Santa Clara, CA Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Santa Clara

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

Santa Clara leans heavily Democratic by roughly 36 points: about 68% of voters vote Democratic and 32% Republican.

 

About 51% of adults in Santa Clara typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Santa Clara, ~35% vote Democratic, ~16% Republican, and ~49% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Santa Clara compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Santa Clara leans more Democratic than 22 of 59 neighbors.

Santa Clara runs about 15 points more Democratic than California as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Santa Clara. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+53) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+32), a spread of about 21 points.

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

Dense areas vote Democratic. More than 99% of residents in Santa Clara live in densely developed areas, about 64 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and Santa Clara sits in the top quarter (about 66%, above 98% of cities). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 37% of adults in Santa Clara have never been married, above 90% of cities.

Population density and Democratic lean

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

Why turnout in Santa Clara looks the way it does

Renters vote less often than owners. About 56% of households in Santa Clara rent, about 31 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout, and about 7% of homes in Santa Clara have more than one occupant per room, above 93% of cities. 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.