94% of adults in Salem typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Salem, ~19% vote Democratic, ~75% Republican, and ~6% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Salem compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Salem leans more Republican than 12 of 27 neighbors.
Salem runs about 38 points more Republican than Utah as a whole.
Why Salem 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, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Salem votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 61%, well above the Utah average of 32%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 87% of households in Salem are family households, above 98% of cities.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Salem, UT sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Salem looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Salem 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 76%, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 94% of households in Salem own their home, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Salem have completed high school, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Elk Ridge, UT R+60
- Woodland Hills, UT R+63
- Payson, UT R+49
- Spanish Fork, UT R+48
- Spring Lake, UT R+63
- Mapleton, UT R+52
- Lake Shore, UT R+74
- Santaquin, UT R+61
- Springville, UT R+37
Cities with Similar Populations
- Sumrall, MS R+73
- Lusby, MD R+9
- House Springs, MO R+45
- Crozet, VA D+16
- Clayton, DE R+15
- Payette, ID R+53
- Terrace Heights, WA R+23
- Moscow Mills, MO R+48
- Granite Falls, WA R+17
- Oak Hills, CA R+39
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, 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.