Scotch Ridge leans heavily Republican by roughly 30 points: about 35% of voters vote Democratic and 65% Republican.
About 79% of adults in Scotch Ridge typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Scotch Ridge, ~28% vote Democratic, ~51% Republican, and ~21% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Scotch Ridge compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Scotch Ridge leans more Republican than 23 of 58 neighbors.
Scotch Ridge runs about 18 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Scotch Ridge. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+31) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+20), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Scotch Ridge 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 Scotch Ridge, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 84% of households in Scotch Ridge are family households, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Scotch Ridge, IA sits below the national average on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Scotch Ridge looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Scotch Ridge 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 91% of households in Scotch Ridge own their home, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Summerset, IA R+36
- Carlisle, IA R+28
- Norwalk, IA R+19
- Spring Hill, IA R+33
- Palmyra, IA R+39
- Indianola, IA R+17
- Des Moines, IA D+2
- Pleasant Hill, IA R+8
- Medora, IA R+36
- Hartford, IA R+39
Cities with Similar Populations
- High View, WV R+61
- East Monkton, VT D+12
- Hytop, AL R+76
- Echo, LA R+74
- Joice, IA R+36
- Dancy, WI R+35
- Harrisonville, OH R+59
- St. Lawrence, WI R+42
- Knox City, MO R+71
- Corwin, OH R+59
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.